George de La Hèle (1547‑86) was one of a last wave of composers from the Low Countries to occupy a key post at a major European court, specifically that of Philip II, where he was preceded as chapel-master by Payen and the better-known Manchicourt and succeeded by Rogier (all of them short-lived). His Missa Praeter rerum seriem is usually mentioned only in connection with other works based on Josquin’s enormously influential late motet but it is of more than academic interest: the addition of a seventh voice recalls Rore’s Mass, of course, but La Hèle ups the ante by adding yet another, as was then customary in Spain. Unlike Rore and Lassus, he allows Josquin’s motet to drift more often out of earshot, but otherwise his treatment of it is (one might say) textbook imitation Mass style. The accompanying motets are by the composers named above, several of them in two sections; again, they embody a classic ‘Franco-Flemish’ motet style that endured until the end of the century. The shorter ones, Payen’s Virgo prudentissima and Manchicourt’s ingenious Salve regina, are the most satisfying.

The great strength of this recording is the transparency of its textures, which allows the parts to come through individually while preserving the monumentality that such a scoring obviously motivates – all the more remarkable given the size of the choir, which is large by modern standards in this repertoire (nearly 40-strong). That is due to canny direction and a bright acoustic, which together achieve a sound strongly reminiscent of Cupertinos. That will be recommendation enough to lovers of Iberian (or indeed Franco-Flemish) polyphony. Regular readers will expect me to say that I prefer a fuller and deeper timbre, and therefore a lower pitch-standard (for a composer such as Manchicourt especially) but the clarity and precision of these interpretations is very satisfying.