Benevoli: Missae Angelus Domini & Dum complerentur

"This is surely peak I Fagiolini. Having enjoyed all of their large-scale recording projects so far - Striggio, Viadana, Monteverdi - this third and final instalment of Benevoli's 'Colossal Baroque' multi-choir Masses is quite superb. A quick recap if you're new to this: I Fagiolini turn 40 this year, and following a suggestion from musicologist Hugh Keyte, their director Robert Hollingworth has been editing multi-choir Masses by Orazio Benevoli (mid-17th-century, Roman, director of the Capella Giulia in St Peter's) as a three‑album anniversary project.

The two Masses on this third and final Benevoli album are for Easter and Pentecost. The Easter Mass, Missa Angelus Domini, seems to have been based on a motet that is now lost, so I Fagiolini open with an engaging Easter drama instead by the Venetian composer Alessandro Grandi, Plorabo die ac nocte - it's for four singers and comprises many drooping, lamenting phrases that make huge demands of each singer's range. Grandi creates a stark expression of grief (and shock, frankly) setting Mary Magdalene's words 'they have taken away my Lord', and thanks to a flexible, responsive performance these words hit home strongly." Gramophone Editor's Choice