Compère wrote in a wide variety of genres, from the frottola or more populist chanson, to the older tradition of chansons, plus innovative material in that courtly genre, motets, motet-chansons, Magnificats, cantus firmus mass cycles, and even mass-motet cycles. This program opens with a Magnificat setting, follows with a very fine motet-chanson, and ends with a motet of questionable attribution. In between, we get chansons, but bridging some of the styles mentioned above.
It's a worthwhile program throughout (except maybe the last track, which doesn't do much for me), and I welcome the focus on the secular music. The Orlando Consort is also an ensemble with a long history with Compère, his music appearing on five of their albums, this being the second devoted exclusively to him.
Nonetheless, the program is a bit arbitrary in its selection, although I don't know what else would be done, other than a larger collection. However, my issue is with the recorded sound, which focuses on the resonance of the highest voice, and makes much of the musical lines difficult to hear. This is especially problematic in hearing the more motivic sections, where balance is needed.
And now writing here a few years later, I guess I'm still troubled sometimes by the lack of "presence" to the recorded sound — as a practical matter of capturing my attention, if nothing else — but the program itself takes on greater weight, with Compère's style continuing to seem distinctive & specifically worthwhile.... (As this comment might already imply, though, it also takes longer to digest than most.) So this item does take on more stature with time.
Todd M. McComb Updated: 13 November 2022