The Clerks’ Group’s set of nine CDs devoted to the complete Masses and motets of Ockeghem was a milestone in the discography of early choral music (8/01). For prospective buyers unfamiliar with Ockeghem’s distinctive idiom, Edward Wickham’s selection of highlights from the set is a way for them to test the water. What is immediately compelling here is the composer’s gift for combining abstract (and yes, at times cerebral) design with a sublime lyricism that can be as difficult to forget as it is to remember precisely, if you’ll allow the paradox. Those brought up on the music of the next century may initially find Ockeghem’s labyrinthine inventions difficult to get to grips with but the Clerks’ crisp interpretations bring the music vividly to life. They are heard at their best in the sacred music (the songs, for various reasons, are not quite so successful, although Petite camusette nicely shows off Ockeghem’s playful side), perhaps nowhere better than in the Offertory from the Requiem and in the Agnus Dei from the Missa De plus en plus. Listeners wondering where to go next might consider the disc containing the superb Ecce ancilla Mass – which is not represented here.

From the Tallis Scholars we have yet another exploration of their back catalogue, the bulk of which dates from the group’s heyday in the early to mid-1980s. Each composer is represented by one of his most famous Masses, with the exception of Tallis, whose Spem in alium was an obvious choice. The near exclusive focus on Masses may surprise, particularly as 16th-century composers placed increasing emphasis on the motet; on the other hand, all of them are complete, a very welcome statement in this age of “user-friendly” excerpts. The interpretations are typical of the Tallis Scholars at their best, though their Western Wynde is rather lacking in incident. The place of the work itself in such an anthology is one of only quibbles with the programming – the other being that an anthology of “Renaissance Giants” that ignores Lassus is surely missing the obvious.