Robert White - Hymns, Psalms & Lamentations (Gallicantus, Gabriel Crouch) 2009

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Robert White - Hymns, Psalms & Lamentations (Gallicantus, Gabriel Crouch) 2009

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Robert White - Hymns, Psalms & Lamentations (Gallicantus, Gabriel Crouch) 2009
MP3 320 CBR kbps | Tracks: 8 | 00:73:19 | 164 Mb + 3% Recovery
Genre: Classical, Renaissance, Choral | Label: Signum Classics

This is a very beautiful disc of Tudor church music and a very welcome addition to the slowly growing number of recordings of White's music. He lived from about 1530 to 1574 and so saw the huge religious upheavals of the time but remained a Catholic and continued to set Latin texts, some of which are presented here.

The music is distinctively Tudor, with wonderful sonorities and some very expressive word setting and shows why White has been receiving rather more attention in recent years. Gallicantus sing it beautifully. They are an all-male choir of experienced singers who pitch the music fairly low with countertenors taking the top lines, giving the great sonorities a real depth and thrilling weight. They record in a very resonant acoustic so the overall sound is lovely, and they have the technique and engagement with the music to make it really glow with both meaning and beauty.

The Tallis Scholars made an excellent disc of White's work in 1995 and it is interesting to compare the two. The Tallis Scholars sing higher and with their usual laser-like precision, making the individual lines very clear but beautifully blended. Gallicantus's sound is warmer and a little fuzzier because of the pitch and acoustic but equally beautiful. Personally I'd recommend both even though there is some overlap in repertoire - notably the substantial setting of Lamentations.

You can't go wrong with this disc if you have any interest in this repertoire: it's beautiful music, superbly sung and recorded. The presentation is attractive and the notes by the excellent Sally Dunkley (who sang on the Tallis Scholars' disc) are very interesting. Very warmly recommended.