Obrecht: Missa Caput

Day 291

Obrecht: Missa Caput

Oxford Camerata

Jeremy Summerly

I remember learning about ‘Caput’ masses at University. These masses are based on a a florid line of chant which an appears in an antiphon from the Sarum rite - the Salisbury collection of liturgical music. Several composers wrote ‘Caput’ masses, in particularly Dufay (though there is now some doubt about the attribution) and Ockeghem. This one is by Obrecht . He is a generation later than Ockeghem and you can hear that his music is smother , less rhythmically complex and harmonically more consonant that the earlier composer.  I found it very pleasant to listen to but after a while perhaps a little less characterful that some of the early music that I have been listening to recently. At times I did rather let it wash over me rather than play close attention to the detail. Nothing wrong in that of course, but perhaps it was a sign that a certain blandness had set it. Of course it could just be me having a slightly off day…..