A Worthy Tie In To A Fine TV Series

The current BBC Music magazine cover disk is an excellent release, titled Renaissance Choral Music and featuring works by Allegri, Palestrina, Anerio and Byrd in performances by The Sixteen conducted by Harry Christophers, Stile Antico and the Rose Consort of Viols recorded at the York Early Music Festival. I presume that the disk has also been selected to tie in with the superb BBC4 television series Sacred Music that covered Papal Rome and Tudor England as well as the Notre Dame school and Bach. The disk kicks off with Allegri's Miserere, the famous and much disputed piece. It seems clear that the version now commonly performed bears little resemblance to anything Allegri originally wrote but it remains an affecting piece of music whatever the legitimacy of it. The Sixteen sing it here and the solo top C's, proved to be a modern addition, are handled with aplomb. It is good that there are other pieces by Allegri on the disk that are certainly all his own work. These are also sung by the Sixteen, as are the Magnificat by Anerio and the Gloria from the Missa Papae Marcelli by Palestrina, all examples of the Roman papal style of the 16th cenury. There are three selections by Byrd sung here by Stile Antico and these are combined with three instrumental In Nomines played by the Rose Consort of Viols. All playing and singing of the highest quality and worthy of a commercial release.