Utopia Triumphans

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
A greatly expanded Huelgas Ensemble performs here a collection of multivoice works--pieces that are often referred to but, for logistical reasons, rarely performed. Tallis's famous Spem in alium non habui for 40 voices is here, of course; so is the piece that inspired it, Striggio's 40-voice Ecce beatam lucem. Also included are two extraordinary canons: Ockeghem's 36-voice Deo gratias and Josquin's 24-voice Qui habitat--as well as relatively modest pieces for 13 to 16 voices by Porta and Gabrieli. Spem has had livelier performances (try the Tallis Scholars on Gimell), but none of the others have been recorded elsewhere at all, let alone as well as this. You're not likely to hear them in concert, either, so check this disc out. --Matthew Westphal

Tracks:

Spem in alium - Thomas Tallis
Sanctus, Agnus Dei - (from the `Missa Ducalis`)
Qui habitat (Psalm 90) - Josquin Desprez
Deo gratias
Laudate Dominum
Exaudi me Domine - Giovanni Gabrieli
Ecce beatam lucem

Amazon.com

A greatly expanded Huelgas Ensemble performs here a collection of multivoice works--pieces that are often referred to but, for logistical reasons, rarely performed. Tallis's famous Spem in alium non habui for 40 voices is here, of course; so is the piece that inspired it, Striggio's 40-voice Ecce beatam lucem. Also included are two extraordinary canons: Ockeghem's 36-voice Deo gratias and Josquin's 24-voice Qui habitat--as well as relatively modest pieces for 13 to 16 voices by Porta and Gabrieli. Spem has had livelier performances (try the Tallis Scholars on Gimell), but none of the others have been recorded elsewhere at all, let alone as well as this. You're not likely to hear them in concert, either, so check this disc out. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews:

Well-balanced choral work .......2007-05-28

I admit I bought two versions of Spem In Alium performed by Huelgas Ensemble and the Tallis Scholars. There are strong and weak points in both of the recordings but what strike me most about the Huelgas' interpretation, like other reviewers covered in this review portion (and I completely agree), is its balanced performance of the piece. I could actually hear the forty voices without "drowning" and outdoing each other, unlike the Tallis Scholars' recording. However, some parts of the choral (I'm referring to Spem only) are kind a bit sloppy and technically inferior as compared to the Tallis Scholars' version. Example of this is in the portion of "ET OMNIA PECCATA HOMINUM" followed by a pause and "IN TRIBULATIONE" where the Tallis Scholars captured it best. The portion "RESPICE" is almost a whisper in the Huelgas' recording while the Scholars' interpretation of it is like Tchaikovsky's cannons in his 1819 (is the date right?) Overture, which in my opinion, is the proper interpretation (it is one of the high points of the piece, by the way) and Huelga misses this one. All in all I will rate the Scholars' performance 4 stars for its technicality and 4 stars to Huelgas' for its balanced performance. I'm just wondering if Alessandro Striggios' 60 part choral "Sanctus" survived will give these fine performers something to look forward to recording. I bet it will make Handel look like a first grader in music!!!

Utopia very much Triumphans.......2007-01-23

This magnificent recording is sure to delight all lovers of Renaissance a capella performance. The voices come over clearly and brightly with the interplay of parts easily heard in every piece. The information provided with the CD is sufficiently detailed to more than adequately place the pieces within both historical and musical context. Several of the works (Porta's 'Sanctus', Manchicourt's 'Laudate Dominum') are, I think rarely heard but hold their own well with the more frequently heard works Desprez, Ockeghem and Gabrieli. Of particular interest to me is the performance of Striggio's rarely heard forty part motet Ecce beatam lucem. The opportunity to compare and contrast this fine work with Tallis' own (and much performed) forty part motet Spem in alium is greatly enhanced by the performance notes.

