Agricola wasn't as influential as some composers of his generation, but does continue to make a distinct individual impression today. His secular music is some of the most inventive of the period (especially rhythmically...), often setting the same tunes over again, basically as a series of variations, and his mass cycles show a similar style. These two long masses even seem like series of variations, rich in details from moment to moment, but largely passing through that series of scenes without an overall architecture (other than the commonality of the preexisting material, which is itself constantly varied...).
So let me go ahead & reproduce a paragraph from the file for the previous recording of this program (from Hungaroton):
This music is rather difficult to follow, but once grasped, it becomes increasingly compelling. The scope and level of detail in these masses is perhaps the largest anywhere. The motivic variation, ornamentation, rhythmic shifts etc. ... these are almost unprecedented, before or after. The first mass is the more self-contained, while the latter apparently misses its beginning, as well as seeming inconclusive at the end. The music in sum shows a very keen imagination, and is perhaps the very highlight of the pre-rational style.
The irrational (which is probably a better label than "pre-...") style would contrast most obviously then with Obrecht's rationalism, and so in some sense these two composers form a pair of opposites (& had e.g. both been recorded by A:N:S Chorus...). As opposed to Obrecht's broad arcs, Agricola's cycles seem to delve into endless series of details & variations, i.e. with every passage seemingly treated individually in some way....
And the performance here is outstanding. In fact, these might be Beauty Farm's best renditions yet, and this is tricky music. They follow the mensuration & take their time in the slower passages, but also combine a strong energy with a wonderful clarity throughout, the individual lines of these intricate pieces being surprisingly easy to hear.... Indeed, I'd say this release sets a new standard for the group (although as noted, this material had already been recorded...).
As far as the overall rating here, as noted (perhaps too repetitively by now!), I hear this music more as a series of variations — i.e. not so much as liturgical cycles. These are clearly Agricola's most accomplished, intricate & extensive mass cycles though, so in that sense, the program is exemplary. It also keeps to more of a secular vibe, for better or worse, i.e. without the affective motion sought for a sacred service.... In the more technical-musical sense however, these are two of the most accomplished & unusual settings of the period.
Todd M. McComb Updated: 5 March 2025