La Quinta essentia (2007)

Paul van Nevel is unquestionably one of the mainstays among artists who specialize in gothic and Renaissance choral music. Having founded the Huelgas Ensemble in 1971, his catalog of recordings begins in the late '70s when his group was recording for the Belgian labels; one of the few early music specialists from his time still active, van Nevel just gets better and better. After a long association with Sony Classics, van Nevel landed with Harmonia Mundi and has been recording for the label since 2002; while the quality of ... Read More

Paul van Nevel is unquestionably one of the mainstays among artists who specialize in gothic and Renaissance choral music. Having founded the Huelgas Ensemble in 1971, his catalog of recordings begins in the late '70s when his group was recording for the Belgian labels; one of the few early music specialists from his time still active, van Nevel just gets better and better. After a long association with Sony Classics, van Nevel landed with Harmonia Mundi and has been recording for the label since 2002; while the quality of his output remained high, it seemed to fall a bit short of the standard of his last Sony efforts, for example Mattheus Pipelare: Missa L'homme Armé or Alexander Agricola: A Secret Labyrinth. Although his and Huelgas' 2004 disc of Alfonso Ferrabosco comes close, nothing van Nevel has done for Harmonia Mundi thus far approaches the exalted level of La Quinta essential, in which van Nevel has clearly regained his stride; it is a milestone in his career and that of Ensemble Las... Read Less