One of the few essential recordings of Renassance polyphony.......2005-05-28

Paul van Nevel and the Heulgas Ensemble convey an intensely intimate yet ultimately powerful impression with this collection of gigantuan polyphonic works of mind boggling contrapunctal complexity. If you thought that some of Bach's four part counterpoint was exceedingly complex then try to get your mind around the fact that here you will find 12 voice, 24 voice - all the way up to 40 voice counterpoint! The audacity of such complexity is infinitely fascinating and utterly hypnotic. Though the mind may boggle in trying to follow the kaleidoscopic display of infinitely complex part writing, these are yet works of just enormous immediacy of emotional and spiritual appeal that makes them a far cry from the academic works they might seem to appear. These works are a testimony to the fact the composers of the Renaissance are every bit the equal of their peers in other arts such as painting and architecture, for in turns of the sheer phenomenal complexity of that these rich works display, the world has never since seen their equal.

The richer sounds of this continental European ensemble in comparison to the relentless purity of English groups is also highly welcome. As usual Paul van Nevel encourages a vocal sound that comes more from the chest giving a darker hued color that also has great expressive warmth. There is no attempt to artificially brighten up the upper registrars by doubling the soprano parts for example. In an age dominated by Cambridge style English cathedral style singing from groups which can sometimes start to sound all the same, it is wonderful to hear a group that dares to occupy so unique and distinctive a sound world as theirs.

The Spem in Alium is a good case in point for the performance here is wonderful and quite unique. As for the claim that this performance of the 'Spem in Alium' is somehow weak, you can safely ignore that. Yes, the Tallis Scholars are still excellent too but there is a place for a less ostentatious and relaxed-intimate 'chamber' approach to this music. The performers even stood forming a circle in church to record these works. Warm and understated poetic intimacy are wonderful virtues that the Huelgas Ensemble always convey in abundance.

In all this is one of the absolutely essential recordings of Renaissance polyphony. It is a must have for anyone who loves fine music and it you only own one recording of Renaissance polyphony this might well be it. It certainly has a firm place on my desert island collection.

intellectual exercise (yawn).......2004-04-12

Kudos to this group for recording these works. However I can't remember a duller performance of Spem in alium. I have performed the work three times and own several recordings of it. Whether or not you buy this CD depends on your reason for wanting it. If you want to own one recording of Spem in alium, this is not the CD you want. Get the Tallis Scholars' recording instead. If you love polyphony and are looking for a good listening experience, depending on your taste, this one might do, especially if you are looking for something relaxing (i.e., something to put you to sleep). If you are a musicologist with an intellectual interest in multichoral polyphony, and just want to hear the works, and want a performance that is correct, and don't need it to be exciting, this recording is worth the purchase.

Great for meditation.......2003-11-27

Originally having acquired this album shortly after its release in the mid-1990s after having read a magazine review, I must say that over the years this piece has stood the test of time as part of my music collection. The following is the original review I read, which was written by Barbara Eisner Bayer: "Imagine yourself in an enchanted forest where, from every direction, above and below, you're surrounded by voices - 40 in all - attacking your senses, each with an independent line. From the 40-voice motets by Tallis and Striggio to the simpler(!) 36-, 24-, and 14-voice pieces, this one-of-a-kind recording shakes your body and induces ecstatic revelry. The sound is luxuriously top-heavy, occasionally too bell-like, and small movements become lost. Because of the massive swelling when all voices sing simultaneously, individual lines tend to dive into the pool of sound, unable to claim a personal identity. This dizzying compilation of Winnebago-sized choral pieces will be exhilerating to some, a bad trip to others, but a must hear for all." Very accurately said. And, in addition to this album being an extremely high quality recording, and an excellent reading and meditation companion, I was surprised to find that the lyrics, in a language I have not read much since junior high school (Latin), are actually beautiful prayers. For example, this piece opens up with "Spem in alium": "I have never had hope in anyone but Thee, God of Israel, Thou who grow angry and will hear prayer. Thou eliminate all the sins of men in tribulation. Lord God, Creator of heaven and earth, look down upon our humility." If you enjoy choral or polyphony, this is an album you will not want to dismiss.