More Youthful Splendor

Heavenly Harmonies
Stile antico
Harmonia Mundi, HMU807463
2008

Music of Thomas Tallis and William Byrd

***

This is the second release by young British vocal group stile antico. Their first, 2007's Music for Compline, heralded the arrival of a spectacular group of young singers specializing in the great choral works from England's Tudor period.

This present effort builds on every success of that first thrilling release, contrasting the simple hymn tune settings of Thomas Tallis with the more elaborate contrapuntal essays of William Byrd. It's an excellent contrast, though I find I'm especially taken with these very direct tunes of Tallis. Like Bach's fantastic harmonization of the Lutheran hymns with which he worked daily, there's a sense here of Tallis reaching out across hundreds of years, bridging time and style and circumstance to make an eternal musical statement. The Byrd is lovely too, of course--and as flawlessly presented--but his manner is a bit more ornate and, like the floridness of Shakespeare's language to our modern ear, takes a bit more acclimation. This is meant as no criticism, and the toggling between the two styles seems most effective.

The group seems a bit more closely recorded on this CD. The room is there, but in a supporting role. The benefit is that of being able to hear the individual voices--the singers sound almost as though they were collected in your music room for a private concert; but this intimacy comes at the cost of a touch of mystery and atmosphere. But in the Tallis especially a chamber sound seems very appropriate.

As with Music for Compline, I cannot but note how beautifully these young men and women blend together, and how mature and searching their interpretations are. In that they work without the guiding vision of a conductor, this sense of unity seems even more impressive.

I look eagerly forward to their next offering.

Youthful Old School

Music for Compline
Stile Antico
Choral music of Tallis, Byrd, Sheppard, Aston and White
Harmonia Mundi, HMU907419

***

Stile antico is a group of young British singers specializing in Renaissance and early baroque repertoire. I don't remember how I learned of them, though I suspect I heard a profile of the group on NPR (which is credited for launching this present CD to No. 1 in an instant). But however I heard of them, I made a mental note to look for their CD when I next found my way into a good music store. But with classical music pretty much gone from the big stores I run across in the course of my work week, I eventually caved in and downloaded the CD from iTunes.

And what a debut disc. They have chosen from a rich catalog of English Tudor heavy hitters, with 17 tracks of Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, John Sheppard and Robert White.

One can't help feeling a giddy sense of accomplishment for these dozen young men and women, who have put their heads together and come up with a life-changing plan. Certainly they have excellent role models to follow, with London being the home of numerous choirs and top-shelf vocal ensembles and the schools which produce them: the Hilliard Ensemble, Pro Cantione Antiqua, Polyphony, Oxford Camerata, the Monteverdi Choir and the Tallis Scholars come immediately to mind, and there are amazing school and church choirs everywhere. It says something fabulous about London that a new group can arise in 2007 in the midst of so much existing and established talent.

All the members of stile antico are actively engaged in study, or have recently embarked upon professional careers as singers and instrumentalists, performing in concerts and ensembles and in movie sountracks. There must be a certain critical mass wherein a cultural element like this becomes self-sustaining, as one could not make a living in this way except in a few special places. I would give my eye teeth to belong to such an ensemble (wanting only for talent and youth and expertise and geography; baby steps).

Stile antico sound on this recording as though they've been singing together for years, which is even more impressive in that they work without a conductor. They approach individual pieces as chamber musicians with everyone offering their input, yet manage to produce a highly polished product. They handle the material with professional confidence, and their blend and intonation are beyond reproach. If you don't like this recording, you're not going to like the material no matter who performs it.

The recording is first-rate, though one of the casualties of the iTunes purchase is information about where the disc was recorded (this is not a priority for most people, I know, but it's something I like to know, along with the producer and engineer, and the recording equipment). But the recording itself is where the rubber meets the road, and this one is a rare treat.

Highly recommended.