The Early Music Club (EMC)

[North Star]

Which reminds  me, how is their Machaut Mass? 

I imagined that I had it pretty much covered with recordings by the Ensemble Binchois  (Cantus or Brilliant) and Ensemble Organum (HM).
But then this serious contender appears, followed suit by a recording by Musica Nova (Aeon)....

So now there are four seriosu contenders...we are spoilt for choice! 

Q

I have heard it on Spotify years ago. Can't say I remember more than that I liked it. Here's a review of it, very positive indeed. No comparison is made to the Ens. Gilles Binchois recording - or to the Organum recording, but that one is like no other recording of the work, in any case.

http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/a/alp00132a.php


From the Amazon UK customer review:

That accolade goes to the recording by Ensemble Gilles Binchois which is for me the most beautiful, whereas this Diabolus version, with the ensemble's sound centered lower with only having tenors, baritones, bass-baritones & bass, has more solemnity and gravitas.

[prémont]

http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/a/alp00132a.php

Yes, sonorous and unhurried are good descriptions of Diabolus' Machaut Messe.

But do not forget these two equally fine interpretations:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Machaut-Messe-Nostre-Dam-Parrott/dp/B00000DNIY/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1453032470&sr=1-1&keywords=machaut+parrott

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Machaut-Notre-Dame-Rene-Clemencic-Con/dp/B000K2QL1K/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1453032529&sr=1-1&keywords=machaut+clemencic

Both are performed with the correct scoring: 2 tenors and 2 basses.

[Que]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Machaut-Notre-Dame-Rene-Clemencic-Con/dp/B000K2QL1K/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1453032529&sr=1-1&keywords=machaut+clemencic

Both are performed with the correct scoring: 2 tenors and 2 basses.

I thought I might be interested in the recording by Clemencic, but this comment from Amazon makes it loose its appeal:

The rest comes under the rubric "La Messe de Nostre Dame" but rather than being a complete mass it is Machaut's Ordinaries mixed in with a few random hymns and religious but non-liturgical peices plus secular songs and even instrumentals. It doesn't really work for me.

Wouldn't work for me either....

Q

[prémont]

I thought I might be interested in the recording by Clemencic, but this comment from Amazon makes it loose its appeal:

Wouldn't work for me either....

I admit that the filling up is a bit strange. But in our digital age, this does not need to compromise the recording. So I have burnt the Machaut Messe proper on a separate CDR thereby avoiding all the (in this context) unnecessary stuff.
I have done similarly with the recordings by Parrott and Ensemble Organum, because I do not possess the patience to have to listen to an abundance of chant, when I want to listen to the Machaut Messe.

[Que]

A recent purchase is a recording of Lamentations by Constanzo Festa

[asin]B000V1Z03K[/asin]

Constanzo Festa (1485 - 1545) was the first major native Italian polyphonist after the domination of composers from the Netherlands in Italy and combined both styles. Despite the fact that a substantial amount of his music is preserved, recordings seem very thin on the ground. Paul van Nevel did a disc of choral music, included in the "Secret Labyrinth" box, and an instrumental one. Festa is said to be the beacon for his successors, notably Palestrina.

This is the only complete recording of the Lamentations, and despite some minor reservations I think we are lucky to have it.
The 11 male members of the French ensemble Scandicus give a dedicated, small and intimate  performance. Perhaps the ensemble work is is not the level of perfection of, say, Cinquecento, it is more than good enough. The blending of the voices is always an important issue in this kind of music, in which the way of recording also plays a role. Here the balance is a bit on the blended side, which enhances a still clear but rather smooth and mellow style. Personally I would have preferred a bit more edgy style to give the music more expression. But is is still beautifully done - intimate and touching. The music itself is pretty, though perhaps not breathtaking. Scandicus keep these predominantly homophonic works sufficiently transparent.

Recommended if specifically interested in Italian Renaissance, or in Lamentations, of course.

One more reservation: NO liner notes, a capital offence.... But since the label is now defunct, there is nowhere to send my angry email...

And I hope that the ensemble Scandicus finds a new record company, because I'm sure sure we could expect go hear more nice things from them.

