Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

There are more than a few gaps in Jean Richafort's biography but the key fact is that he was a pupil of the great Josquin Desprez (1455-1521). Our man was born on one side or the other of the Franco-Flemish frontier some time around 1480 and followed the standard career path of a professional composer of the 16th century, attaching himself to wealthy patrons both sacred and secular. He was relatively prolific and well respected by his contemporaries with Mouton, Morales, Gombert and Palestrina basing Masses on his music. He died around the year 1547 and compositionally was of his time rather than being an innovator. The CD under review is a budget re-issue of one released in 2002 (Harmonia Mundi 901730). The Huelgas-Ensemble is based in Belgium and is directed by Paul Van Nevel. He prefers to double up his vocalists and uses female singers for the high parts so the approach is not quite authentic and if this bothers you then perhaps you should look away now. However to my ears this sounds very good indeed and those who enjoy Josquin Desprez and his contemporaries will certainly enjoy this one too. The 'Requiem in memoriam Josquin Desprez' itself lasts 35 minutes so we need something interesting to fill the remainder of the disc. This comes in the form of six Motets, including a rather nice "Salve Regina", and with several arresting changes of style. Yes, it is more than a little obscure but the expertise shown by Van Nevel and his Ensemble makes it worthwhile and the super budget price should help tip the balance in its favour.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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