The Missa De beata Virgine was Josquin's most famous setting during the 16th century, and continues to be one of the compositions showing his innovation most clearly and elegantly.
Indeed, this is one of at least four quality recordings available of this mass. All in all, I prefer this performance to the others, but the choice is not as easy as it could be. Although some passages are excellent, others are too fragmented and even suffer a little in intonation compared to A Sei Voci's performance of Missa Ave Maris stella.
A Sei Voci has used a larger ensemble here, and sometimes this works against them in terms of blend and articulation. Other times, they have one of the best articulations I've heard for an ensemble this size. Another thing they've tried to do is give an individual coloring to various individual phrases. Sometimes this works better than others.
Similar comments on performance apply to the motets, and they definitely form an interesting selection. It is really the motets which make this program, however, as my response to the mass is modest at best (aside from its historical position). These are some of my favorites among his motets.
The plethora of track markers can be annoying in this release.
Todd M. McComb