The Hilliard Ensemble: Garbarek – Mnemosyne (2 CD, APE)

Performer: The Hilliard Ensemble
Composer: Jan Garbarek, Thomas Tallis, Veljo Tormis, Guillaume Dufay, et al.
Audio CD
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 2
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: Ecm Records
Size: 364 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

Disc: 1
01. Quechua Song
02. O Lord, in thee is all my trust, anthem for 4 voices
03. Estonian Lullaby
04. Remember me my deir (Robert Edwards’ Commonplace Book)
05. Gloria, for 3 voices (also attributed to Hugo de Lantins)
06. Fayrfax Africanus
07. Agnus Dei
08. Novus novus
09. Se je fayz dueil, for 3 voices
10. O ignis spiritus Paraclitus, sequence

Disc: 2
01. Alleluia nativitatis
02. Delphic paean
03. Strophe and Counter-Strophe
04. Mascarades
05. Loiterando
06. Estonian Lullaby
07. Russian Psalm
08. Eagle Dance
09. When Jesus Wept, fuging tune
10. Hymn to the Sun

Great…except

This album is great in all of the ways that my fellow reviewers have so eloquently stated so I won’t try to expand upon their praise. My one issue with this album is the same issue I have with many Garbarek albums. The saxophone is simply too high in the mix. During his beautifully complementary swells the saxophone creeps in and then proceeds to overpower the voices. I don’t know if it’s an ego thing or what but this (in my opinion) mixing flaw is present throughout much of the Garbarek catalog. Otherwise a beautiful collection of deeply spiritual music.