Following on from their recording of Masses based on madrigals by Cipriano da Rore (Stradivarius, 12/97), Delitiae Musicae continue their Palestrina cycle with the first of two discs containing Masses based on motets by Jacquet de Mantua. As in their previous instalment, they sing one to a part, with special emphasis on the linear qualities of the music (in preference to the more homogeneous choral style so often encountered in readings of this music). The rationale for so doing is the performance situation in one of the many choirs with which he was associated. In one of Palestrina’s rare autographs, the first names of his singers appear next to the part. It is not the only option, of course, and Pro Cantione Antiqua have explored it frequently (and successfully) in the past; what is slightly different here is the extent to which linear considerations are allowed to gain the upper hand. This results in a texture in which voices ebb and flow, gaining prominence only to retreat, responding at times to material in the other voices, but just as often following their individual ways. It forces you to listen to the music differently, which is a recommendation in itself; yet this state of flux sometimes drifts close to waywardness (though it is never so extreme as on Sergio Vartolo’s interpretations for Naxos, 9/97). Surely Palestrina’s singers agreed in rehearsal to join together at certain moments of the text, if only to underscore particular words, or draw attention to a telling phrase: they might have done so without recourse either to a director, or to a score. The irony, given this individualistic approach (which the booklet-notes insist upon) is that Delitiae Musicae feel the need for a director at all (Marco Longhini does not join in the polyphony). So this recording is much of a piece with its predecessor, with the same defects (such as the slight tendency to sharpness among the countertenors) but also the same considerable virtues.'