Rue, P: Vexilla regis

October 2000

“The 'deserve-to-be-better-known' group of composers is a large one, populated by countless rather tiresome strugglers. But Pierre de la Rue (d 1518) is a genuine exception. His breathtaking music was mainly composed for a string of Burgundian-Hapsburg rulers including Marguerite of Austria and the Holy Roman Emperor Maxmillian. This is complex and deeply expressive music. The Easter Mass is paced well with a clear sense of the overall architecture, with some fine individual singing in the 'Benedictus qui vent' section of the Sanctus.”