Is anyone here into Medieval Music?
Too simple for my taste.
Perhaps try this - it's an isorhythmic motet by Machaut, and audibly technical without any need to analyse (which would no doubt reveal much more).
http://www.mediafire.com/?fxj7dwnmvnx
I like medieval music. Machaut is superb. And the Florentine composers, Ciconia and above all Landini, are favorites. Dunstaple as well. Where to draw the line between medieval and renaissance though? Is Dufay clearly renaissance?
Is Dufay clearly renaissance?
He is part of the Burgundy School which is considered very early renaissance.Yes - but lots of his motets and chansons are stylistically much closer to Machaut than to the high renaissance. But whatever; if one likes Medieval Music one should look into early Dufay. And the transformation of this into renaissance is very interesting, as are all major stylistic shifts (like the transformation into Baroque in Tuscany/northern Italy, fin-de-siecle Vienna or between-the wars Paris.
Yes - but lots of his motets and chansons are stylistically much closer to Machaut than to the high renaissance. But whatever; if one likes Medieval Music one should look into early Dufay. And the transformation of this into renaissance is very interesting, as are all major stylistic shifts (like the transformation into Baroque in Tuscany/northern Italy, fin-de-siecle Vienna or between-the wars Paris.
...the transformation of this into renaissance is very interesting, as are all major stylistic shifts (like the transformation into Baroque in Tuscany/northern Italy, fin-de-siecle Vienna or between-the wars Paris.
That's a very important point, and one which I've made before when expressing my interest in the Ars subtilior. Another similar point of hyper-expressive complexity is found in the empfindsamer Stil whose finest exponents, perhaps, are CPE and WF Bach (the latter more extreme, the former more consummate)Yes, all major styles seems to go over the top before a new, simpler and different style emerges.
Premont,
You don't like Jordi Savall, eh? ;D
Be sure not to miss The Play of Daniel. (Has that been recorded since the classic New York Pro Musica recording with Noah Greenberg?)
Well they're dance music so I guess the dark theme is my own interpretation
For actual medieval music that has a heavy sound I would recommend the 12th century composer Perotin. The ECM disc with the Hilliard Ensemble is the main one that is available
I love song, I love Josquin, Byrd, Morales, Willaert etc., but this time I'm looking for purely instumental, if possible string instruments only even, like in the YouTube example in my first post.
Could you exactly pinpoint some of the instrumental pieces please. I semi-randomly tried some of the samples on the amazon site but some didnt work and the ones that did work were all song.
If you want to check out Renaissance/early Baroque music of a more folksy style, there is a lot of music from the British Isles that is enjoyable. One of my favorite groups that performs this style is the Baltimore Consort; they released a number of CDs for Dorian in the 1990's. This is the popular music of the day; it is fairly straightforward, and a lot of fun. Since Dorian went under, a lot of their CDs are now out of print, but used copies are readily available. Some are still in print; it seems that someone is trying to resurrect the Dorian label, so hopefully their many excellent early music CDs will return to the marketplace. Incidentally, while I was looking, I discovered CDs by the Baltimore Consort that I don't have yet, including a new one that just came out. I might just have to order them.
Discs like those are some of my favourites - the music is inventive and in a variety of forms, it's like a fun potpourri. A particularly cheap and decent one is this twofer:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31QMN737N1L._AA180_.jpg) (http://www.amazon.com/Streets-Theatres-London-Musicians-Swanne/dp/B0007DHQ6G/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1195394578&sr=1-6)
I can imagine it's good, Que. I know only one piece by Tomas Luis de Victoria, "O Magnum Mysterium," but that one is so beautiful I would be interested in any other music by him. :D
The main contender to the McCreesh recording seems to be David Hill (Hyperion).
He uses smaller forces and boy sopranos instead of counter-tenors/sopranists.
Smaller forces? I am not sure that is true. After all, McCreesh uses only 3-5 voices
for each part apart from the plainchants.
I have an interesting Victoria recording "Et Jesum" featuring the outstanding Spanish
countertenor singer Carlos Mena (Harmonia mundi). Following contemporary
examples, Mena sings arrangements of Victoria motets and mass movements in which
the top line remains vocal but all other parts have been redone in a tablature style for
a vihuela solo plus, in some pieces, echoes from a most magical sounding cornetto.
The results are remarkably similar to English lute songs from around the same time
but perhaps even more hauntingly "cantabile" in character.
Angus dei from Missa O magnum mysterium (Carlos Mena, vocal; Juan Carlos Rivera, vihuela da mano) (http://www.mediafire.com/?bbxcy992m1j)
Please, need some fresh input on Renaissance music!
After Victoria and Escobar, I was wondering if this might be a good idea:
(http://www.abella.de/cover/P8424562214026_1.jpg)
Is it? Any comments on the recording, any alternatives for this recording or suggestions on other Spanish (Iberian) music form the Reniassance?
Q
Please, need some fresh input on Renaissance music!Yes it is. And the recordings of Morales by the same forces are also very recommendable. As are this:
After Victoria and Escobar, I was wondering if this might be a good idea:
(http://www.abella.de/cover/P8424562214026_1.jpg)
Is it? Any comments on the recording, any alternatives for this recording or suggestions on other Spanish (Iberian) music form the Reniassance?
Q
Yes it is. And the recordings of Morales by the same forces are also very recommendable. As are this:
(http://www.mdt.co.uk/public/pictures/products/standard/AVSA9814.jpg)
Lots of different stuff here, the Morales extracts are stunning.
Sticking with sacred polyphony, there is the Portuguese also:
http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/cds/hmu1543.htm
How is this Brilliant set?
(http://www.selections.com/images/products/picture1zoom/BX558.jpg)
(http://cover6.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/Large/79/1009079.jpg)
Got a 10/10 on ClassicstodayFrance (http://www.classicstodayfrance.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=2544).
Anyone heard it? Does anyone know this ensemble? :)
It is thus all the more scandalous as more no volume of their discography is currently available, that they are the recordings published at Arcana, Erato or Harmonized Mundi, when certain poor discs but more salesmen, them, are regularly republished.
(http://cover6.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/Large/79/1009079.jpg)
Got a 10/10 on ClassicstodayFrance (http://www.classicstodayfrance.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=2544).
Anyone heard it? Does anyone know this ensemble? :)
Another specialist Spanish label I've just came across, is the label of the Capella de Ministers (http://www.capelladeministrers.com/) with conductor Carles Magraner. Samples on their site indicate they are a group to reckon with. Discs are available HERE (http://www.diverdi.com/tienda/listado.aspx?Type=R&cr=&se=107&es=0&so=0&n=False).
Anyone familiar with this recording of Victoria's Requiem?
(http://discplus.ch/login/1547894/shop/upload/33934.jpg)
[mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.capelladeministrers.com/DOCUMENTOS_E/AGNUSDEIACDM%200615.MP3[/mp3]
A very interesting review of this recording HERE (http://wwww.mundoclasico.com/critica/vercritica.aspx?tipo=D&id=e478e200-d084-441b-a802-f9e7bb121a1e).
