Henry's Eight, Jonathan Brown - Orlandus Lassus: Penitential Psalms (1998) 2 CDs, Reissue 2006

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Henry's Eight, Jonathan Brown - Orlandus Lassus: Penitential Psalms (1998) 2 CDs, Reissue 2006

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For those who believe in Original Sin, Predestination or, for that matter, Karma, here's a two disc set of the complete "Penitential Psalms" of Orlandus Lassus fabulously performed by Henry's Eight and marvelously recorded by Hyperion. Gloomy but glorious works that hope for the best while assuming for the worst, Lassus' setting of seven fuliginously serious but spiritually salubrious Psalms of David are sure to send shivers down the spine of anyone with a pessimistic cast of mind. The acapella performances of the all-male – two countertenors, three tenors and three basses – Henry's Eight is darkly hued, strongly rhythmic, deeply soulful, very expressive and absolutely true to the late Renaissance agony of Lassus's music. While not perhaps the first place to start with for Lassus in a melancholy mood – try "The Tears of Peter" for the peak of harmonic anguish – Henry's Eight's recording Penitential Psalms belongs in every Lassus collection, especially as preserved in Hyperion's intimate and evocative sound.

Review by James Leonard, Allmusic.com

The sombre Holy Week texts brought music of powerful emotional intensity from Renaissance masters. Among them, according to Hyperion’s notes, ‘few could match Lassus’s innate ability to express the meaning of the text so clearly’. Jonathan Brown and Henry’s Eight support this assertion with illuminating accounts of the composer’s Penitential Psalms. The opposition of learned counterpoint (‘intellectum’) and a startling ‘uneducated’ cadence (‘non est intellectus’) in Beati quorum remissae and the vigorous depiction of God’s ‘hot displeasure’ in Domine, ne in furore tuo are just two among a multitude of highlights in the Eight’s subtle and flexible response to Lassus’s musical vivification of the word. The evident relish with which this ensemble savours the strikingly realistic imitation of musical instruments in the Laudate Psalms leavens the programme nicely. Musica Contexta communicates Palestrina’s dark, contemplative moods in his Maundy Thursday music effectively. Hypnotic waves of sound give the Hebrew letters the effect of historiated initials at the beginning of each section of the Lamentations, while sensitive phrasing in varied vocal groupings animates the narrative in the verses themselves. Despite some very fine singing, however, the close recording seems excessively rich, and the plainsong Responsoria are a shade too restrained. This group’s opulence works better in the Benedictus and ‘Miserere mei’, which stir genuine religious feelings. The Tallis Scholars display an exceptional expressive range on their disc of Lamentations. They reveal the harmonic piquancy in the scores of Ferrabosco and Tallis, and the warm, romantic textures in Brumel’s, with breathtaking clarity. Ultimately, their sensational vocal purity in settings by Palestrina and White – most notably in the ethereal lines of the soprano’s highest register – inspires elevated spiritual thoughts.

Review by BBC Music Magazine
PERFORMANCE: 5/5 SOUND: 5/5

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Henry's Eight, Jonathan Brown - Orlandus Lassus: Penitential Psalms (1998) 2 CDs, Reissue 2006

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Henry's Eight, Jonathan Brown - Orlandus Lassus: Penitential Psalms (1998) 2 CDs, Reissue 2006

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