Anonymous 4: An English Ladymass

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Allan Kozinn wrote in the New York Times: "Anonymous 4 … was back together for a concert at Corpus Christi Church on Thursday evening. … Mostly, it was drawn from Anonymous 4’s 1992 debut recording, 'An English Ladymass.' As on that recording, the singers assembled a Mass in honor of the Virgin, using plainchant and polyphonic songs and motets from disparate 13th- and 14th-century anonymous British sources. (This was how it was done at the time; it wasn’t until Machaut, in 14th-century France, that composers began writing complete Masses and signing their names to them.) From the opening 'Gaude, Virgo, Salutata' chant sequence to the final Ave Maris Stella' hymn, the performance had all the polish, dynamic suppleness and warmth of tone that have always been Anonymous 4’s hallmarks. The purity of its blend was intact as well. The ensemble’s lively account of 'Edi Beo Thu Hevene Quene' — a sweetly melodic devotional song in medieval English, the only vernacular piece to find its way into this Latin Mass — was especially pleasing, as was the graceful melismatic singing in 'Salve Sancta Parens'" (3/21/09).