This album from luminatus, a chamber choir based in the central UK, is named after the multi-sectioned motet of the same name by the obscure Renaissance composer Tiburto Massaino, although the repertoire includes both early and contemporary choral works. 

Perhaps the most significant work on this new recording is the Missa Iste sanctus pro lege by Spanish Renaissance composer Francisco Guerrero. Other than a live concert performance by the North American choral ensemble Blue Herron, I don’t know of another recording of this work by an established choir, so this is a welcome release for the Mass alone, as it is a fine piece. The performance here is cogent, varied, well thought out, and entirely convincing—quite a coup for this unheralded ensemble. 

The singing on this new album is consistently very good indeed, and luminatus—despite seemingly being made up of skilled amateur singers rather than professionals—is clearly well-versed in Renaissance performing practice. There is excellent connection within lines, as well as a convincingly projected sense of structure to their performances that often escapes even some far more widely known and high-profile groups. 

The recording here was clearly made in quite a large reverberant space, and this lies at the heart of the one criticism I would make of the group’s sound. In such spaces sibilant consonants can often come across too strongly, and this is the case here. It would be hoped that next time the singers record or perform in this space they could make up for this problem by actively limiting their sound produced on these consonants. I know for certain that this can be done, as I have faced the exact same issue myself in certain spaces, but it takes a concentrated effort. 

I had never heard of the Italian Renaissance composer Tiburto Massaino before, but I am afraid to say that, now having heard some of his music, this is not all that surprising. History mainly gets these sorts of things right (there have, of course been exceptions), and Massaino is not a lost master of the late 16th century. O beata Virgo Maria is not a bad piece, but it also exhibits very little of the mastery of even Massaino’s close contemporary Palestrina, whom I regard as the most overrated significant figure in all of 16th-century music. 

The rest of the music on this recording is written by living female composers. Cecelia McDowall should need no introduction to avid listeners of contemporary choral music, as she is a major figure under any criteria. The other two female composers, however, will be less well known. Australian Melissa Dunphy now lives and works in the United States, and her Magnificat and Nunc dimittis recorded here is a conservative setting utilizing modal influences. The music is quite enjoyable and would be very effective in a liturgical setting, I am sure, but it sounds a little stodgy here, relying as it does for most of the time on the text being delivered syllabically in a mostly quasi-homophonic manner. Kerensa Briggs’ Alma redemptoris mater is significantly more interesting in terms of texture, but both of these composers’ works are significantly overshadowed by the McDowall Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, with which this recital closes. McDowall also utilizes basically traditional techniques in her music, but she manages to create varied and interesting effects using these, as well as forging works which have convincing structural integrity. This is probably the characteristic that is so routinely missing in works by lesser composers. The performance here is good, although it might have been even more effective had a slightly faster tempo been adopted in the Magnificat. 

So, this is an enterprising and admirable disc, nicely recorded. The singing is very good without being of absolutely the first rank, but these musicians are worth hearing. Recommended.