Complete Josquin Masses Cycle
17 December 2007
Gimell Records and The Tallis Scholars are pleased to announce their intention to record Josquin's complete cycle of masses. These masterworks which, in the words of Peter Phillips, 'are each like a Beethoven symphony in scope', remain one of the ultimate challenges for a group specialising in renaissance polyphony. Intellectually and technically each one is an unrivalled achievement. The Tallis Scholars have been associated with Josquin's music since they won the Gramophone Record of the Year Award in 1987 with the Missa Pange lingua and the Missa La sol fa re mi - the only recording of Early Music ever to have won this prestigious award. A second award-winning CD was released in 1989 featuring Josquin's two masses based on the chanson L'homme armé.
The next album in the series will be available to download from the Gimell website from January 1st, 2008, and released on CD towards the end of February. It features the only two Masses by Josquin which are entirely based on canons; the Missa Sine nomine and Missa Ad fugam. Eventually, when completed, the set will run to nine discs, spanning the whole career of the Tallis Scholars and establishing a landmark in our understanding of the greatest renaissance sacred music.