Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Bernard Fabre-Garrus, his A Sei Voci ensemble and the musicologist Jean Lionnet, with their characteristic concern for authenticity, pored over the writings of Gregorio Allegri's contemporaries and rediscovered a lost world within the original sources when the Renaissance was moving into the Baroque era. In 1993 they restored what they believed to be the original intent of the piece in this unique interpretation, true to the tradition of improvised ornamentation, with its inventive, blossoming lines. The surprises do not stop there, because A Sei Voci inserts between their "authentic" version and the traditional, more familiar version as performed over the centuries, other forgotten works by Allegri composed for liturgical services in the Pontifical Chapel in Rome. Bernard Fabre-Garrus died in 2006 and A Sei Voce disbanded some five years later but this budget re-issue ensures that they will not be forgotten just yet. Curiously both releases remain available, the older 1994 full priced one being available as a download for those who prefer to buy digitally.

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