Ockeghem: Missa Au Travail Suis / Missa de Plus en Plus / Binchois: Chanson- De Plus en Plus / Barbingant: Au Travail Suis

The Tallis Scholars' exemplary contribution to the Ockeghem 500th anniversary commemoration in 1997 includes two four-voice Masses and the three-voice secular songs on which they are based. The first item on the disc, De plus en plus (written by Ockeghem's contemporary Binchois) gets a livelier performance than 14th-century chansons typically do; the Mass (which shares only a tenor melody with the chanson) is more subdued and gets an appropriately reverent reading. Au travail suis is one of Ockeghem's most beautiful secular works; its haunting opening phrase begins each movement of the Mass. Phillips and his singers give both works clear and convincing performances. --Matthew Westphal