Allied to this goes perhaps another reason why his prolific output has been so neglected: a reliance on sonority rather than contrapuntal ingenuity for effect. This can mean that on the page the music appears less interesting than it is when realized in sound. In fact, here Isaac's attempt at ingenuity of musical and textual reference in the occasional motet °prime pastor falls rather flat, while the seemingly less interesting polyphonic sections of the Missa de Apostolis come to life in brief moments of sublimely sonorous music enhanced by shimmering performances from The Tallis Scholars. Their sustained singing style (which has developed over the years into something much more direct and full-blooded) is most telling in the lusciously intimate Song of Songs motet Tota pulchat es in which a characteristic feature of Isaac's style—one voice moving more quickly than the rest—is exploited to great effect at the words "Flores apparuerunt". Isaac, however, displays a wide range of styles, the extended duet textures of the marvellous six-voice motet Virgo prudentissima coming much closer to the flowing counterpoint of Josquin, and a feel for dramatic articulation of structure is apparent in the climax of this piece built on the interval of a fifth (a musical pun on the words "ut son and the resounding rests surrounding the words "amica mea" in Tota pulchra es.

Plenty of inspired music here, then, and given the committed and often inspiring performances we have come to expect from The Tallis Scholars.

-- Gramophone [10/1991]