“The Cardinall's Musick put the focus here on Fayrfax's Mass O bone Ihesu. Tragically, only a single voice survives of the antiphon that was probably its model, so in that respect their recording can't be complete, unless David Skinner is prepared to indulge in the massive and quixotic task of reconstruction for this and other fragmentary survivals. But we do have a glorious Magnificat built on the same materials, one of the most widely distributed of all early Tudor works. By far the most commanding performance here is of that Magnificat: wonderfully controlled and perfectly tuned. The group is slightly rougher in the mass and the Salve regina, a work that stands rather apart from the style we otherwise know from Fayrfax, and which may be one of his earliest surviving works. Intriguingly, this is the piece that seems to show the strongest debts to composers from the Continent (especially Brumel), giving important insights into the evolution of his music. Similarly, the three songs presented here, in performances that are skilled but slightly wooden, show a remarkable affinity with other mainland music, particularly that of Alexander Agricola. These little three-voice works, with their beautifully evocative texts, can without any doubt be counted among the glories of early Tudor music.”
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