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Missa Surge propera. Seven motets Talus Scholars / Peter Phillips Gimell ® CDGIM040; ® GIMSA540 (67' • ODD • Tit) The Scholars turn their well-known skills to a lesser-known Spaniard

Iberian polyphony has been a mainstay of the Tallis Scholars' repertory and it was only a matter of time before they got round to Guerrero. Peter Phillips remarks that he is one of the composers whose style is most similar to Palestrina, more so in fact than his younger contemporary Victoria; the music offered here would appear to support his claim. Certainly Phillips would be the last person to resist recording his most lavishly scored Mass, the six-voice Surge propera. The Scholars manage to keep the texture light, without sacrificing anything in the way of richness. It is a very skilful, immediately attractive setting.

Even more impressive are the seven motets that make up the rest of the programme. They show off Guerrero's confidence in handling a variety of scorings, formal strategies and moods: the penitential in Usquequo, Domine and Hei mihi, Domine, and the celebratory in the concluding Regina caeli, of which the singers give a particularly resonant performance. Those for whom Guerrero's name is not as familiar as it deserves to be would do well to hear his Ave Maria, whose echoes of previous settings of the famous plainchant give an idea of Guerrero's selfconfidence. On this showing, the sentiment was not misplaced. Fabrice Fitch