Byrd: Ne irascaris Domine - Tallis Scholars 

5:20 - perhaps inspired Beethoven's lament of his hearing deserting him, theme of Appassionata movement 2.

I can appreciate your perspective, but I would counter that it depends on what your metric is. Rubato may not be period-appropriate, but Voces8's use of it matches the stress of the lament in the lyrics. To me, their version breathes and cries and pleads so much more. When it comes to blend and tuning, I agree that there's no comparison: Voces8 is unmatchable. But again, that depends on what style of choral approach you prefer.

They are ‘unmatchable in blend and tuning’ because and only because their recordings are all heavily edited - extra reverb always helps! Listen to their live performances - sounds nothing like that.

@@bp-lx7lf I have listened to them live, and think your comment is very unfair. What's your beef?!

@@christopherdavies7758 I think they set an unattainable standard with their recordings which I have seen many small choirs unwisely set themselves up to try and imitate - they are undeniably a fabulous group of singers but I would prefer them to rely less upon performing in highly reverberant rooms and more upon genuine blend. The main issue seems to be increasing the decay time of notes at the end of the phrases to make the sound seem more ‘continuous’. So if I have a beef it’s not with them as musicians so much as producers. Similar smaller groups such as The Sixteen don’t seem to suffer from the these problems to quite the same extent. FYI I have heard both groups live and thoroughly enjoyed each one - I just wish VOCES8 would make their recordings more of a representation of what it’s like to hear them on a stage. My original comment was perhaps a bit harsh but I stand by the point that their recordings don’t sound anything like their live performances (to a greater extent than most other choirs).

In fact a minor third above Byrd's original pitch. This version is a tone up. So, as in most areas, the Tallis Scholars are at the correct pitch.