Q
A very interesting review of this recording HERE (http://wwww.mundoclasico.com/critica/vercritica.aspx?tipo=D&id=e478e200-d084-441b-a802-f9e7bb121a1e).
So... Magraner's guess is as good as anyone's? ::)
Q
The sound snippet from the Victoria didn't really grab me either, but your mileage may vary.
Another specialist Spanish label I've just came across, is the label of the Capella de Ministrers (http://www.capelladeministrers.com/) (CDM) with conductor Carles Magraner. Samples on their site indicate they are a group to reckon with. Discs are available HERE (http://www.diverdi.com/tienda/listado.aspx?Type=R&cr=&se=107&es=0&so=0&n=False).
Anyone familiar with this recording of Victoria's Requiem?
(http://discplus.ch/login/1547894/shop/upload/33934.jpg)
[mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.capelladeministrers.com/DOCUMENTOS_E/AGNUSDEIACDM%200615.MP3[/mp3]
A very interesting review of this recording HERE (http://wwww.mundoclasico.com/critica/vercritica.aspx?tipo=D&id=e478e200-d084-441b-a802-f9e7bb121a1e).
Q
Tomas Luis de Victoria - do you really think that sounds English? Spains perhaps greatest Renaissance composer..........
By the way: On my last post - I assume of course that the composer is English, correct? Pretty evident in the mp3 sample. 0:)
So Victoria is Spanish then :) .. Calm down folks, its not like I have mistaken the queen [pun intended :P]Josquin is as different from Palestrina as Brahms is from late Stravinsky. The same with Dufay vs Gesualdo. So this is difficult to answer as it has lots to do with taste and listening experience/preferences.
But really, from only listening to the sample, the 'style' gives a feel of "English" whatever that means; even the reviewer you linked to seems to agree with me ;)
By the way, which choice is more sensible to approach when someone is a beginner to the Renaissance period:
Josquin or Palestrina or Dufay or Gesualdo?
Suggestions welcome.
I did sample Dufay, Josquin Desprez, Obrecht and Ockegheim recently. It's all very similar, not much difference between composers.
No it's not, and if you had any understanding of counterpoint as you claim in another thread you wouldn't claim it to be. Their contrapunctal technique is very different (as any textbook can tell you, eg in use of small motivic cells vs use of long themes, independence between parts, canonic technique etc etc in absurdum), their attidude towards dissonance differs, cadenctial tecniques vary considerably, relationship between words and music (the way that individual words and parts of words are related to individual notes etc) are very different, etc, etc.
When you've listened to this music constantly for some decades you can pass judgement. That you feel that they SOUND similar to you (if that is what you meant) just tells me that you haven't really LISTENED to this music at all. Which is okay by me as long as you don't say that these composers are similar.
I did sample Dufay, Josquin Desprez, Obrecht and Ockegheim recently. It's all very similar, not much difference between composers. The church restricted artistical freedom so that's not surprising. The music is ok but not very interesting considering longer listening sessions. I wish they used instruments in church music to add color.
You got me wrong.Okay, I accept that. But what I want to take issue with is the expectation that these differences will be obvious for an occasional listener unaccustomed to the idiom. For someone totally unaccustomed to classical music Elgar and Racmaninov/ff might sound quite similar, too.
There's a fine recording of it by Paul Huelgas.
If you're interested in early music that stretches the ear, in terms of unexpected harmonies and intervals, then in addition to Gesualdo previously mentioned, you should check out Richafort's Requiem. There's a fine recording of it by Paul Huelgas. These early composers were breaking new ground and figuring out what worked and what didn't, so they were not at all artistically repressed, at least not in the sense that we think of it today. The church was then, and to a certain extent always has been, a place of vastly divergent opinions on just about everything, with one faction in favor during one period and a rival faction gaining the upper hand in the next. There was a lot of creative thinking going on back then, and the mere fact that these composers were starting to be known by name is itself an indication of the rise of the individual during this period. A lot of these early composers were remarkably inventive, and in some of them you can find things that did not reappear again until Bartok. -- Marc
PS. For anyone looking for a great introduction to music from this period, check out the Tallis Scholar's recording of the Allegri Miserere.
Okay, I accept that. But what I want to take issue with is the expectation that these differences will be obvious for an occasional listener unaccustomed to the idiom. For someone totally unaccustomed to classical music Elgar and Racmaninov/ff might sound quite similar, too.
I don't listen to much renaissance music so I am somewhat unaccustomed. That's why it all sounds similar to me, okay? ::)
It's all very similar, not much difference between composers.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/411K1AS0ABL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)Same for me.
In the secular music category this to me is stunning. Have had this set for years and return to it very frequently.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41FPK57JCPL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
Just my point. That's an subjective impression and noone can argue with that. But what you actually said was that they WERE similar:
which is an objective judgment, which I found wrong. I have no problem with them SOUNDING similar to you (which they don't to me).
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/411K1AS0ABL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
In the secular music category this to me is stunning. Have had this set for years and return to it very frequently.
you should check out Richafort's Requiem.
Too bad it's expensive 5 CD box set, little overkill for someone who just wants to try out this composer... :P
Most Early Music Recordings on Naxos (at least of the good selection I have heard) are good value. Best value of all however, were the 5 (or 6) CD selection of Ockeghem masses (not quite complete alas) on ASV that used to be cheaply available.
Is this the same thing?Yes it is. About what I paid.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61DVQTT7AFL._SS500_.jpg)
I got it when it was around $20, but now it's going for more than twice that amount. You can still download it fairly cheaply.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51M-trswUUL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
Josquin - Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae
The finest Mass out of the entire Renaissance IMO.... Finally something with real depth.
I do agree thart Josquin wrote some of the most interesting masses of the renaissance, and his compositional language is not as "strange" to us as the composers of a preceding generation in that more attention is paid to harmonic content while not sacrificing the superb counterpoint. The Sei Voci recordings are now collected in a cheap 6 CD box which I consider nearly mandatory if you have any interest in the period at all. However my favorite mass (while not in any way claiming it superior to others) is the Beate Virgine.
Do not overlook this magnificent achievement.I haven't. ;D
(http://www.jpc.de/image/w600/front/0/0794881854523.jpg) (http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/hnum/7541635?rk=classic&rsk=hitlist)
This is imo a fantastic recording, but caveat emptor - it will assuredly NOT be to everyone's taste. Pérès' ensemble heavily ornaments the vocal line with Byzantine-flavored melismas and microtonal intervals. I find the results totally convincing and very exciting - this is my personal favorite recorded version of this early masterpiece.
Found it! (Mouthwatering.... ;D) Thanks for the recommendations. :)
(http://www.jpc.de/image/w600/front/0/0822186089064.jpg)
;D
A thread to discuss Baroque music in general and that which preceded it. History, HIP, recommended recordings, composers, whatever...
