Tetraktys is an early music quartet headed by singer Jill Feldman and recorder-player Kees Boeke, neither of whom requires introduction. The selection of songs draws exclusively from the earlier part of Dufay’s career, in which the tunes are more immediately memorable. Presumably that’s the reason why recording artists overwhelmingly prefer them to the later pieces; but given how many Dufay anthologies there are, one regrets yet again the relative neglect of the masterpieces of his later maturity.

Tetraktys defend their view of Dufay engagingly and with polish, a view characterised by the division of the text-bearing line between Feldman and (mostly) Boeke in a literal interpretation of the songs’ presentation in the most important source transmitting them. Longstanding readers will know that it’s a contested view, and also that my personal preference is for presenting lines more homogeneously. When Tetraktys do so (as in “Quel fronte signorille”), the results are very pleasing. But there’s another contentious point, which has less to do with individual taste and a more detrimental impact on the music: the booklet information tells us that a pitch-standard has been used, about a minor third higher than a'=440. This ignores considerable evidence that the notion of a fixed pitch-standard is irrelevant at this period: one simply pitched as was comfortable or practical for all concerned. And it must be said that Feldman often sounds uncomfortably strained at the top of her range. Surely such an accomplished singer deserved to be allowed to show herself in her best light.