Chromatic Renaissance
Exaudi Vocal Ensemble, James Weeks
9102932 Winter&Winter
"Strange harmonies, mysterious voices…" one can go wild with marketing this area of the Renaissance but it’s not always so alien, it's still polyphony or expressive homophony just with wiggly chromatic bits and the type of tuning that in the absence of an oscilloscope sounds like a kaleidoscope of colourful hues. [...]
Exaudi really are one of the best-situated ensembles to sing this repertoire, they’re known for combining madrigalian mood-swings with eye-wateringly accurate tuning: and from the dart-like energy of their opening note of Lassus' Timor et Tremor, to his blazing last chord they clearly both know the rules, and what to do when a composer bends them. And they offer a great programme: Cipriano de Rore’s famous Calami sonum ferentes - with its opening that rises in semitones until your eyebrows are almost glued to the ceiling - is positively sumptuous, showcasing the lower voices to great effect with unmissable silver-toned tenors. Compared to The Huelgas Ensemble's ultra oak-toned reading (Oct/2014) and the recent instrumental version by Les Cris de Paris (Harmonia Mundi B HMA195 1760 recommended by Fitch, 03/25), this is a happy medium, sonorous yet detailed.
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To read the full text of this review please visit Gramophone.co.uk (October 2025)
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