First released on LP in 1980, this record marks the start not only of New College's recent recording history under the direction of Edward Higginbottom but also of the choir's several forays into the Tudor repertory. Since no new recording of Taverner's Western Wynde Mass has appeared in the interim, and New College's performance is full of assurance, there need be no hesitation in welcoming it into the CD catalogue.
Higginbottom's sensible speeds and unobtrusive, stylish interpretation allow the music to speak for itself, a virtue that extends to the selection of antiphons and motets by Tallis and Taverner that follow the Mass. Admittedly, for the Tallis works, competition from elsewhere is now strong. But most of the alternatives are sung by professional mixed-voice choirs, and if the sound of boy trebles is an important consideration, then this record and New College's complementary all-Tallis CD (4/87) must still be reckoned first choices. Some listeners may lament the relatively weak enunciation of the words and the odd patch of wayward tuning, but to my ears the choir's relaxed sostenuto phrasing and clean, unfussy style of singing more than compensate.'