Nicolas Gombert, Oxford Camerata, Jeremy Summerly - Magnificat l, Salve Regina
STYLE: Choral RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 16101- LABEL: Naxos Early Music 8557732 FORMAT: CD Album ITEMS: 1 RRP: £4.99
Reviewed by Steven Whitehead
I will not burden you with the nasty details surrounding Nicolas Gombert's life story other then to tell you that he was dismissed from the service of the Emperor Charles V and sent to row in a galley. But despite his personal shortcomings Gombert's skills as a composer led to a pardon. It was his series of settings of the Magnificat that brought about his rehabilitation and the fist of these is on this CD. At a superficial level Gombert is the musical link between Josquin and Palestrina but a closer analysis of his work shows that he is too important to dismiss in this way. Some of his music shows its origins in Plainchant but he moves on from this starting point and adds more and more vocal lines until the music takes flight. The Oxford Camerata copes with these complexities with apparent ease so that the oft-repeated illustration of the swan gliding serenely across a lake comes to mind: on the surface all is gracefully smooth but underneath the legs are working very hard. Whether your interest is in musical history or contemporary choral singing you will find much to appreciate on this budget-priced release.
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