Stile Antico, the still youthful (they began as students) vocal ensemble now enjoying international success, is 10 years old. This compilation disc is an ideal introduction to their work: both to their refreshing approach to programming and to the refined but vigorous quality of their sound. Democracy rules in this conductor-less group. Each of the 12 singers has chosen a favourite track, dominated by the Renaissance repertoire at which they excel – Tomkins, Byrd, Tallis, Gombert, Victoria – but including one contemporary work, Woefully Arrayed by John McCabe (1939-2015). While treasures still remain to be discovered from the Renaissance era, they sing the McCabe so brilliantly one hopes that in their next decade they embrace more of the new too.
