The young Oxford choir turns its immaculate ensemble, lucid diction and faultless tuning to an exciting find: a hugely neglected composer from the 16th century. Relatively little is known about Dominique Phinot’s life—there is a
suggestion that he was executed for homosexual practices, cutting short a productive and impressive composing career. Phinot’s output consists of over a hundred motets, two Masses, and settings of Vesper Psalms and the Magnificat, as
well as two books of French chansons and two Italian madrigals.

The acclaim with which his sacred compositions were received is evident both in the frequency of their publication as well as in the writings of his contemporaries. He was clearly renowned as a master of imitative polyphonic writing. The publication in Lyons during 1547/8 of two collections of Phinot’s motets secured his reputation for the rest of the century and beyond. Not only do the five-voice motets in the Liber primus mutetarum confirm his outstanding polyphonic skills but the Liber secundus contains five eight-voice works which are of considerable historical importance.
The latter are unique in the mid-sixteenth century in their treatment of double-choir dialogue, a technique in which two four-part ensembles normally alternate thematically related phrases of varying lengths. These works, of which four are included in this recording, are the antecedents of the resplendent Venetian polychoral tradition of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.

Praise for MORALES Magnificat, Motets and Lamentations CDA67694
‘Music of astonishing beauty and rapt polyphonic intensity, which the voices of The Brabant Ensemble unfold with perfect poise’ (The Guardian)

‘Rice and his ensemble reveal a composer of warmth and passion who could also write resplendently joyful music when required … the whole recital
is marked by an extraordinary unanimity of ensemble, security of intonation and intelligence that surpass all rivals in the repertory. In short, this is a
valuable and exquisitely sung addition to the Morales discography’ (International Record Review)

‘This is The Brabant Ensemble at their most vigorous
and confident … in a fast-growing discography, this is a valuable addition’ (Gramophone)