Andrea Hakari asks:

>Any suggestions to branch out this early music obsession?

By all means check out Johannes Ockeghem's masses, especially the Missa Pro
Defunctis and the Missa Prolationum.  These are available on a single Naxos
CD, but the performances are unusual for early music in having mixed choirs
(rather than the all-male a la Hilliard) and the Missa Prolationum
especially suffers from a "run-through" impression.  (I do like the
performance of the Requiem on this CD, though.)

My recommendations for these:

Missa Pro Defunctis - Peres on Harmonia Mundi (although this has it's own
idiosyncracies!!)

Missa Prolationum - Hillier/Hilliard on EMI (which has the bonus of the
motets, although I don't really give a fig that what was long presented
as the "first" "Salve Regina" isn't really by Ockeghem.  Now it's missing
from THIS collection and I would have preferred to have it.  Damn.)

Long lost and and mourned by the wind: the recordings of Venhoda on
ancient Telefunken LPS.  He had the guts to add period instruments AND
mixed choirs.  Strictly non-HIP, I suppose, but I really liked them.  And
he had a really good recording of the instrumental piece "Ut heremita
solus", too.......:-(

Mark
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