Although the marginal sound quality makes a poor first impression, this is a workman-like performance of some fine music. This long-established ensemble chose to rededicate itself to La Rue, and while I had some grand dreams of excellence left unfulfilled, the performance does manage to be worthwhile.
The program itself is superb, perhaps the best devoted to La Rue, and certainly took a notable step (at the time) by moving into unrecorded portions of his oeuvre. It continues to illustrate some of his most variety-filled music.
Although the voices can sometimes be grating in this performance, the Missa de Septem Doloribus is particularly fluid & majestic in a way not accomplished by other composers. The Missa Pascale presents a tighter motivic world, which seems to spin in on itself in development, capturing a distinctive sense of unity derived from so many different themes. There the performance seems a bit more polished.
Todd M. McComb