Magnificat - Tallis - Independent on Sunday

So many groups now specialising in polyphony have been contracting in size, their sound getting leaner and leaner. Philip Cave has gone in the other direction with his Oxford-based ensemble, and even when they sing one to a part the sound is thick and rich. This disc isn't without problems, but if the Spem in Alium is oddly balanced, the chiaroscuro performances of the other motets compensate. Led by the dark and feminine tones of Patrick Craig, the ensemble give a sombre cloak of sound to the Lamentations, painting the destruction of Jerusalem in vivid, broad strokes.