Cipriano de Rore is best known today as one of the finest exponents of the madrigal but his sacred output deserves to be better known: apart from three fine recordings of the impressive Missa Praeter rerum seriem, little of it has reached the discography, so the Brabant Ensemble’s campaign in favour of neglected composers finds another worthy candidate. Both of the Masses on this recording are based on chansons, one the famous Doulce mémoire by Pierre Sandrin, the other by Rore himself. His contrapuntal writing, though considerably intricate at times, has a lucidity that the Brabant Ensemble’s light sound emphasises. Of the two works, the first is perhaps the more immediately approachable and memorable.

The lightness just mentioned is now something of a trademark of this ensemble, a feature accentuated by the slightly recessed sound recording. The drawback is that the grain of the individual voices is ironed out, as also may be the finer nuances of interpretation; and the danger, that the impression of distance isn’t just a spatial one. The range of Rore’s invention gives more than enough purchase for the singers to sink their teeth into, and while the livelier situations yield the livelier results (try the ‘Hosanna’ of Missa Doulce mémoire), a more reflective atmosphere need not preclude the dynamic shaping of events (as in the motet O altitudo divitiarum). The Brabants have established for themselves a recognisable sound; an equally worthy goal would be a more determined characterisation of individual composers and works.