The Clerks' Group, Edward Wickham - The Essential Josquin Des Prez (2007)

The Essential Josquin des Prez? Certainly, this single disc is an excellent introduction to the great Renaissance composer. Performed with singular intensity, complete sincerity, and total musicality by the Clerks' Group under the direction of Edward Wickham, the works selected here represent the full range of Josquin's genius. The five motets are densely contrapuntal yet absolutely lucid. The three chansons, though memorably melodic, are richly embellished with lush counter-melodies and effecting harmonies. The five movements drawn from five separate mass settings are at once intimately personal, luminously spiritual, and compositionally virtuoso. The three women and five men of the Clerks' Group have a lean tone, a clean ensemble, and a collective vocal blend as pungent as it is poignant. Wickham expertly sculpts textures and lovingly shapes phrases while always keeping the lines moving irresistibly toward the final cadence. In sum, this is surely an excellent introduction to Josquin, but the essential Josquin, like essential Palestrina or the essential Bach, is to be found only in the infinite glories and wonders of his collected works. Recorded in 1995 and 2001, Gaudeamus' digital sound is strong, direct, and close.