This disc from Henry’s Eight is placed under the sign of Christmas. The most substantial work is the Mass by Arcadelt based on a motet by Jean Mouton. Henry’s Eight have often championed neglected or under-represented composers in the past, and Arcadelt is better known for his madrigals than for his sacred music. As happens so often one is struck by the music’s sheer quality, for which Henry’s Eight are once again persuasive advocates. I have commented before on their vocal style, closer in its use of vibrato to that of Pro Cantione Antiqua than to that of, say, The Hilliard Ensemble or Gothic Voices; at times, the subtly varying degrees of vibrato between singers tend to draw too much attention to this aspect of their technique, but there will be those who welcome a more relaxed approach. Only occasionally do I find myself recalling, rather nostalgically, the more positively full-throated vibrancy of their CD debut some years ago (Meridian, 5/96). More recent issues have tended to downplay this exhilarated quality, which seems a shame.
The disc is rounded off with English carols, and two Marian motets by Isaac and Mouton. Isaac’s Virgo prudentissima, composed for the coronation of Isaac’s patron Maximilian as Holy Roman Emperor, bears only a tangential relation to Christmas, but is truly festal both in scoring and in design. In relation to rival recordings (from David Munrow and Paul Hillier for Mouton, and from The Tallis Scholars for Isaac) Henry’s Eight do more than hold their own (barring the odd fluffed entry, as at the start of the second half of Virgo prudentissima). Yet I cannot help but feel that more might have been made of certain special moments: the rich suspensions of the eight-voice Nesciens mater, or the thrilling climax of Virgo prudentissima. Against the broad canvas provided by these expansive works, the English carols seem oddly out of place, especially with the modern English pronunciation adopted here. That aside, this is first-rate music in performances of real commitment.'