(I did a quick search and could not find a thread specifically like this one. I'm sure if there is one, Que will duly rap my cyber-knuckles with his cyber-ruler.)
I always considered "early" music to be pre-Baroque. And until recently I've tried very little. But the stuff I've started listening to recently is very good. John Dowland is excellent, William Byrd, too. But so far, for me, Cristobal de Morales is the best I've found in early music. Some amazing music that I need to explore more.
Any specific recordings we should look for from these composers?
A thread to discuss Baroque music in general and that which preceded it.
I have always been enamoured of the polyphonic motets of Lassus, after studying Sherlock Holmes' famed monograph on the subject (ref. The Adventure of the Bruce Partington Plans). I have this recording:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-NABlFa-L._SL500_AA280_.jpg)
I have always been enamoured of the polyphonic motets of Lassus, after studying Sherlock Holmes' famed monograph on the subject (ref. The Adventure of the Bruce Partington Plans). I have this recording:
What are bird stops, Don?
You get points from me for mentioning early music and detective fiction in the same post. ;D
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510JCN2FPNL._SL500_AA240_.jpg) (http://www.amazon.com/Loves-Illusion-Music-Montpellier-Codex-Century/dp/B0000007E5/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1234888233&sr=1-10)
I have always been enamoured of the polyphonic motets of Lassus, after studying Sherlock Holmes' famed monograph on the subject (ref. The Adventure of the Bruce Partington Plans). I have this recording:The Missa Susanne un jour is a really wonderful example of Lassus' melodiousness, and the idea of basing a mass on un chanson of that subject is really hilarious. No wonder he had to write those wonderful penitential psalms towards the end of his life. Fine disc!
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-NABlFa-L._SL500_AA280_.jpg)
The birdsong stop (Vogelgesang, Nacthigall, Rossingol, Usignolo, et al.) is usually formed by several small pipes suspended upside down in a container of glycerin water (see picture). This arrangement makes a chirping, warbling sound that can, in the right acoustic (e.g. 1686 Schnitger organ in Norden), sound very realistic.
(http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b45/advocatus_diaboli/Vogelgesang.jpg)
I recommend this (and any Tallis CD, for that matter.) It looks like one of those silly comp CDs, but it's all complete works, by many of the great composers of the period:
(http://images.bluebeat.com/an/1/8/5/0/1/l10581.jpg)
I have this one on the shelf JW. The Anonymous 4 would have been incredible to see live. Plus the liner notes that come with these discs are history lesson within themselves.
I recommend this (and any Tallis CD, for that matter.) It looks like one of those silly comp CDs, but it's all complete works, by many of the great composers of the period:
(http://images.bluebeat.com/an/1/8/5/0/1/l10581.jpg)
This one is also lovely:
(http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/51iKafoK3HL._SS500_.jpg)
I recommend this (and any Tallis CD, for that matter.) It looks like one of those silly comp CDs, but it's all complete works, by many of the great composers of the period:
(http://images.bluebeat.com/an/1/8/5/0/1/l10581.jpg)
Maybe, for purposes of this thread, we can say pre-1700. If everyone agrees.
I guess I'm an early music nut. I actuallay have ALL these disc, the Maier Rosary sonatas excepted.
Caldara should be exploited in depth by the record companies, a major Viennese baroque composer (along with Conti, and Vivaldi, who ended his career, broke, in Vienna).
Oh, my goodness. Where to begin...? ;D
Be aware there's a cheap triple of Fayrfax available, might be a better solution than to go for individuale discs.
http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/earlymusic.php (http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/earlymusic.php)have an early music sale.
The triple is available at 19 Euro, and the singles at 7.50. This goes for their essential Ockeghem series as well, and the superb Obrecht -Missa Sub Tuum Praesidium.
Anyone wanna suggest a good Frescobaldi keyboard CD?
Someone who really puts the fresco in Frescobaldi? :)
this austere yet vivacious music
Makes me very, very curious...
Makes me very, very curious...
Me too.
Am I right in thinking that a lot of early music is more vocal-oriented than later music?
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51J9SWQX4TL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
Me too.
Am I right in thinking that a lot of early music is more vocal-oriented than later music?
I'm curious, what's some of the earliest music available on disc?
Also, does anyone know any good websites on this subject?
Thank you.
Music of Hildegard of Bingen has to be among the earliest of the early music that was recorded.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildegard_of_Bingen
Indeed, the instrumentation is also quite sparse, if that is the right term for it.
I'm curious, what's some of the earliest music available on disc?
Of course I've heard of her but I don't know her history so I'll read that link shortly, Coop.
I was messing around on Amazon and ran across the Unicorn Ensemble on Naxos. Anyone have their discs? Comments? Thank you.
A better word is "non-existent." Most early instrumental music does not specify instrumentation, so you can arrange it any way you want.
Supposedly the first piece that specifies instrumentation is Gabrieli's Sonata pian' e forte (1597).
Do you mean specified instrumentation with a vocal score? Of course there are many printed instrumental sources that predate this for lute (from 1507 I think) and keyboard e.g. Frottole intabulate da sonare organi (Antico 1517). Even earlier there are vocal scores that unambiguously imply instrumental accompaniment e.g. Adieu ces bons vins de Lanny (Dufay ?1426) where the score starts 4 bars (modern mensuration) before the text.
I'm talking about multi-instrumental music, not vocal scores or single-instrument stuff like keyboard music.
In e.g. the instrumental compositions of composers like Schein, Scheidt, Praetorius, Gabrieli or the like, instrumentation is usually flexible. I've heard sometimes the same piece realized by all-brass ensemble, or all-viol ensemble, or a mix of different types of instruments. Composers generally didn't specify, although we can sometimes make assumptions from other known facts. For instance, it's known that the permanent ensemble of St. Mark's when Gabrieli was there consisted mainly of cornetts and sackbuts (early brass), so it's a fair assumption that Gabrieli had a brass-dominated ensemble in mind for his canzonas.
There are some pieces of that time, though, that do specify the instruments to be used. Sonata pian' e forte is one; another is Massaino's Canzona for 8 Trombones.
A better word is "non-existent." Most early instrumental music does not specify instrumentation, so you can arrange it any way you want.
Supposedly the first piece that specifies instrumentation is Gabrieli's Sonata pian' e forte (1597).
There is a Vihuela literature from the earlier
El Maestro by Luis de Milán (1536)
Los seys libros del Delphin by Luis de Narváez (1538)
Tres Libros de Música by Alonso Mudarra (1546)
Silva de sirenas by Enríquez de Valderrábano (1547)
Libro de música de Vihuela by Diego Pisador (1552)
Orphénica Lyra by Miguel de Fuenllana (1554)
El Parnasso by Estevan Daça (1576).
