Magnificat - Philippe Rogier II - The Times

Philip Cave's vocal group, Magnificat, continue their survey of the music of the short-lived Flemish composer Philippe Rogier with a fine account of two Masses. The Missae Philippus Secundus Rex Hispaniae is performed here with a regal accompaniment of cornets and sackbuts, but the more impressive work is the Missa Inclita Stirps Jesse, a parody of a motet by Jacob Clemens non Papa. Here, Rogier's closely canonic polyphony is infused with a real sensuality, heard at its ripest in the Agnus Dei. The sound these singers make is exquisite, Cave allowing inner voices to make their point whenever they have a point to be made.