Title: A commendable effort marred by poor intonation
Product review: The music of La Rue is not as well-known as it should be, but perhaps the next wave of early music recordings will rectify this. The music, especially the Lamentations, is somber and haunting, with some arresting (and forward-looking) chromaticisms. I wanted to like this CD, but unfortunately this ensemble is plagued throughout by noticeably sour intonation, especially the baritone (Billingsley). This has the effect of making one extremely uneasy and edgy while listening: the sublime harmonic progressions that are the core of this music miss their mark and never quite jell. That's really too bad, because Moll's reading is largely competent and emotive. Wait for another recording.
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