What's with Gesualdo's 6th book of madrigals? I intended to ask here for recommendation but it seems there is only one recording available, and that rather recent looking one by ensemble I never heard of. Am I missing something?
(http://www.mdt.co.uk/public/pictures/products/standard/GLO5226.jpg)
When will the membership cards be sent out, Dave? There's a Renaissance fair coming to town soon and I'd ike to use the card to get 20% on afternoon jousting. ;D
This might be why...Regarding that recording: "This release completes the hugely successful cycle of choral music by Gesualdo, the first project of this music to be completed in 40 years."
If it's so successful, why did it take them 40 years?
I can find bits of book six compiled with others, but not a whole volume like you show. I checked for about 20 minutes at several online locations.
I'm not the most knowledgable person here when it comes to madrigals, but I think that quote means that no one has recorded the complete cycle in last 40 years, not that it took them 40 years.
At least Les Arts Florissants/Christie Gesualdo disc with mixed selection is scheduled for re-release on Harmonia Mundi Gold series next month, was oop and fetching silly prices on amazon.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41YAz6bRW4L._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
Heh. That's what I meant.
"If it's so successful, why did it take them 40 years [to record another]?"
Sorry. I thought you meant:
"If it's so successful, why did it take them 40 years [to finish it]?"
My english comprehension isn't always up to much.
What's with Gesualdo's 6th book of madrigals? I intended to ask here for recommendation but it seems there is only one recording available, and that rather recent looking one by ensemble I never heard of. Am I missing something?
Sorry. I thought you meant:
"If it's so successful, why did it take them 40 years [to finish it]?"
My english comprehension isn't always up to much.
Here is one other: by the Quintetto Vocale Italiano on Rivo Alto. Old recordings (early '60s), and judging from this comment (http://www.entsharing.com/music/classical/carlo-gesualdo-madrigals-for-5-voices-books-1-to-5-1990/) not very HIP, not worthwhile.
But note that La Venexiana is working on a cycle as well - Books IV & V issued:
Don't know the Kassiopeia Quintet, but it can't be bad - they're Dutch! ;D ;)
Would you care to make a comment on it? :)
Q
Would you care to make a comment on it? :)
Q
In my opinion the Jacob Lindberg (now available on Brilliant) is superlative...
For what it's worth, Rooley is an excellent player but I would place him at the bottom of the pile of the crop of Dowland lute solo cycles.
I have to check to see if I have any recordings by Elizabeth Kenny. But the most beautiful parts of this set are the solo pieces by Emma Kirkby and I am not convinced Kenny can top her ...
Yes, my tastes seem to be travelling backward through time. 8) Chopin and earlier: that's pretty much me, lately.
Dave - LOL! ;D The Middle Ages/Renaissance have fascinated me for years, including the music - bought the book below a few years ago (got a used copy - Norton is the publisher and they always want so much $$!) - if interested, try a library borrow - an excellent book on the topic - :D Dave
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41R9DJ7G6YL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg)
I have no problem with Emma Kirby's singing although I much prefer my Dowland with tenor or countertenor. Elizabeth Kenny is Professor of Lute at the Royal Academy not a singer.
Ha! Wrong image. ;D
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51x9QIv34JL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
Dave - LOL! ;D The Middle Ages/Renaissance have fascinated me for years, including the music - bought the book below a few years ago (got a used copy - Norton is the publisher and they always want so much $$!) - if interested, try a library borrow - an excellent book on the topic - :D Dave
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41R9DJ7G6YL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg)
Since this is not the Listening thread, an additional comment would be welcome. :)
Q
What's on it? Medieval stuff? :)
Q
A gift from my wife:
(http://208.131.143.232/i/1/0/5/1/4/5/4.jpg) (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41BMC9NX3BL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61UCUEM4Q0L._SS500_.jpg)
How is it Q? Mine's on order. :D
Then you should go for the two cheap doubles by the Tallis Scholas on Gimell called Tudor Church Music 1 & 2. I find them even better than this fine Tallis set.
This is by far the best Tallis I heard for years, including the much lauded Gimell recordings, which I never much liked.
It's a very nice set. Tallis is no Desprez, but who is? :) And it's interesting for me to hear the British Renaissance School.
Performances and recordings are excellent. The set comes with a CD-ROM with full liner notes and texts on a pdf file - 75 pages! :o (conveniently in A4 format)
There is a bit of piecemeal on that set - I find that he excels in the motets more than any other area. But he is somewhat less of a rounded composer than Byrd, for example, although it doesn't help that less of his music has survived.
The high renaissance laks the grit and dissonance that the earlier renaissance provides, and therefore in my ears often sounds plainly "too pretty". I share your preference (in general) for the earlier generations, with some exceptions (the Spanish for their wonderfully ecstatic and "mystic" sounds, Lassus for his tunefullness). I find Talllis "too smooth" as well (I have owned this sett for some time) (...)
Dunstaple would definitely be more of interest to one who prefers the Franco-Flemmish style - I find this disc (http://www.amazon.com/John-Dunstaple-Musician-Plantagenets-Orlando/dp/B000002K3V/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1239612314&sr=1-1) to be immaculate.
Sara - hey, I have that disc, also - need to give it a spin, though! Dave :DI have it as well but it seems to have got AWOL in the collection somewhere, when that happens only time will tell how and where it resurfaces. Probably misfiled.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41MYZ4CP7CL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
I found a disc of Robert Fayrfax masses which I had missed for 6 months inside a Norah Jones album recently. How is THAT for misfiling?
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61UCUEM4Q0L._SS500_.jpg)
I've been through this whole set, time for some conclusions. :) See for previous comments by several of us HERE (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,3732.msg298111.html#msg298111).
A fine set and beautiful music.................
Q - thanks for the comments on the Tallis box - this set received a high recommendation in Fanfare at the end of last year, so has been on my 'potential to buy' list for a while; now w/ the further support of you et al, might just make a purchase, esp. @ the Brilliant price!
Just checked my Thomas Tallis collection; only 3 discs, and one w/ just 43 mins! Hmm - ;D
I have 16 CD's by Tallis. I bought over 20 CD's of works between Byrd, Ockeghem, Palestrina and Fayrfax over the past two months to significantly boost my collection of early music.
Stuart - just curious - if Brilliant is claiming that 10 CDs represents Tallis' Complete Recordings, then how can you have '16 CDs by Tallis'? I'm assuming that you have a number of discs w/ a variety of composers represented? Dave :D
And any opinions on this release?:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61fCciLveEL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
Can someone who is familiar with either of these recordings provides some insight about the recordings?
