Organised religion is a good thing. No matter how many virulent English biologists emerge to say otherwise, the effect that religion has had on literature, art and music has been extensive and fundamentally positive. This assertion is usually challenged with the supposition that there would probably have been something else to inspire creative minds in the absence of organised religion. People who argue this miss the point; some hypothetical ‘other-world’ proposition is simply not a valid criticism of art. It is akin to dismissing Shakespeare because you can envisage an alternate world where the Roman civilisation never existed, thus hypothetically depriving a future hypothetical Shakespeare of his greatest influence – Ovid. If we are to avoid such gratuitous absurdities, let’s just look at religious music for what it is; a form of music that has the potential to express people’s most cherished beliefs in a sublime and graceful manner. To celebrate the staggering diversity of religious music, I have two particular (and very different) recordings in mind.

The Soul Stirrers

Sam Cooke with the Soul Stirrers

Speciality

Gospel and Soul are perhaps the most popular and enduring forms of modern religious music, and has been shaped just as much by the dark shadow of slavery as it has been by religion. This recording of Sam Cooke performing with the Soul Stirrers between 1951 and 1958 collects some of the most powerful performances Cooke gave in his entire career. The buoyant wistfulness of “Lord Remember Me” is perhaps the most perfect example of the harmony between Cooke’s voice and the pitch-perfect harmonising of the rest of the group. It has an astonishing power, which is matched in other traditional Gospel numbers like “Be With Me Jesus” and “How Far am I From Canaan?” and Cooke’s flawless delivery of “Touch the Hem of His Garment” makes it one of the defining cuts of 50s Soul. These recordings capture Sam Cooke at the height of his talents, though this should not detract from the Soul Stirrers as a coherent group. The sheer talent of this group means that any collection of their music will be near faultless, and this is obviously no exception.

Hueglas Ensemble dir. Paul Van Nevel

La Quinta Essentia

Harmonia Mundi

By the late 15^th Century sacred music had developed into a tremendously sophisticated form that embraced a complexity and richness studiously avoided in Gregorian Chant. On this album the Huelgas Ensemble perform the works of three of the most prominent Renaissance composers. The album begins with “Missa ‘Tous les Regretez’”, a work by the French composer Roland de Lassus (1542-1594) a writer of Franco-Flemish polyphony. Delicate harmonies are explored through his deft understanding of counterpoint, and make for some of the most breathtaking choral music to emerge from the renaissance. The second work, “Missa ‘Ave Maria’” was composed by the Englishman Thomas Ashwell (c.1478-ap.1513) and is a busier work that demands the greatest attention of the three pieces on the album. Historically, this work is interesting as one of the few surviving pieces of English sacred music in the Catholic tradition, as much of it was destroyed in the dissolution of the monasteries. The final piece on the album was written by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594), and is one of the more serene compositions by perhaps the most famous of all Renaissance composers. The beauty of Palestrina’s music gives little indication of Vatican politics that dominated the lives of musicians of the Roman School. The Hueglas Ensemble deliver, as usual, a consummate performance, exquisitely capturing the rich depths – musical as well as emotional – of European sacred music.

- Freddy Woodhouse