The vocal sextet Cinquecento are rapidly becoming one of the most admired early music ensembles recording today.
The lithe, clear yet rich and warm tones of the six singers are ideal for the complex polyphony from the 16th-century
Hapsburg court which they have made their speciality.
This latest release presents the music of Jacobus Vaet, repertoire they began to explore in their first disc for Hyperion
(Music at the Court of Maximilian II CDA67579). Vaet would undoubtedly be among the best-known composers of the
sixteenth century had he not died at the age of about thirty-seven. In his short career Vaet produced, among other
things, nine settings of the mass, and his Missa Ego flos campi, a parody Mass on an extraordinary motet by Clemens non
Papa (which also appears on the disc), is a notable example of his particular artistry. A fascinating selection of motets
demonstrates the composer’s vivid approach to word-setting and imaginative choice of texts.



Praise for DE MONTE Missa Ultimi miei sospiri CDA67658 GRAMOPHONE AWARDS SHORTLIST 2008:

‘An unusually gifted ensemble, both vocally and musically … Here is a group whose tone, vocal flexibility, collective and individual musicianship and
commitment to their chosen repertoire places them at the very forefront of modern-day specialists in the performance of Renaissance vocal music’
(International Record Review)

Praise for MUSIC AT THE COURT OF MAXIMILIAN II CDA67579:

‘Continuo lacrimas, Vaet’s gracious lament on the death of the composer Clemens non Papa, is a small masterpiece both in technique and emotional
resonance … Cinquecento is an all-male vocal ensemble with members drawn from five European countries … The voices are young, lithe, pure in
intonation and warm in timbre - in short, ideal for interpreting Renaissance polyphony. Their phrasing is supple, mellifluous and understated, while
always alert to the musical rhetoric … No lover of Renaissance polyphony should overlook this outstanding début recording’ (International Record
Review) ‘From this showing, Cinquecento would be well placed to advocate Vaet further. An all-male a cappella ensemble, they sound clear and
bright, and articulate the music lucidly’ (Gramophone) ‘[Vaet] The fine motets recorded here suggest that his skill in achieving the closest possible
union between text and music was comparable with that of Lassus. This is especially obvious in the darkly sonorous Videns Dominus, which tells the
story of the raising of Lazarus, with its slow sustained evocation of Jesus’s grief, and the climactic rising and falling scale figures symbolising the
opening of the tomb … Cinquecento’s six male voices produce a rich and expressive sound … this is a very promising debut disc’ (Daily Telegraph)