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Sinners and Saints, long time stalwart of the Devonshire traditional heavy metal scene, deliver the goods on their ninth album "The Ultimate Medieval and Renaissance Music Collection". The recent firing of lead guitarist, ex-Toxic Love shredder Blaze Bradley, has seen the loss of the nu-metal sound that Sinners and Saints lamentably touted on their eighth album "Distorted Love Machine". In its place now are the merry stylings of Auld England that apparently Sinners and Saints were looking for all along. Says lead singer, Trey Violet, "We've always loved history and stuff and so now we've finally been able to combine our twin loves of England's rich musical heritage and kick-ass solos. Plus you've gotta see the tour because we're gonna have a Stonehenge". This reviewer says let's hope this is a sound that's here to stay because it had me whipping my neck and mutating the hexachord all through the night.
Sinners and Saints, long time stalwart of the Devonshire traditional heavy metal scene, deliver the goods on their ninth album "The Ultimate Medieval and Renaissance Music Collection". The recent firing of lead guitarist, ex-Toxic Love shredder Blaze Bradley, has seen the loss of the nu-metal sound that Sinners and Saints lamentably touted on their eighth album "Distorted Love Machine". In its place now are the merry stylings of Auld England that apparently Sinners and Saints were looking for all along. Says lead singer, Trey Violet, "We've always loved history and stuff and so now we've finally been able to combine our twin loves of England's rich musical heritage and kick-ass solos. Plus you've gotta see the tour because we're gonna have a Stonehenge". This reviewer says let's hope this is a sound that's here to stay because it had me whipping my neck and mutating the hexachord all through the night.Very fine post. Well suitable to the cover images as well.
And any opinions on this release?:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61fCciLveEL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
(I admit steering away from Britsh Ensembles in the Franco-Flemish Renaissance repertoire)
Is this a single disc? Because the term "the essential Desprez" is a contradictio in terminis - in my experience just about anything by Desprez is essential in the context of Renaisance music.
Why?
I think it's just one disc, but all I care about is whether the music is good or not. Buying a whole load of Josquin CDs is not on my horizon just now.
Taking the opportunity to bump this thread with a recommendation of this magnificent recording:
(http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/f4/33/3536a2c008a04c251067b010.L.jpg)
This is my 2nd recording of Machaut's famous masterpiece - deservedly a "must-have" for anyone interested in Medieval Music. My 1st acquaintance with this work was through the (controversial) interpretation by the Ensemble Organum under Michel Pérès. Read earlier comments HERE (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,3732.msg231478.html#msg231478) and HERE (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,3732.msg240820.html#msg240820). This recording is in comparison sung on smaller scale and without the "byzantine" tonal micro-intervals, making the resulting sound more transparent and ethereal in character. I have to emphasize however, that despite the ethereal blend of the sound of these fist class singers the music isn't smoothed out and all dissonant chords and other characteristics that give this music its expressiveness are showcased. Another winner from this super ensemble. Most strongly recommended! :o :)
An enthusiastic review by David Vernier on ClassicsToday HERE (http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=2103)
A slightly less enthusiastic review (of the earlier incarnation of this recording on Harmonic Records) on MusicWeb HERE (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2002/July02/MachautMass.htm). The reviewer takes issue with Andreas Scholl's contribution, in this instance, I do not agree. 8)
A five-star review on Goldbergweb HERE (http://www.goldbergweb.com/en/discography/1990/4184.php).
But whatever you do: DO get a recording of this marvelous music! :)
Q
Q, You always come up with these labels that I have never heard of. In a little over a month, I went from having no Glossa CD's to 2 dozens of (mostly) early music CD's. ;D
Have a look - lots of Early Music goodies. :)
(http://www.cantus-records.com/images/logo1.gif) (http://www.cantus-records.com/Eng/e_index.htm)
click on the picture
Q
I'm looking for Gesualdo recommendations. I only have his Tenebrae Responsoria (Hilliard Ensemble) and want to hear some of the madrigals. Any suggestions for whichever book? There doesn't seem to be that much out there. ???
I think you'll be satisfied with either of the recordings by La Venexiana (Glossa):
(http://www.jpc.de/image/w600/front/0/8424562209343.jpg) (http://www.jpc.de/image/w600/front/0/8424562209350.jpg)
Q
Similar odd tonal insight to Fayrfax, though textures less rich or secure, and I'm not at all sure how he does it- I thought the tonal modes weren't in use till late 16th c?
I bought all 5 volumes of FAYRFAX works by Cardinall`s Musick with Andrew Carwood on ASV Gaudeamus early this year, very inspirational music IMO ...
Absolutely; Fayrfax is one of the most interesting figures in the entire renaissance and 100 years ahead of his time- the Missa Albanus made a huge impression on me (and likely would on anyone). Ludford is his admirable sidekick.
I do not have any standalone recordings of Ludford's works. This will be my next exploration ...
The same group has done a similar short survey, as you probably know.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41t0Aaw%2BEVL._SS500_.jpg)
Taking the opportunity to bump this thread with some comments on Franco-Flemisch early Renaissance composer Johannes Ockeghem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Ockeghem)'s Requiem in the performance by Marcel Pérès and the Ensemble Organum.
Although for this budget issue the notes on composer & work have been retained, there is nothing anymore about the performance...
Those familiar with the ensemble and its conductor might know what to expect: solemn, earthy, expressive and inventive, and above all: quite intense. Unlike Britsh ensembles, the singing is focused on using chest-tones. To present Ockeghem's composition in the proper lithurgical context a Sanctus and Communia by Antonius Divitis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonius_Divitis) are added, together with alternating Plain-chant Some parts (Introit, Kyrie, Graduale) are performed at lower pitch, which might raise eyebrows. But it seems to work well. This is a great disc, and in any case interesting and different - especially for those used to British style performances.
Nice discography of Johannes Ockeghem HERE (http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/composers/ockeghem.html). Samples of this recording HERE (http://www.classicsonline.com/catalogue/product.aspx?pid=802678).
Would welcome any additional Ockeghem recommedations! :)
Q
Q, Here is a nice one I have by the famed Tallis Scholars ...
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41NK1N1XGPL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
I also have another 6 volumes by The Clerks' Group/Wickham on the English? label Gaudeamus ...
Thanks! :) But I've decided some time ago that I do not prefer the Franco-Flemish repertoire performed in British style, with its smooth phrasing, ethereal blending of sound and continuously singing on the top of the voices. Don't get me wrong: it is a rich and wonderful tradition that fits Tallis et al like a glove! :) But for the Franco-Flemish I've taken a fancy for ensembles like the Flemish Huelgas Ensemble, or French ensembles like A Sei Voci, Ensemble Gilles Binchois, the Ensemble Organum and the Ensemble Musica Nova, that I recently discovered in Machaut's motets (Zig-Zag, should post on that soon..)
So on Ockeghem I've been considering this - anyone knows it? :)
(http://www.outhere-music.com/data/cds/1977/BIG.JPG)
More info on the recording HERE (http://www.outhere-music.com/store-AECD0753).
Q
So on Ockeghem I've been considering this - anyone knows it? :)
(http://www.outhere-music.com/data/cds/1977/BIG.JPG)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41t0Aaw%2BEVL._SS500_.jpg)The original notes don't contain much information, either. The recording was made at l'Abbaye de Fontevraud in November 1992. If you like, I can scan the contents page with personnel listings.
