This attractive anthology presents a faithful picture of a transitional situation. The Henrician reformation prompted several new departures in English church music. Alongside the traditional, large-scale forms of Mass, Magnificat and Antiphon, there sprung up a number of new genres involving the alternation of chant with comparatively short sections of polyphony.
The choice of pieces underscores the contrasts in texture and scoring within Taverner's output. On the one hand there is the beautiful Audivi vocem scored for four high voices; on the other, the two settings of the responsory Dum transisset Sabbatum employ similar ranges to different effect. Successive phases of the composer's career are also represented: the latter pieces are mature works while Ave Dei Patris filia appears to be the earliest of Taverner's antiphons.
Christ Church's connection with the music dates back to Taverner himself, and there is a lightness of touch here that bespeaks an easy familiarity with the repertory. Shaping and line are sensitively handled; the trebles' attention to detail is sufficient to excuse the odd lapse (the high Fs are occasionally flat, and there is a missed entry at ''implevit'' in the Magnificat). Some engineering decisions left me sceptical, however: the polyphony in Audivi vocem seems to come from further away than the choir steps specified in the liturgy. The excessive contrast with the plainchant detracts from the piece's florid detail.
Though not all these works are top-drawer Taverner, this intelligent and stylish anthology constitutes a worthwhile addition to the discography.'