Francisco de Peñalosa (c1470-1528) has suffered from the relative neglect of the Spanish polyphony composed just before the golden era ushered in by Morales and Guerrero. But his music was good enough to have been mistaken for the work of more famous contemporaries, and the pieces chosen for this recording go some way to reclaiming his due. The centrepiece is a Mass based on one of the most admired Spanish songs of its time, which Peñalosa treats in a variety of ways: its distinctive melody is heard in the top voice at the start of the Mass. The song itself tells of a woman whose sorrow has no equal, and the natural association with the Virgin weaves a thread through the recital: several of the motets embrace a similar theme, to which the tendency of Spanish composers of this period to rather stark polyphony is admirably suited. You can hear this in the bare octaves that conclude the final piece on the disc – an especially striking moment.

Here Ensemble Gilles Binchois team up with Les Sacqueboutiers, who accompany the singers for most of the Mass (either in alternation or colla parte), while the motets are performed by one ensemble or the other. Wind ensembles of this sort were common in Spanish collegiate churches and the combination makes for quite a taut yet nicely varied sound that supports the longer spans of the Mass effectively. Hearing the voices by themselves, it crossed my mind that, in its current incarnation, Dominique Vellard’s ensemble may have lost some of its distinctive colouring; but these attractive performances allow the music to speak for itself.