Robert Carver is one of the few Scottish composers from the 16th century whose name has survived. His sacred music is similar to that of pre-Reformation England: complex rhythms, alternating sections for full choir and two or three voices, flamboyant high treble parts. Carver"s fame today rests on two large-scale works: the "Mass Dum sacrum mysterium" for 10 voices and the lengthy motet "O bone Jesu" for 19. Harry Christophers and the Sixteen have taken on these challenging works with aplomb: while the rhythms could be more pointed, the choir sings with a fine combination of energy and elegance. The best item on the disc, however, isn"t Carver"s at all: it"s a marvelous Magnificat by an anonymous English composer of the period. Thanks to the Sixteen for rescuing it from undeserved oblivion. --Matthew Westphal