You don"t have to be a scholar or an early music fanatic to enjoy music like this. Just close your eyes and let the warm voices, flowing lines, and gentle harmonies wash over you. Yes, this is sacred music, intended for worship, but its sensuousness can"t be denied. While not as stylish or masterful in linear development as the later music of Byrd, Tallis, Palestrina, or Victoria, it projects an assured sense of melodic motion and harmonic destiny. Although 1997 was the 500th anniversary of the death of Flemish composer Johannes Ockeghem, much of his music remains in obscurity--and what there is has often been criticized for its "lack of formal consistency." If this is a bad thing, only a musicologist will care. In the hands of the very fine Capella Alamire, who sing with seamless phrasing and near-perfect ensemble blend and balance, what the rest of us hear are richly colored, deeply felt expressions of great beauty that elevate the revered texts of the Mass to heavenly heights. --David Vernier