Beyond Chant: Mysteries Of The Renaissance
Go right to the first track and prepare for one of the most masterful and stylish  performances of Palestrina that you'll ever hear. It's not flashy music nor is the singing  especially virtuosic, but the unified phrasing, ideal balance among sections, and overall ensemble  technique is impressive, and Palestrina's little motet simply opens and displays itself like a beautiful  flower. The rest of the program, which includes a variety of beautiful flowers from composers such  as Josquin, Sweelinck, and Tallis, maintains the same standard. Anyone looking for an introduction  to Renaissance sacred choral music will find much here to encourage further exploration--standards  like Byrd's "Ave verum corpus" and Victoria's "O magnum mysterium"-- and lesser known tiny masterpieces such as Victoria's "Jesu, dulcis memoria." The  Voices of Ascension ranks with the world's finest choirs, and this recording reflects both the  highest standard of choral singing and the highest standard of choral composition during the  Renaissance.--David Vernier