As they’ve done on many previous recordings for ASV, The Clerks’ Group offers first-rate performances of some of the finest early vocal works, this time sacred and secular pieces based on a late-15th century popular song, Fortuna desperata, (questionably) attributed to Antoine Busnois. Whoever wrote it, this is an immediately ingratiating work with two competing melodies, and it’s sung here to maximum effect by a perfectly balanced quartet–alto, two tenors, and bass. The other settings, including the magnificent mass by Josquin, are rich in texture, vibrant of harmony, and rhythmically engaging–all the elements characteristic of the highest standard of composition of this period. By far the most intriguing–and worth an immediate replay–is Matthaeus Greiter’s Passibus Ambiguis/Fortuna volubilis errat (“Fortune doth wander and flit and her steps one can never determine”), whose jumping melody, smooth-flowing harmonies, and dancing spirit are just plain irresistible. The Clerks’ Group consists of some of Britain’s best and most experienced vocal ensemblists, including Rebecca Outram, Lucy Ballard, Matthew Vine, and Edward Wickham, and their expertise shines brilliantly throughout this essential collection that also features three wonderful Josquin songs from Petrucci’s anthology Odhecaton. The sound brings the voices into relatively close presence but maintains overall balances while allowing individual timbres to shine through.