Taking the opportunity to bump this thread with some comments on Franco-Flemisch early Renaissance composer Johannes Ockeghem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Ockeghem)'s Requiem in the performance by Marcel Pérès and the Ensemble Organum.
Although for this budget issue the notes on composer & work have been retained, there is nothing anymore about the performance...
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DvOSDI2qL._SS500_.jpg)
Please tell how that recording on Stradivarius does in comparison to A Sei Voci? :)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41YE2FSP00L.jpg)
Drasko, how is that one? :)
An unknown ensemble to me - I had to google it. (Info at ORF (http://shop.orf.at/1/index.tmpl?shop=oe1&SEITE=artikel-detail&ARTIKEL=3048&startat=1&page=1&zeigen=t&lang=EN))
Q
Good idea, cutting this from listening thread.Yes, and I think the cover is very beatiful and most appropriate. Makes me wonder about what kind of reflexes makes people think this cover is disgusting. Impure in thought etc....(maybe)
http://www.hoasm.org/IID/IIDArsNovaFrance.html (http://www.hoasm.org/IID/IIDArsNovaFrance.html)
•Franciscus Andrieu (?Magister Franciscus)
•Baralipton
•Chassa
•Bernard de Cluny
•Jehan de Villeroye [Briquet]
•Grimace
•Jehannot de l'Escurel
•Johannes (Jean) de Muris
•Guillaume de Machaut
•Pierre des Molins
•Petrus de Cruce [Pierre de la Croix]
•Jean Vaillant
•Philippe de Vitry
Antoine BRUMEL
Mass for 12 voices, "Et Ecce Terrae Motus" (with three organs and brass accompaniment)
Dominique Visse (Conductor), Ensemble Clément Janequin, Les Sacqueboutiers de Toulouse
Harmonia Mundi
[...]
These two masses are really different, but both are great. I borrowed the Brumel from the library & hadn't heard it in 15 years. He was a Renaissance composer whose dates are c.1460 - 1515. He started his career as a choirboy at Chartres Cathedral and ended it working conducting a choir in Italy. This mass is his most significant work, and both in terms of the large forces used and the length and complexity of the work, nothing can match it from that time except Tallis' Spem in alium (a masterpiece that I haven't heard yet). Complexity is the word with this work. Some parts come across as a "wall of sound" (like the music of Brumel's teacher Josquin des Prez), but Brumel also builds things up gradually for maximum effect. Take the concluding Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) which is in three parts. The first is choir only, in the second the brass comes in, and in the third the organs. It's one of the most amazing climaxes you're likely to ever hear. It's certainly just as sophisticated (if not more) as anything I've heard from more contemporary composers. I'm actually amazed at how Brumel could get this all down on the page, all of this complexity (I mean - THREE organs!). It's simply staggering. This work was published in the 1500's & we are lucky to have a full copy of the score. This work remained popular even after Brumel's death - the great Lassus, a composer of the next generation, was to direct a number of performances of it in Germany.
[...]
Thanks very much for that also. It's good to have some members here who are really clued up about this area of early classical. I am only familiar with the names Brumel & Lasso (Lasssus) on the track listing. I'm highly impressed by the Brumel mass for 12 voices, as I have talked about previously. I haven't heard about the other pieces/composers. Are the other items on this set highly regarded parts of the repertoire of that time? Are they generally representative of the eras? Basically is this set a good introduction or kind of "launchpad" into this repertoire for newcomers like myself? I'm kind of looking less for "definitive" performances, I'm more interested in "defining" works of those times...
This is a highly distinctive record, in which each piece is approached in a different way, most are approached in a novel way, and everything seems to work very well. Paul van Nevel and his musicians have attacked the bizarre music of the late fourteenth century with spirit and originality: nobody seems to know how this music should have sounded, but every performance here undeniably brings out important qualities in the music.
Van Nevel's first surprise is to use a choir of six women to sing the top line of Le Mont Aon, normally thought of as a solo song; then he performs the first stanza with just these plus a trombone on the tenor line, adding the third voice (on a vielle) only for the later stanzas. This actually keeps the ear alive through over 12 minutes of intricate music. And he brings a similar surprise for the last piece, Cuvelier's Se Galaas, where he has just his women singing on all three voices, with a hardedged and direct tone that brings out the dissonances and rhythms with a wonderful clarity: you really get the excitement of the battle-cry "Febus avant" that opens the refrain. For the songs by Trebor and Solage, he uses just three male voices, again with splendidly convincing results, I think, though some listeners may disagree: in any case, Solage's Fumeux fume is one of the strangest pieces ever written, with its weird dissonances and very low texture (treated here literally), so the sound is a little strange whatever you do to it. Again, the point here is that Van Nevel approaches it in a new way and brings new qualities out of the work. Two of the motets are performed twice through, first with only one of the upper voices sung, so that the listener can grapple with the details by stages. And the canonic Tres doux compains is done as an instrumental piece for three delicioussounding tenor recorders, bringing out many musical details that would be lost if it was sung.
I think this may be the kind of record you could give to people unfamiliar with medieval music in the confident expectation that they would enjoy it and that the performances gave a responsible account of what is in the music.
D.F [Gramophone]
Que, I'm just starting back with my listening also.
Your more qualified to do the commentary but you might want to mention which disk in the set it is.
Q, Here is a nice one I have by the famed Tallis Scholars ...
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41NK1N1XGPL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
I also have another 6 volumes by The Clerks' Group/Wickham on the English? label Gaudeamus ...
If members can make me recommedations of similar recordings I would be most obliged! :)
Moving on to Disk 9 of the set. I want to mention that these are available as individual issues but the set is such a good value that the indiviual CD's are quite expensive in comparison.
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Great series of posts, please keep them coming. I've plunked for the box. Re. ars subtilior recordings, here are a few:
Ars Magis Subtiliter: Music of the Chantilly Codex (1), New Albion 21
-- Ensemble P.A.N.
Codex Chantilly: Ballades & Rondeaux (1), Harmonia Mundi 1951252
-- Marcel Pérès, Ensemble Organum
Corps Femenin: L’Avant Garde de Jean Duc de Berry (1), Arcana 355
-- Crawford Young, Ferrara Ensemble
and the Solage half of
The Unknown Lover: Songs by Solage and Machaut (1), Avie 2089
-- Gothic Voices
Isn't this set currently unavailable on Amazon?
David is referring to this set, that you already have, if I'm not mistaken? :) :
For Europeans: price at jpc is now down to €30 - click here (http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/A-Secret-Labyrinth-Musik-vom-Mittelalter-zur-Renaissance/hnum/4487642)! :)
Q
Moving on to Disk 10. This set is not going to be far away from arms length for a long time!
