John Quinn
MusicWeb International
February 2011

The music is astonishingly concise: only two of the eighteen settings last for over five minutes in this performance. … there’s a great deal of vivid, dramatic music and The Tallis Scholars project it powerfully. For example, sample the bite in the singing of the words 'cum gladibus et fustibus' (‘with swords and clubs’) in the sixth Response, or again the anguish with which the singers impart, very rightly, the words 'Deus meus, ut quid me dereliquisti?' (‘My God, why have you forsaken me?’) in the eighth Response. The entire set contains some magnificent and deeply expressive music and it’s hard to imagine it could be better served than is the case here.

Victoria is one of the great masters of polyphony and these performances, recorded between the late 1980s and 2009, bring his music wonderfully to life. The singing is amazingly consistent and accomplished, which is testament to the exalted standards that Peter Phillips has set with The Tallis Scholars right from the outset. Even if you have some of these recordings in your collection, I’d urge you to take this opportunity to add the remainder by acquiring this box. The set includes the booklets that accompanied each original release, while the discs themselves are contained in sturdy and handsome cardboard slipcases. As consistent as the quality of the singing is the quality of the engineering. This collection of three excellent discs is, in fact, self-recommending.