Sebastián Vivanco (d1622) was a slightly younger contemporary of Victoria and one of the last exponents of Spain’s Golden Age. His footprint on the discography hasn’t really borne this out so far – hence this new project, curated by Bruno Turner, the doyen of Iberian polyphony. De Profundis are here led by Robert Hollingworth and joined by William Lyons on the bajón, the forerunner of the bassoon that habitually doubled the bass line in this repertory.

The sound is instantly reminiscent of past recordings by Ensemble Plus Ultra and the Gabrieli Consort. While the Gabrielis had greater bloom, De Profundis have more presence and purpose here than on their previous project (dedicated to Bernardino de Ribera, Victoria’s master at Ávila). That’s because of the programme’s greater variety (the Ribera disc had only motets), which gives them more scope to demonstrate their versatility, but also because Vivanco strikes me as the better composer.

Turner’s notes mention the technical virtuosity of which Vivanco was capable, several examples of which appear on this disc, but he’s also right to say that they are hard to spot unless one’s been warned. Never mind: the ‘Hosanna’ of the Mass is supremely inventive and worth the price of admission in its own, and the contrast between the two penitential motets and the brace of Song of Songs illustrates Vivanco’s range most eloquently. As I’ve already hinted, the same is true of the ensemble – my only criticism regards the top line, which doesn’t always project as strongly as one might expect given the size of the ensemble. That said, for a group of nearly two dozen they sound remarkably compact: Robert Hollingworth seems to bring the best out of them.