I’ve had this album by the young British choral group Stile Antico singing John Sheppard for a while, and it has become one of those rare gems that one keeps coming back to.
Sheppard is less well-known than contemporary Thomas Tallis because his compositions only made it to the twentieth century in manuscript form – many of them are incomplete.
What has survived though is music that positions Sheppard as one of the finest English church composers of the Tudor era.
The recording is outstanding in so many ways – with excellent performances, bringing color, tension, and strength to an always present clarity in sound that is ground-breaking, this is highly recommended.