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61G1HZGNQBL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
I definitely do like to hear more form the Cypriotic Turin manscript
Q
Ensemble P.A.N. is always solid and this disc is no exception:
The Island of St. Hylarion: Music of Cyprus 1413-22 (1), New Albion 38
(http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000000R2Y.01_SL75_.jpg)
This is from a Gramophone review of disc #1 from the set.
What do you make of this? Is it just a hangover from the old debate Christopher Page and company had about the vocalization of non-texted music? Aside from, and in my opinion more important than, the question of plausibility, how does it sound? Is it juicy? Is it sweet?
Correction noted. I'm really looking forward to hearing this set. Should arrive today, and if I can I'll relay its flavours myself as a supplement to your notes.
(http://cover7.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/Large/15/1121915.jpg) (http://www.jpc.de/image/w600/front/0/0886974784425.jpg)
And lo and behold! :o
A work on a yet larger scale, and long reputed to be lost, is Striggio's mass composed in 40 parts, and which included a 60-voice setting of the final Agnus Dei. The work was recently unearthed by Berkeley musicologist Davitt Moroney and identified as a parody mass, Missa sopra Ecco sì beato giorno (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missa_sopra_Ecco_s%C3%AC_beato_giorno), and received its first modern performance at the Royal Albert Hall during the London Proms on 17 July 2007 by the BBC Singers and The Tallis Scholars conducted by Moroney. This work was most likely composed in 1565/6, and carried by Striggio on a journey across Europe in late winter and spring 1567, for performances at Mantua, Munich and Paris.[3] The first commercial recording of the Mass, by the British group I Fagiolini, was released in March 2011.
Interesting to see one of the "majors" being back at the forefront in the Early Music niche.
Q
Q, Thanks for the posting and this CD is now on my shopping list ... :)
Q, Thanks for the posting and this CD is now on my shopping list ... :)
I did you one better. I ordered it last night as part of an order from Arkivmusic (they have it on sale).
I did you one better. I ordered it last night as part of an order from Arkivmusic (they have it on sale).
How was the "Mass In 40 Parts" CD? I have it on my Want List.
EDIT: Thread Duty: I'm still listening to CD 13 and am just amazed by this music. 8)
I did you one better. I ordered it last night as part of an order from Arkivmusic (they have it on sale).
As it happens a new recording (http://www.capilla.be/EN/In_myne_zyn__ALEXANDER_AGRICOLA-discografie-41.php) has recently been issued, mentioned by serveral members, like Drasko and new erato. Anyone who can give feedback on that recording yet? :) :)I don't know if you want comments from others than me, but once again, this is quality on all counts.
(http://cover7.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/Large/86/1632686.jpg)
Q
I don't know if you want comments from others than me, but once again, this is quality on all counts.
Thanks! :) It's on the wishlist then.
Q
If Cavalli counts as early, I'm listening
to the new Artemisia on Glossa, and it's minblowingly goog!
Great question. What are the general dates (I am sure that there is PLENTY of grey area) for "early" music? Does it end post Monteverdi?
A link to that one please, Erato.
What a feast is this set!
(http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/89/b2/3f6c828fd7a05cc148954110.L.jpg) (http://www.jpc.de/image/w600/front/0/0886974784425.jpg)
Guillaume de Machaut (d.1377) is one of the undisputed pinnacle geniuses of Western music, and the most famous composer of the Middle Ages. Today his four-voice Mass of Notre Dame is a textbook example for medieval counterpoint, and has served sufficiently to maintain his reputation across shifts in fashion. However Machaut's work is extensive, with his French songs & poetry dominating the fourteenth century by both their quality and volume. A series of carefully prepared illuminated manuscripts, undertaken for members of the French royalty, preserve his complete artistic output. Along with these major sources, various pieces are duplicated in scattered sources throughout Europe. His life and work are thus extremely well-preserved for the period, and his position as the most distinguished composer of the century has never wavered.
Machaut was apparently born in the vicinity of Rheims in Champagne, around the year 1300. He is first known as the secretary of John of Luxembourg in 1323, and used the position to travel extensively for various battles and political events. In approximately 1340, Machaut returned to Rheims to take up the position of canon (he had previously been an absentee office-holder) together with his brother Jean. However, he continued to serve John of Luxembourg until the latter's death at Crécy in 1346, and then served his daughter Bonne, who appears in the Remède de Fortune. The remainder of the fourteenth century was an epic of wars and plagues, and one of the few periods in which the population of Europe declined, but Machaut's reputation continued to rise. He went on to serve two kings of France, and was charged with a task as important as accompanying hostages during the English war. In 1361 the Dauphine was received in Machaut's quarters, an exceptional event. By the 1370s Machaut's name was associated with Pierre de Lusignan, King of Cyprus, thus establishing his fame nearly as far as Asia.
Machaut is frequently portrayed today as an avant garde composer, especially because of his position with regard to the early Ars Nova (a new, more detailed rhythmic notation), but one must also emphasize the masterful continuity with which he employed established forms. While using the same basic formats, he made subtle changes to meter and rhyme scheme, allowing for more personal touches and a more dramatic presentation. Indeed, Machaut's poetry is one of the most impressive French outputs of the medieval era, serving as an example even for Chaucer. The theme of courtly love dominates his writing, becoming heavily symbolized in the guises of such characters as Fortune & Hope, and the personal dramas in which they act. Machaut's poetic output, and by extension the subset of texts he chose to set to music, is both personal and ritualized, lending it a timeless quality. Some of the love themes date to Ovid and beyond, from whom they had been elaborated first by the troubadours of Provence and then by the northern trouvères, and so it is truly a classical tradition to which they belong.
Machaut marks the end of the lineage of the trouvères, and with it the development of the monophonic art song in the West. This aspect of his work is found in the virelais and especially the lengthy lais. He also acted decisively to refine the emerging polyphonic song forms ballade & rondeau, and these were to become the dominant fixed forms for the following generations. What Machaut achieved so eloquently is an idiomatic and natural combination of words with music, forcefully compelling in its lyrical grace and rhythmic sophistication. His songs are immediately enjoyable, because he was able to shape the smallest melodic nuances as well as to conceive of forms on a large scale. The latter is reflected in his poetic-musical creations Le Remède de Fortune and Le Veoir Dit, as well as in his Messe de Notre Dame. One must not lose sight of Machaut's position within the sweep of medieval history, as his great "multimedia" productions had clear precedents in the Roman de la Rose and especially the Roman de Fauvel. It is Machaut's ability to unite cogent and elegant melodic thinking with the new rhythmic possibilities of the Ars Nova which ultimately makes his musical reputation.
