Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

The award-winning vocal ensemble Stile Antico's seventh recording focuses on the dramatic events of Holy Week, retracing in music the journey from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday via Good Friday. 12 different composers from England and the Continent are represented in an enthralling and beautifully sung programme. At the heart of the disc are twin settings of a medieval carol, carol here being used in its original sense of music sung at home rather than in an organised Christian service at church or in a monastery. The song is "Woefully Arrayed" and the settings are by William Cornysh (1465-1523) and one commissioned for Stile Antico in 2009 by the British composer John McCabe (born 1939) and recorded here for the first - but surely not the last - time. In all there are 13 pieces on the album, with McCabe being the only living composer and yet Stile Antico manage to breathe new life into all of them. Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) is the one to get two credits, with "Hosanna To The Son Of David" and "I Am The Resurrection And The Life" and the fact that he set his texts in English marked an important turning point in English church history as Latin was now being relegated to use only in places such as Oxbridge chapels where the language was still understood. William Byrd (1540-1623) remained loyal to Rome and continued to set Latin texts; his "In Resurrectione Tua" is included here. The debate over which language should be used in worship continues to this day although now the question includes whether we should use the vernacular English that is spoken on the street or a higher "Church English" taken from the Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible. It is not the place to engage in this debate in a review but be assured that whether you can follow the Latin or not the vocal mastery of Stile Antico allows the meaning to come through, whichever language they use. There is an excellent video clip that makes this point on www.stileantico.co.uk. At the time of writing (December 2012) Stile Antico have sold out at London's prestigious Wigmore Hall. Clearly the group is destined for great things and if you cannot get to the concert, get this CD.

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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