In name, Ockeghem's Missa prolationum may well be more famous than any other piece of fifteenth-century music. Written in mensural canon throughout,. with the pitch-intervals between the voices constantly changing from section to section, it is one of those mind-boggling exercises in contrapuntal improbability that draws comment from every historian. Their descriptions, starting in the sixteenth century, are probably the reason why so many people quite wrongly think of Ockeghem as a dry technician rather than the sensuous lyricist that he really is.
But then, until recently most people knew the work only on paper. When the Taruskin record (ASV) appeared on the British market it received a dusty welcome from NA and, slightly later, from me. Listening to it again, I think we perhaps failed to take enough account of the fact that the choir were amateurs, and the record was in fact considerably older than we had been given to believe. For all its problems—and the somewhat misty sound of its CD reissue—it does occasionally provide rather clearer textures than the new Hilliard record; certain features of Ockeghem's glorious counterpoint are easier to hear.
All the same, the Hiltiard Ensemble have now given the work the kind of recording it deserves. They manage to handle the enormous voice ranges with consummate case: everything sounds comfortable for them. The lines flow effortlessly, unfolding to display that extraordinary- endless lyricism of which Ockeghem was such a sovereign master. Tempos are well judged throughout; and the varieties of texture—exceptional even for Ockeghem—are beautifully handled. Their performance also seems to have been done from a thoughtful and intelligent new edition (perhaps by Ross Duffin, who contributes a very good note). Briefly, the record represents the Hillard Ensemble at their finest. The sheer limpidity of their singing makes one forget the complexities underlying the music. It should set people thinking afresh about a work that has figured so prominently in the history books.
The record also contains all the motets currently believed to be by Ockeghem (though, as the notes report, the first Salve regina has now been shown to be spurious and almost certainly by Philippe Basiron). These too are excellently performed. A necessary purchase, then, for any collection that aims at good historical coverage. '