Dufay: Vasilissa, Ergo Gaude

“This recording focuses on sacred works by Dufay from a 15th-century manuscript preserved at Bologna and known as Q15. This is a complex source, compiled over a number of years in northern Italy, and containing a wide range of polyphonic repertory, including diverse works by the great Dufay.
This CD isn't in any sense a reconstruction, but a carefully selected anthology of not necessarily very familiar pieces by Dufay. Indeed, this is a really superb recording: vocal lines are well shaped and the sonorities achieved through accuracy of ensemble and pacing result in performances that are decidedly sensual, even dance-like, at times.
Just try the four-voice Gloria or the isorhythmic motet Supremum est mortalibus bonum, in praise of peace. This extraordinary work composed to commemorate the signing of a peace treaty between the Pope and Holy Roman Emperorelect in 1433 combines just about every musical technique and idiom available to a composer in the first half of the 15th century, complete with, in this interpretation by The Clerks' Group, improvised vocal flourishes on the block chords declaiming the names of the signatories.
Vocal agility – notably in the faster-moving upper parts of Inclita stella maris – and a text- centred intensity of projection are hallmarks of this excellent group: only in the three-voice setting of O beate Sebastiane, a plea for delivery from the plague, does the approach seem too cool.
Elsewhere, even in familiar texts such as the Sanctus, there's a real sense of engagement. If you've yet to discover the delights of Dufay, this is an excellent place to start; Dufay fans can't fail to be delighted.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010