Palestrina reviewed in The Times
Geoff Brown, The Times (14 January, 2025)
Palestrina, influential master of late Renaissance music, might be 500 years old this year: his exact birthdate is unknown. But even if he’s only 499, any celebration of his art is welcome, especially when the singers are the British group Stile Antico: 12 voices who sing without a director, typically forming a circle.
No matter how elaborate the counterpoint, there are no hesitations, no rough edges: even if there were, the echoing shroud of the London recording venue’s cathedral-like space (All Hallows Church, Gospel Oak) would lend a helping hand.
The main work is the majestic Missa Papae Marcelli, though some of the smaller pieces interspersed might bring more immediate delight. One is the motet Sicut cervus, tenderly simple and direct. Two others are Jublilate Deo and Laudate Dominum, both of which bounce around from word to word and one choral division to another, spreading nothing but joy.