Until very recently Morales was one of the most unjustly neglected of sixteenth-century composers on disc, but this situation has been rectified, at least to some extent, by some excellent new recordings from groups already well known and respected for their contributions to the Iberian repertory. First came Hesperion XX’s wonderfully dark account of the Mass and Office for the Dead (Astree Auvidis, 10/93); now we have two more Masses to add to the collection. The approach adopted for each is as distinctive as one would expect from groups so different in nature as The Hilliard Ensemble and Westminster Cathedral Choir, but they are well suited to their choices. In the Missa Mille regretz, the rich six-voice texture is presented with absolute clarity by the single voices of The Hilliard Ensemble, whilst the divisi basses of WCC in the Missa Queramus cum pastoribus provide the ideal counterweight to the warm forthright tone of the boys. James O’Donnell adopts generally unhurried tempos that allow the counterpoint to unfold with seamless ease, but the choral sound is of such intensity and focus that the ear is constantly arrested. At its most punchy, as in the “Osannas”, this could become wearing, but in the more sustained movements it is just what is needed to bring the music alive.
The mournful little song on which the Missa Mille regretz is based (originally by Josquin and said to be the favourite song of the Emperor Charles V) dominates the texture, being stated over and over in canon in the two upper voices, here the counter-tenors David James and Ashley Stafford. They sing with great musicality, phrasing and sustaining their overlapping lines wonderfully well. The single-voice texture allows for great flexibility, being better suited to the more madrigalian style of this Mass, and The Hilliard Ensemble bring out very well the moments of contrast in the setting of the text. These occur at the conventional moments, but they are none the less magical for that. On The Hilliard Ensemble’s disc you also get a Magnificat, some Lamentations and a couple of motets, all sung with the same expertise and sensitivity, as well as those movements of the Mass preserved in a different version and Josquin’s song itself (though I’d rather this had been placed before the Mass). Westminster Cathedral Choir supplement their Mass, preceded by the Mouton motet on which it is based, with five marvellous motets by Morales, of which the simplest but perhaps the most effective is Sancta Maria, succurre miseris. The Regina coeli, with its running quaver figures, could have done with a little more lightness of touch, but what a thrilling sound this choir makes when in full cry. As John Milsom says in his insert-notes, “It is music that always has new riches to release”, and I would recommend anyone to get to know Morales through either (or preferably both) of these recordings.'