Q

[Que]

We discussed the French ensemble Diabolus in Musica before.
This recent purchase proves to be a resounding succes:

[asin]B0086WQO9A[/asin]

Despite the name of Johannes Ockeghem shown prominently on tbe cover, his music is not here. There are however musical tributes by younger contemporaries of Johann Ockeghem in his remembrance. A mass by Jacob Obrecht and shorther compositions by De la Rue, Desprez, Busnois, and Lupus. It is a beauty, perfectly performed by Diabolus in Musica. The music has not been transposed upwars, so instead of the fleet, ethereal sound of angels in high cathedrals, we are offered the solemn piety from the Low Countries where this music originates.

Other than that, I have little to add to Giordano Bruno's comment on Amazon (excerpt): 

You'll Be the One Weeping, Wailing, Crying.....
if you don't acquire this recording before it goes out of stock. It's the apex and acme of polyphonic singing, as flawless as any performance on CD. The Voix D'Or (Golden Voice) of the CD title is that of Johannes Ockeghem (?-1497), but the designation could be applied to any of the ten voices of the ensemble Diabolus in Musica. Ockeghem himself was acclaimed as a mellifluous basso profundo and the bass lines of his polyphony certainly expanded the expressive role of the lowest voices in the music of his many disciples. The male singers of Diabolus have rich, vibrant voices, perfectly suited for the tenor-centered bottom-loaded ensemble balance of "Franco-Flemish" polyphony, while the two women mezzo-sopranos sing with lovely restraint and delicacy. It's the ensemble balance, plus the sure sense of phrasing, that makes this performance exceptionally eloquent.

[...]

Jacob Obrecht's Missa Sicut Rosa Spinam is constructed around two quotations of music by Ockeghem, the bass line of the Kyrie of Ockeghem's Missa Mi-mi as well as the superius of Ockeghem's motet Intemerata Dei Mater. The four motets - by Pierre De La Rue, Josquin Desprez, Antoine Busnoys, and Johannes Lupus - are all explicit tributes or elegies to Ockeghem and include his name in their texts. Ockeghem has been credited with composing the first, or close to the first, Requiem Mass, a genre that expanded the "territory" of polyphony almost as much as the Louisiana Purchase expanded the young American Republic.

[...]

Strongly recommended! 

Even if the label (Aeon, now part of Alpha's Outhere Music consortium) is terribly expensive....

Q

[KeithE]

New poster here.

Joined the board after doing some internet searches for medieval music and finding this thread.

Loads of cool posts here but it seems to be 5 months since the last post. Has interest flagged?

My internet adventures have led me to buy some excellent cds by the likes of Jordi Savall, Anonymous 4, Sequentia, La Reverdie and Huelgas Ensemble. It would be good to see some further recommendations...?

[HIPster]

New poster here.

Joined the board after doing some internet searches for medieval music and finding this thread.

Loads of cool posts here but it seems to be 5 months since the last post. Has interest flagged?

My internet adventures have led me to buy some excellent cds by the likes of Jordi Savall, Anonymous 4, Sequentia, La Reverdie and Huelgas Ensemble. It would be good to see some further recommendations...?

Hi KeithE, welcome to the forum! 

There's plenty of Early Music chatter scattered throughout GMG: check out the
Listening, Composer and Great Recordings threads for regular postings in the realm of Early Music.

Just the other day, forum mod. and Early Music maven Que, posted his appreciation for this Ockeghem recording from Musica Nova ~

[asin]B0093N4DXU[/asin]

Have you heard this release?

I have not, though I do plan to rectify this in the very near future  , but I do highly recommend this one ~

[asin]B000WC8DGY[/asin]

[KeithE]

Hi KeithE, welcome to the forum! 

There's plenty of Early Music chatter scattered throughout GMG: check out the
Listening, Composer and Great Recordings threads for regular postings in the realm of Early Music.

Just the other day, forum mod. and Early Music maven Que, posted his appreciation for this Ockeghem recording from Musica Nova ~

Have you heard this release?

Thanks very much. Not a composer or an ensemble I am familiar with but I am new to this genre. I will check both out. regards.

[Que]

New poster here.

Joined the board after doing some internet searches for medieval music and finding this thread.

