The small choir Stile Antico has generally offered fine releases that distinguish themselves in several ways. The group is conductorless, which lends its work, here and elsewhere, a subtle feeling of interaction between the individual singers. Stile Antico also has shown a gift for bringing quite specialized Renaissance repertories to life and making them accessible to general audiences. The singers cultivate a tone with an edge that sets them apart from the other choirs of Oxford-Cambridge collegiate-cathedral background ...
Read More
The small choir Stile Antico has generally offered fine releases that distinguish themselves in several ways. The group is conductorless, which lends its work, here and elsewhere, a subtle feeling of interaction between the individual singers. Stile Antico also has shown a gift for bringing quite specialized Renaissance repertories to life and making them accessible to general audiences. The singers cultivate a tone with an edge that sets them apart from the other choirs of Oxford-Cambridge collegiate-cathedral background that might be termed their competition. The virtues are all present on The Golden Renaissance: Josquin des Prez, but there is something new here: there is nothing specialized about the repertory. For the observance of the 500th anniversary of the composer's death (admittedly a concept with only minor commercial potential), Stile Antico offers what might be called a Josquin greatest hits album, aimed squarely at general listeners. The program offers probably the single most popular...
Read Less
