Officium pro omnibus fidelibus defunctis

I bought this disc after my curiosity was aroused by fellow reviewer E.L. Wisty writing on UK Amazon, and despite my preference for Lassus' little-recorded five-part Requiem over the present four-voice work. Since I have no underlying objection to the use of 'colla parte' instruments in renaissance music – as long as it's well done – I was hoping I would like it more than ELW did. But I was wrong.It was basically a good idea for this German-based group, Capella Foccara, to record the original version of the work, including the 'Dies irae' sequence in alternating plainsong and polyphonic verses which was then omitted in later versions, and the work itself is of course very fine indeed. The low tessitura of this recording, sung by four voices - namely tenor, baritone, bass and basso profundo - gives it an appropriately sombre sound and atmosphere. But the instruments - three trombones, bass dulcian and organ - are too dominant and the ratio of five players to four singers just does not work well.The singing itself is on the whole stylish and expressive, but any sensitivity is compromised by the heavy-handed instrumental accompaniment. As a result, Lassus' music is deprived of much of its subtlety. The basso profundo does add a distinctive character to the ensemble sound, but on the other hand I strongly dislike the very edgy tone of the tenor.Two organ Intonazioni by Lassus' friend Andrea Gabrieli are interposed, although the organ is not beefy enough for my taste and thus sounds a bit weedy in comparison with the more substantial texture of the main work. There's also an instrumental piece half-way through, 'Quemadmodum desiderat', which I presume is a transcription of a motet by Lassus - but the booklet doesn't tell us.Booklet notes are interesting but rather brief, and Latin texts are provided plus translations into German. There are no timings given for the tracks or for the disc as a whole, but the answer to the latter is 44'26.

Recently rediscovered in an Augsburg library was a previously unknown version of Orlando di Lasso's Requiem for four voices, the oldest and undoubtedly the original. This setting unlike all subsequent transmissions includes the Dies Irae sequence (with extra text peculiar to southern Germany in the 15th & 16th centuries), and is a perfect fifth lower than all the later printed editions and in a very low register, and thus sung here by a quartet of tenor, baritone, bass and basso profundo.This sounded on paper like a very tasty prospect indeed, however the accompanying instrumentation, consisting of three sackbuts, dulcian and organ playing colla parte, whose presence can be justified as a performance practice of the era, does rather drown out the vocalists in the mix. Consequently I can't really get myself into this disc, which feels very much like a lost opportunity.The booklet notes are brief; sung texts are provided but with German translations only.