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Magnificats 1-4

Beating Time

MAGNIFICATS 1-4
Nicolas Gombert
The Tallis Scholars, dir. Peter Phillips
CD Gimell 2000. 54 mins. £15.00

The name Nicolas Gombert (c. 1495 - c. 1560) may well be new to you music lovers - it certainly was to me! Alongside the famous names of Renaissance polyphonic music such as Palestrina, Tallis, Byrd, and so on, a lesser-known school of Flemish composers of whom Gombert is one, also flourished.

His best work was a group of eight settings of the song of Mary, recorded in the New Testament and often recognised by the name 'Magnificat', this being the first word of the Latin translation of the passage in question. He wrote one 'Magnificat' for each tone, or note of the musical scale as recognised at the time, and this CD contains a recording of the first four of these, along with the brief plainchant antiphons that would have accompanied the singing of the canticle in the liturgy of the time. In common with virtually all renaissance music, the settings are in Latin, but a full translation is provided, and, in any case, the passage will be very familiar to most EN readers. The music is very beautiful indeed and although the polyphonic style and pre-Reformation ambience may not be to all tastes, I think that this important biblical song is given a reverential treatment.

In this recording the artists are perhaps better known than the composer! The Tallis Scholars have been at the forefront of choral excellence for around 20 years now, and I would venture to say that they are probably the best performers of this kind of music anywhere in the world. Their singing here is quite superb, both vigorous and serene as required, and full justice is done to the composer's intentions. The plainchant is immaculately performed, revealing the extraordinary beauty of this most ancient and simple of musical forms, while the polyphony is quite simply as good as it gets. For fans of this genre, this recording is a must!

Simon Brennan, Charterhouse