Mouton: Missa Dictes moy toutes voz pensees

When Tallis Scholars conductor Peter Phillips discovered the music of Jean Mouton, he was struck by the composer's unique musical language. Mouton was employed for most of his life at the French courts. His compositions underpin an incredible lyricism and sweetness of tone with music of the utmost in mathematical complexity. This combination was almost unparalleled and led Mouton to be routinely compared with Josquin in his lifetime. The most substantial work on the CD is Mouton's Missa Dictes moy toutes voz pensees. This piece stands out from the composers' other fourteen masses by having an Agnus Dei scored for three basses alone. There is no other music from the Renaissance period that we know of that was scored this way. The disc also includes the motet Quis dabit oculis, written as a funeral motet for his patron Queen Anne of Brittany and a work that stands out for its simplicity.