Browne, J: Stabat Mater

“The 15th-century collection of sacred music known as the Eton Choirbook is regularly extolled but far less often performed. So three cheers to Antony Pitts’s subtly expressive choir Tonus Peregrinus...These ravishing melismas seem to lead the ear on and on towards eternity — as, probably, they were intended to do.” The Times, 4th August 2012 ****

“This new collection...is exceptionally successful and sonorous...the incomplete chant-based Matthew Passion by Richard Davy makes a strong centrepiece, while for sheer contrapuntal virtuosity you cannot beat the oddest piece, the final 13-part canon by Robert Wylkynson.” The Observer, 12th August 2012

“These performances are commendable, displaying unearthly breath control in the long phrases of works such as Kellyk's Magnificat, and great clarity of texture in the dense counterpoint typical of these pieces” BBC Music Magazine, October 2012 ****

“listeners need not expect the crystalline textures of the specialist Tudor music groups in such music. The high-quality recording technique brings out quite a few different kinds of voice here, with different degrees of vibrato and different approaches to musical line; but, within those limitations, the CD is an undoubted success.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2012

“Unless you insist on boys’ voices rather than those of women, this mixed-voice choir deserves your surely delighted attention...At every turn these are fine performances, excellently recorded by Geoff Miles using new, experimental microphones with happy results.” MusicWeb International, April 2013

“By any other name, John Browne would surely be recognised as one of the very greatest English composers. The fact that fewer than 10 works survive intact in the Eton Choirbook (practically the only source transmitting his music anyway) only adds to his mysterious aura; the music sends normally dispassionate specialists reaching for superlatives. He stands head and shoulders above the other Eton composers, and it's high time he was accorded an anthology of his own. The discography of early polyphonic music has made such great strides that 'landmark' recordings are fewer and further between; yet this can hardly be described as anything else.
An index of Browne's stature is the variety of scorings he deploys. His eight-voice O MariaSalvatorismater was considered extraordinary enough to be given pride of place in the Eton Choirbook, and each of the three six-voice pieces included here is scored differently. No other Eton composer wrote so much six-voice music excluding trebles. Two of his pieces in this mould (Stabat iuxta Christi crucem and Oregina mundi) are here recorded convincingly for the first time. Phillips's line-up of men's voices (especially on the top lines) is as superb as Browne's must have been, for an exceptional keenness of focus is needed to prevent the thick texture from becoming stodgy; as it is, the sound of six parts jostling in a compass of under two octaves is thrilling.
But the pieces with trebles have long been reckoned Browne's masterpieces; as such, they have been recorded several times before. Phillips sees Browne as a mystical figure, and his choice of tempi in the Stabat mater and O Maria reflects this. His singers articulate it so convincingly as to suspend disbelief absolutely. The Tallis Scholars are to be heard at their best in this repertory; this recording confirms that. If you don't know Browne's music, you simply must hear this.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“the sheer beauty and crystalline perfection of these performances from the Tallis Scholars, with those high-flying treble lines so radiantly recorded, make this an unforgettable and richly rewarding experience.” Andrew McGregor, bbc.co.uk, 7th June 2005

“Here the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford choose five 15-minute masterpieces, including John Browne’s magnificent Stabat Mater. They sing without once betraying the technical difficulties of these intricate musical jigsaws, instead giving natural, spacious, rich, expressive performances.” Sunday Times, 19th July 2009 ****

“What makes this disc entrancingly fresh is its use of boy choristers: their translucence as a choir, their colours as soloists, and their easy swing through florid passages inject lightness into the choir books dense compositions.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2009 ****

“The Eton Choirbook ranks among the most difficult music composed to be sung by children… The trebles here excel, both as soloists and, just as remarkably, when several sing together on the same line.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2009

"Wonderful music, wonderfully performed ... sit back and let these glorious sounds fill your ears and lift your spirits" The Gramophone