The vocal quartet New York Polyphony has excelled with a fine vocal blend and programs of Renaissance and contemporary choral music that often touch on underrepresented repertory. So it is with this release of music from around 1500, which came on the scene just in time for the 2021 Easter season (it was recorded in 2018, not 2020 as stated online). Josquin is present, but only with a single piece, and the focus is on his much less often heard contemporaries and successor, Loyset Compère, Pierre de la Rue, and Adrian ...
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The vocal quartet New York Polyphony has excelled with a fine vocal blend and programs of Renaissance and contemporary choral music that often touch on underrepresented repertory. So it is with this release of music from around 1500, which came on the scene just in time for the 2021 Easter season (it was recorded in 2018, not 2020 as stated online). Josquin is present, but only with a single piece, and the focus is on his much less often heard contemporaries and successor, Loyset Compère, Pierre de la Rue, and Adrian Willaert. There are also two very well-chosen modern pieces by Andrew Smith and the likewise underrated Cyrillus Kreek, the forerunner of the popular contemporary school from Estonia. The one-voice-per-part forces of New York Polyphony may be an obstacle for some, inasmuch as this is not how Josquin was meant to be performed; the group's singing has a madrigalesque quality, and that's not everyone's cup of tea, but this might be the album to check out for those who have been wanting to...
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