Stile Antico – Josquin des Prez
Decca

The Brabant Ensemble and Stephen Rice – Josquin: Motets & Mass Movements
Hyperion

Workers restoring the Sistine Chapel in 1998 discovered a name roughly carved into the wall: “JOSQUINJ”. Chances are that it belongs to Josquin des Prez, briefly a singer in the papal choir, whose members had a long tradition of informal graffiti. Its presence there couldn’t be more apt for the most influential composer of his generation – a man whose name and works are carved into the history of choral music itself.

This year marks the 500th anniversary of Josquin’s death, and ensembles have been quick to seize the opportunity to celebrate a figure whose music is more often discussed than performed in the UK. It’s a strange blind-spot for a man whose works shepherded us from the Middle Ages through to the High Renaissance, a musician famously praised in one of Luther’s table talks as “… the master of the notes, which must do as he wishes, while other composers must follow what the notes dictate”.