The Cardinall’s Musick have won plaudits for their Tallis in the past and their return to him after a hiatus of some years appears happily to presage more sustained engagement. The centrepiece of the present instalment is the motet and Mass Salve intemerata virgo. As is usual in this period, the former is based on the latter; what is rarer is that the entire Mass is not much longer than its model, a frankly rambling affair that shows that even Homer, indeed, may nod. That’s why the Mass is such an interesting piece: one can observe the composer editing down the motet, revisiting its best material and showing that one really can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. There are similar insights throughout the programme, such as the Alleluia: Ora pro nobis, strikingly closely modelled on Taverner (specifically the original In nomine), or Domine, quis habitavit, where the continental influence is impressively poised and assimilated. In the light of such versatility and consistent quality (Salve, intemerata notwithstanding), I’d say that Tallis deserves to be still more highly rated than he is. These are commendably committed, full-blooded performances verging at times on over-ripeness, perhaps because the sound recording gets very close to singers who are anyway disposed to sing out. Towards the end of the first Agnus Dei section, or in some of the English-texted pieces, this tendency obtrudes a little uncomfortably. Generally, though, confidence inspires confidence, as in much of the Mass and in Domine, quis habitavit; as for Salve, intemerata, they make as good a case for it as I can recall. More, please.