Loads of cool posts here but it seems to be 5 months since the last post. Has interest flagged?

My internet adventures have led me to buy some excellent cds by the likes of Jordi Savall, Anonymous 4, Sequentia, La Reverdie and Huelgas Ensemble. It would be good to see some further recommendations...?

Keith, welcome to the forum!    And welcome to its most sacred grounds...

Well, recommendations......where to start? There is whole world of centuries of music to discover.

Hipster already gave you excellent advice in the Johannes Ockeghem recording by Musica Nova.

Since you expressed interest in medieval music, I would this inexpensive set with reissued superb recordings of music by Guillaume de Machaut, performed by the Ensemble Gilles Binchois.

[asin]B004QRUJJ0[/asin]
A no brainer IMO....

Another ensemble I could recommended is Diabolus in Musica.
This is a marvelous disc by them of music of composers from the Medieval School of Notre Dame:

[asin]B000GRUU5W[/asin]
Q

PS A short list of recommended ensembles to follow!

[The new erato]

And thus the buying and feeding frenzy starts!

[Harry]

PS A short list of recommended ensembles to follow!

A short list?

[Que]

A short list?

Well, a NOT so short list then....

[HIPster]

I posted this one back a few pages, but I continue to return to it.  Quite beautiful and moving:

[asin]B00O4DRAPW[/asin]

The new CD of Arianna Savall, Petter Udland Johansen and their ensemble Hirundo Maris is a new and outstanding approach to the music of Hildegard of Bingen. It is entirely devoted to the beauty, emotion and spiritual depth of the music of this great composer, philosopher and mystic and conveys the magic of her music in a truly affecting manner. The songs of Hildegard on this CD alternate with musical meditations newly written by Petter Udland Johansen to complement the emotional and atmospheric impact of the program.

[Harry]

I posted this one back a few pages, but I continue to return to it.  Quite beautiful and moving:

[asin]B00O4DRAPW[/asin]

The new CD of Arianna Savall, Petter Udland Johansen and their ensemble Hirundo Maris is a new and outstanding approach to the music of Hildegard of Bingen. It is entirely devoted to the beauty, emotion and spiritual depth of the music of this great composer, philosopher and mystic and conveys the magic of her music in a truly affecting manner. The songs of Hildegard on this CD alternate with musical meditations newly written by Petter Udland Johansen to complement the emotional and atmospheric impact of the program.

I have tried it, but it is not my thing alas. Almost all that I tried in which Arianna Savall played a major role worked out disastrous for me. I always got the impression of new age music. And I do not like the way they tamper with the music. I like my Hildegard von Bingen pure. But I understand it might appeal to many.

[KeithE]

Keith, welcome to the forum!    And welcome to its most sacred grounds...

Well, recommendations......where to start? There is whole world of centuries of music to discover.

Hipster already gave you excellent advice in the Johannes Ockeghem recording by Musica Nova.

Since you expressed interest in medieval music, I would this inexpensive set with reissued superb recordings of music by Guillaume de Machaut, performed by the Ensemble Gilles Binchois.

[asin]B004QRUJJ0[/asin]
A no brainer IMO....

Another ensemble I could recommended is Diabolus in Musica.
This is a marvelous disc by them of music of composers from the Medieval School of Notre Dame:

[asin]B000GRUU5W[/asin]
Q

PS A short list of recommended ensembles to follow!

Thanks. I already have those two, inspired by some pre-joining browsing of this thread, but that's exactly the kind of stuff I have in mind. k

[KeithE]

And thus the buying and feeding frenzy starts!

I fear you may be right. I may need to have a word with my bank manager!

[Que]

Thanks. I already have those two, inspired by some pre-joining browsing of this thread, but that's exactly the kind of stuff I have in mind. k

You browsed wisely...

Q

[San Antone]

NEW FROM HYPERION : MACHAUT AND CONDUCTUS



A couple of recent and noteworthy recordings from Hyperion: more Machaut by The Orlando Consort, and the final installment from John Potter, Christopher O'Gorman and Rogers Covey-Crump, of the Conductus genre, the first experiments towards polyphony—the kind of sound we associate with Pérotin.

[kishnevi]

Welcome back