Much favoured by Marguerite of Austria, the Flemish composer Pierre de La Rue was probably born in Tournai and served in the Burgundian court musical establishment of Maximilian and his eldest son, Philip the Fair, and subsequently the court of Marguerite in Malines, before retiring finally to Courtrai, where he died in 1518. De La Rue wrote over thirty Masses, 24 motets and 37 chansons and was esteemed by his contemporaries for his mastery of counterpoint. The two Masses recorded here are typical of de La Rue’s style, full of alternation between lower and higher voices, imitation and canon, with a preference for lower vocal registers. It is clear that the Habsburgs particularly favoured these two Masses because the Emperor repeatedly paid to have them copied into ornate large choir-books, lavishly decorated with elaborately illuminated initial letters and miniatures.