In the Midst of Life – Music from the Baldwin Partbooks I

Following its nomination for a Gramophone Early Music Award in 2014, Contrapunctus releases an album of motets from the Baldwin Tudor partbooks, on the theme of mortality. Conducted by Owen Rees, the album includes Sheppard s epic ‘Media vita’ and works by Byrd, Parsons, Mundy, Teverner, Gerarde and Tallis, with Contrapunctus s own reconstructions of the missing tenor parts.
‘Whether you listen in Lenten penitence or in general hope of spiritual balm, the message is universal, the singing superb.’ Fiona Maddock The Observer, 29th March 2015 ————– **** ‘Throughout the disc, Contrapunctus offer some of the most unreservedly beautiful performances of Tudor polyphony of recent years with a near-perfect blend of young, flexible voices at the peak of their powers.’ –Ed Breen Early Music Today, June-August 2015’What an absolutely superb disc, both musically and musicologically … Extraordinary Music, gloriously performed!’ Early Music Review ——– GRAMOPHONE EDITOR S CHOICE ‘Contrapunctus are special … Choral blend is mossy-soft and balance immaculate’ Alexandra Coghlan – Gramophone, May 2015 ————- Performance: ***** Recording: **** BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE CHORAL AND SONG CHOICE ‘Contrapunctus really knows what to do with these pieces and from the very first item Byrd s Circumdederunt the tuning is superb and the ensemble rock solid. Moreover, Owen Rees s interpretations are revelatory and even visionary … because these performances are so accomplished we are not distracted from the music by blemishes of execution, and so are able to relish the development of compositional skill’ –Anthony Pryer BBC Music Magazine, August 2015BBC RADIO 3 CD REVIEW DISC OF THE WEEK ‘Anna and I were both absolutely mesmerised by the last piece … John Sheppard s remarkable Antiphon Media Vita … Contrapunctus has chosen quite a low pitch and that enhances the richness, and you ll hear the distinct vocal personalities in the group that Anna remarked on, as well as the slow, steady sense of pulse which we enjoyed, and the intriguing ambivalence between awe and fear, the vulnerability of the human condition.’ –Andrew McGregor BBC Radio 3 CD Review, 18th April 2015