To commemorate the quincentenary of Josquin’s death, Stile Antico opt for a relatively safe but generous programme: his most frequently recorded Mass, accompanied by some of the better-known Marian motets. The Ave Maria … Virgo serena is early, while the canonic Virgo salutiferi and Inviolata, integtra et casta es are (like the Missa Pange lingua) late. The two secular pieces (including a first recording of the spurious Vivrai je tousjours) sit oddly with the overall context and general feel of the recital; not so the two laments on Josquin, which are moving and apposite.

There is a cohesion and clarity of purpose here that I’ve not always found in this ensemble’s earlier recordings. The tone is luminous, textures are admirably clear; the ‘big’ sound I recall from previous offerings is better focused and tempos are generally sensible (and at any rate consistent). The centrepiece is the late Pange lingua cycle: despite the many recordings down the years, less than a handful of those currently available have sopranos on the top line. One of those is The Tallis Scholars’, whose general approach Stile Antico emulate. Peter Phillips’s ensemble sound even more focused, perhaps, but I struggle to get past their habit of leaving leading notes unsharpened (on cadences other than on E and C, of course). Stile Antico immediately give themselves an edge in this respect, but as I’ve said, there are other reasons for enjoying these performances.

My own preference is for more incisive shaping of lines, less relaxed tempos and fewer obtrusive gear-changes in the longer Mass movements. One remaining niggle concerns the repetitions of words, which obscures the music’s melismatic character (particularly in the Sanctus); but for all that, it’s hard to fault Stile Antico’s execution. In the Marian motets few of these reservations obtain anyway: Virgo salutiferi is a model of placid lucidity, the successive entries of plainchant in the top voice reminiscent of Obrecht. And those final laments make a heartfelt impression indeed.