The spectacular combination of Giovanni Gabrieli, the choir of King's College, Cambridge, a first-rate ensemble of brass players and the reverberant spaces of King's College Chapel has been tried before. Thankfully there's little duplication between this latest recital and the similar 1974 release directed by Sir David Willcocks (now reissued on LP—EMI Eminence EMX2035, 7/83); in fact, with so much great music by Gabrieli from which to choose, it's a pity that there should have been any overlap at all, and that the total playing time on the new disc should be a scant 47 minutes. Spectacular however, it most certainly is, if in an unashamedly modern way. Those who would have no objection to hearing Byrd played on a modern grand piano are unlikely to be appalled by the prospect of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble putting all they have into canzonas by Gabrieli. Purists, on the other hand, who prefer the sounds of the instruments that Gabrieli himself knew—the gentler tones of cornetts and sack-buts—would be well advised to give this record a wide berth.
Only when choir and brass perform together does this anachronism really show to the music's disadvantage. In ecclesiis, for example, loses something in detail and elasticity as the brass and solo singers compete with one another for decibels. (The soloists, incidentally, are also of the 'international circuit' rather than the 'early music' kind.) With so much noise going on, the gentle-toned boy choristers have to fight hard, and they sound vulnerable. Problems of balance recede, however, when the choir are left with just organ accompaniment, as in O Jesu mi dulcissime—the 1597 version incidentally, rather than the better-known and much larger 1615 revision—and the magnificent Timor et tremor. Fine, strong singing here reaps its rewards and brings out the very best in this music, even if in March 1986 vintage the young-sounding trebles of King's do not quite match the rich, supported tone of the men. (Oxbridge college choirs, like fine wine, should always be dated, so much do they vary from year to year.)
Throughout, everyone enters into the spirit of ceremony with evident enthusiasm. This is great, gutsy, blissfully direct and uncomplicated music, and for those who like their Gabrieli full-bodied it will certainly live up to expectations.'