Au Travail Suis / De Plus En Plus
The Tallis Scholars' exemplary contribution to the Ockeghem 500th anniversary commemoration in 1997 includes two four-voice Masses and the three-voice secular songs on which they are based. The first item on the disc,De plus en plus(written by Ockeghem's contemporary Binchois) gets a livelier performance than 14th-century chansons typically do; the Mass (which shares only a tenor melody with the chanson) is more subdued and gets an appropriately reverent reading.Au travail suisis one of Ockeghem's most beautiful secular works; its haunting opening phrase begins each movement of the Mass. Phillips and his singers give both works clear and convincing performances.--Matthew Westphal