ENGLISH CHURCH MUSIC:BYRD/HUMFREY/GIBBONS/ETC:CHANTICLEER/NICHOLAS MACGEGAN(cond)/THE CHOIR OF CLARE COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE, ROMANESCA/FRETWORK/ETC

A fairly random collection of the sacred music of three English composers from the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, each disc of this Harmonia Mundi three-disc set nevertheless has its attractive qualities. In the disc given to two masses and three motets by the celebrated William Byrd, the all-male Chanticleer sings with an austere warmth and an ardent severity that suit the music's stern sincerity. In the disc devoted to nine verse anthems by the far less known Pelham Humfrey, the combined forces of the Clare College Choir, Cambridge, directed by Timothy Brown, and the instrumental ensemble called Romanesca led by Nicholas McGegan plus five first-class English vocal soloists perform with the kind of dedicated enthusiasm and consummate musicianship that convincingly make the case for the unfamiliar music's greatness. And in the disc dedicated to the morning and evening Second Service plus related consort anthems by the great Orlando Gibbons, the combined forces of the Magdalen College Choir, Oxford, directed by Bill Ives accompanied by the five viols of the ensemble called Fretwork, turn in a performance of such purposeful strength and solemn intensity that they transform works composed four centuries ago into the incarnation of timeless spiritual aspirations. Although aficionados of English sacred music of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries may already have recordings of the works of Byrd and Gibbons included here, few will be likely to have recordings of much by Humfrey -- and that may be this set's most persuasive recommendation. Harmonia Mundi's digital sound, which ranges from 1987 for the Byrd through 1992 for the Humfrey to 2003 for the Gibbons, is consistently clear, deep, and warm.