Bruckner was a man of faith, Brahms was a humanist but still turned to the Lutheran Bible and liturgy for texts. Both wrote devotional motets informed by an interest in plainchant and early Renaissance polyphony. The choices here include an Ave Maria by each, illuminating to compare: the Brahms, for women’s voices, has a soaring simplicity while the Bruckner setting (one of three he wrote), for seven-part mixed choir, is richly expressive. Other featured works include Brahms’s a cappella Three Motets Op 110 and Bruckner’s Tota pulchra es, Locus iste and Virga Jesse floruit. The dense harmonies suit this well-established professional choir perfectly. Were any extra reason needed, a portion of the proceeds of the disc go to Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of, among others, Tenebrae’s co-founder Barbara Pollock.
