Utopia triumphans

Utopia triumphans

A greatly expanded Huelgas Ensemble performs here a collection of multivoice works--pieces that are often referred to but, for logistical reasons, rarely performed. Tallis's famous <I>Spem in alium non habui</I> for 40 voices is here, of course; so is the piece that inspired it, Striggio's 40-voice <I>Ecce beatam lucem</I>. Also included are two extraordinary canons: Ockeghem's 36-voice <i>Deo gratias</i> and Josquin's 24-voice <i>Qui habitat</i>--as well as relatively modest pieces for 13 to 16 voices by Porta and Gabrieli. <i>Spem</i> has had livelier performances (try the Tallis Scholars on Gimell), but none of the others have been recorded elsewhere at all, let alone as well as this. You're not likely to hear them in concert, either, so check this disc out. <I>--Matthew Westphal</I>