Kyrie, the Missa Entre vous filles is Lassus at this freshest and most telling, and the Sanctus is particularly beautiful. The Missa Susanne un jour, however, is more ambitious, based on what Jeremy Summerly describes as ‘the most famous song of the 16th century—the l’homme arme of its day’. Moreover, as it deals with the Apocryphal Susanna who was accused of wanton behaviour by two elders after she had spurned their sexual advances, this was just the sort of parody model that had caused the Council of Trent to be upset, two decades earlier. However, it inspired Lassus to his richest polyphony, and many of his celebrants may not have been aware of the implications of the original chanson’s text.

This cycle of 21 spiritual madrigals for seven voices is at once the swan song of the most famous composer of his time, who died in 1594 at the age of 62 just three weeks after dedicating the work to the Pope, and the high point of Counter-Reformation polyphony. More than four centuries later, Philippe Herreweghe's superb performance of the Lagrime di San Pietro proves that the work still has the power to touch the hearts of sensitive listeners.

Lassus made this setting of the Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah for the monastery of Benediktbeuren in 1585. In its composition, he adhered to the directive of the Council of Trent that polyphony be simplified so that the meaning of the text would not be lost in a sea of contrapuntal complexity. Lassus also retreated from the more adventurous harmonic language of his youth, and the result is a work of clarity and directness in which the words are clearly comprehensible. The nine motets that make up the piece were written to be sung on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday of Holy Week. They are consistently subdued and solemn in tone, intended for quiet meditation.

The Cantiones Sacrae are the swan-song of one of the great masters of the motet, crowning his life's work. In them, Orlande de Lassus deploys with sovereign ease the essence of his art. The complex technique of vocal polyphony he employs illuminates the nuances of the text as closely as possible. In these works, we have the ideal balance between 'head' and 'heart' - a feature found in most of the greatest artistic masterpieces. Philippe Herreweghe has long been considered one of the foremost interpreters of the music of Lassus. Here he leads his hand-picked choral ensemble, Concerto Vocale, in definitive readings of these seminal works of the Renaissance choral repertoire.

Although there are several other recordings of this set of “religious madrigals” (as Orlando di Lasso himself called these settings of texts by the Italian poet Luigi Tansillo), this one seems to most satisfyingly capture both the abundantly rich sonorities and the ardent and surprisingly consoling mood of Lasso’s music. Although the text concerns the apostle Peter’s remorse after denying his Lord three times–drawing its cue from the Biblical passage “And Peter went out, and wept bitterly”–it’s presented as a rather complex drama that dwells not on specifics of events but more on the psychological aspects of Peter’s situation, as he realizes the full depth of his betrayal and the reach of his Master’s love.

The Huelgas-Ensemble presents another superbly sung, thoughtfully programmed recording that offers for our consideration what conductor Paul Van Nevel describes as “the three major styles of the Renaissance”, represented by Roman, Franco-Flemish, and English Late Gothic masses. It’s easy to understand the choice of Palestrina (Roman) and Lassus (Franco-Flemish)–but with Thomas Ashewell we truly have a horse of a different color, stylistically for sure, but also one with the most meager catalog (only two extant complete works, according to Van Nevel). The term “late Gothic” as applied to musical style also is not a common one, but Van Nevel obviously has carefully–and probably cleverly–chosen to demonstrate its aspects with Ashewell rather than with a more familiar yet more commonly heard contemporary composer such as Cornysh, Fayrfax, or Carver.

Jérôme Lejeune continues his History of Music series with this boxed set devoted to the Renaissance. The next volume in the series after Flemish Polyphony (RIC 102), this set explores the music of the 16th century from Josquin Desprez to Roland de Lassus. After all of the various turnings that music took during the Middle Ages, the music of the Renaissance seems to be a first step towards a common European musical style. Josquin Desprez’s example was followed by every composer in every part of Europe and in every musical genre, including the Mass setting, the motet and all of the various new types of solo song. Instrumental music was also to develop considerably from the beginning of the 16th century onwards.