On the back of the booklet of this recording are quoted my own words, published in Goldberg, concerning my wish that the Ensemble Jacquet de Mantoue’s first disc would be the first of many. Here I have my wish not only fulfilled, but my cup runneth over! Not only has the Ensemble chosen to record Jacquet’s beautiful Lamentations for Holy Week, but in addition the texts are superbly read in French by the actor Michael Lonsdale (I suspect that most British readers will recall him best from The Day of the Jackal). These come from the French translation of the Latin Bible (but with reference to the Greek) made by Jacques Lefèvre d’Etaples, published in Antwerp in 1530, and their stark beauty complements what one might call the "austere elaboration" of Jacquet’s music extremely well. Jacquet is a master of sonority; the Lamentations convey simultaneously a sense of desolation and a luxuriant richness. This has to do both with the composer’s strong harmonic sense and with his fascinating continuous treatment of melodic lines, a kind of constant expansion of a melodic germ that makes him sound like nobody else - astoundingly effective examples may be heard in the Lectio Tertia for Holy Thursday, for example.

The performances are splendid, both intimate and exultant, clearly springing from a profound empathy with this music, and are beautifully recorded. Calliope and the Ensemble Jacquet de Mantoue are bringing to life again an important composer, and must be warmly congratulated. Outstanding. IVAN MOODY