Bentley's Bandstand
Every few years an album is released that no matter who hears it responds, "That's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard." The latest from the young 14-voice British choral group Stile Antico surely wins the award this time around. They have toured widely with Sting in Europe, as well as performing at festivals in America. They sing a broad and moving array of styles, including works by the English Tudor composers, music from the early Baroque period and compositions of the Flemish and Spanish schools. The joy Stile Antico have for their performances is overwhelming, and can be felt from the moment they start to sing. Media Vita, however, is something else entirely. Composer John Sheppard remains something of an enigma. Writing in the first half of the 16th Century, he is an underperformed master, possibly because not many of his transcripts survived. The liturgical pieces are highly prized, and soar and transport the listener to the upper reaches of the cosmos. "The Lord's Prayer" is enough to bring anyone with a heartbeat to their knees, and shows how music really is it's own language, no translation necessary. Other originals include simple English-texted anthems written in the reign of Edward VI, along with immortal Catholic hymns. To try and describe the time-stopping beauty of this album is to quickly learn the limits of words, but know these sounds capture the essence of human life, and offer hope in the ongoing survival of the human spirit.