Although he wrote music for more than one hundred of his French poems, and even for half a dozen motets in Latin, Machaut remains best-known for his Mass of Notre Dame. This mass was written as part of the commemoration of the Virgin endowed by the Machaut brothers at Rheims, and was intended for performance in a smaller setting by specialized soloists. The most striking aspect of the piece is not simply the high quality of the contrapuntal writing, but the architectural unity of the Ordinary sections as well. Machaut's mass is not the earliest surviving mass cycle (there are two which predate it), but it is the earliest by a single composer and indeed the earliest to display this degree of unity. While the chants used as cantus firmus do vary, opening gestures and motivic figures are used to confirm the cyclical nature of the work. Technique of this magnitude is frequently offered as evidence of Machaut's prescience, given the prominence of such forms a hundred or two hundred years later, but the musical quality of his cycle can be appreciated on its own terms. Indeed, the same can be said for Machaut's oeuvre as a whole. ~ Todd McComb, 4/98
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61kPvnwRKDL._SS500_.jpg) (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BXoO3q4vL._SS400_.jpg)
(http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/imgs/s300x300/4779747.jpg)
Do I need ten discs of Victoria's music all at once? Hmm . . .
No. Of course not. But is that really the question and/or issue that would/will keep you from purchasing it?
That said, Victoria is absolute top-of-the-line Renaissance music... and any musical omnivore will want at least some T.L.d.Victoria.
(http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/imgs/s300x300/4779747.jpg)
Looks like Archiv will release a big ol' honkin' box of works by Victoria this summer. I'm thinking these are new recordings as Michael Noone doesn't appear to have recorded for Archiv before, though I could be wrong about that. (Perhaps it's a reissue of micro-label recordings, for instance.) Do I need ten discs of Victoria's music all at once? Hmm . . .
In celebration of our 10th birthday and the 400th anniversary of the death of the finest of Spain's Renaissance composers, Ensemble Plus Ultra is releasing a series of ten CDs of the works of Tomás Luis de Victoria (c. 1548—1611). With an emphasis on works composed by Victoria in Madrid, and versions of works that have never before been recorded, the project features Andrés Cea Galan playing the historic organs of Lerma and Tordesillas, and collaborations with Spanish plainsong specialists Schola Antiqua (dir. Juan Carlos Asensio) and the specialist historical wind players of His Majesty Sagbutts & Cornetts (dir. Jeremy West).
The series of recordings is a project of the Fundación Caja Madrid, and the CDs will appear on the DGG Archiv label.
As I have the box and thus lack this album's notes, I must ask whether the Desprez and Ockeghem tracks are related. Is the second based on the first? Together, they sound a diptych that could have been written yesterday.
Fine set of madrigals here. Less moaning and exclaiming than sometimes in this repertory, solid 5-part music.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/410XF496K7L._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
As I have the box and thus lack this album's notes, I must ask whether the Desprez and Ockeghem tracks are related. Is the second based on the first? Together, they sound a diptych that could have been written yesterday.
Matteo da Perugia is one of the oddly neglected composers of the years around 1400. Though evidently Italian, he wrote largely in the French manner, even when setting Italian texts; so neither national tradition adopts him today. Until recently his music was known only from one manuscript and a related tiny fragment, so he was considered to have had no impact, though the discovery of two new manuscripts containing his work may call for a revision of that view. Most seriously, after the initial flurry of excitement when Willi Apel first published Perugia's astonishingly complicated music in 1950, scholars began to say there was nothing innovative about his music (though without being able to date any of it). But his known output of over 30 pieces is extraordinarily varied in style and inspiration: he seems to have tried everything, often with stunning success.
Paul Van Nevel's collection of nine pieces does ample justice to the variety of his output: French songs, Mass movements, motets and an Italian song; from the most chromatic and angular to the most harmonious; from the energetic to the gentle. As usual, he is occasionally headstrong in his choice of scoring, from the use of a female chorus in He/as April to transposing the middle stanza (only) of Puisque la mart up a fourth. But everything is done to serve the music, and everything is with an eye to revealing the wayward beauty of this fascinating composer. He helps you to hear inside the music. The sound is good and clear; the singers are excellent; and he contributes a characteristically challenging booklet-note that explains his approach. DF
Thanks for the heads up on the Huelgas Ensemble/Van Nevel disk. I'll put it on my "to buy" list. 8)
Whatever 'faint praise' or carping criticism I may have heaped on an occasional non-favorite from The Huelgas Ensemble must be totally discounted in listening to this recording of music by Cipriano de Rore (1516-1565). The Missa Praeter rerum seriem is a major monument of late Renaissance polyphony; the more often I listen to it, the more musically profound it seems to me. This performance of it by The Huelgas Ensemble is likewise a monument of choral singing in our times, easily surpassing its competition from The Tallis Scholars.
You'll have to take my word for that, because my interest here is to comment on the seven shorter pieces by Cipriano recorded here - one French chanson, two Latin motets, two Italian motets, and "Calami sonum ferentes", listed as a madrigal but in Latin. In musical point of fact, all seven pieces are fully 'madrigalesque' and shockingly, radically 'modern' for music written before Gesualdo or Monteverdi were born! If anyone ever tells you that 'modern' music began with Cipriano, don't argue! He/she may be right.
As we usually experience with a perfectly matched ensemble of viols, the mixed voices of Paul Van Nevel's Huelgas-Ensemble roll out Cipriano de Rore's eight-part chanson Mon petit cueur like a plush, richly colored, deep-textured sonic carpet, one with no seams or flaws. This skillfully woven musical cloth offers the ear one sumptuous harmonic delight after another, as would a prized tapestry present similarly dazzling delights to the eye. This Flemish composer who spent most of his professional life in Italy (he died in 1565 at the age of 49) is yet another Renaissance figure of major importance whose work has remained largely unknown. Not only is he revered as a significant influence on composers such as Monteverdi (whose madrigals Alfred Einstein claims were "inconceivable without him"), but he is credited with successfully bringing together music and emotional expression in a way no one had done before.
If you wonder just what this means, listen to Mon petit cueur, or to the motet Plange quasi virgo, or the madrigal Mia benigna fortuna. All demonstrate the vital connection between human feeling and musical manifestation, where elements of sound--both of the words themselves and of various combinations of harmonies and textures--join with inflection and dynamic changes to create an overall mood far more compelling and deeply involving than a mere momentary sensation. In other words, there are no gimmicks or obvious, theatrical tricks at play. Rore's manner relies primarily on subtle and skillfully structured effects that grow from long melodic lines and underlying, rolling waves of harmony. Occasionally, as at the end of Mon petit cueur, a totally surprising chord gives our expectations a serious yet delightful jolt--and although this happens with some regularity throughout these pieces, we're never quite prepared for it.
The mass is a masterpiece, a stunning example of perfect proportion (overall and within movements), outstanding vocal writing, and ingenious use of varied textures and rhythmic shifts to control momentum and mood. The Huelgas-Ensemble has never been in better form, the voices vibrant and colorful, expressive in every context, from delicate and subtle (the madrigal Schiet'arbuscel) to profoundly meditative (the Agnus Dei of the mass) to more overtly dramatic (the madrigal Mia benigna fortuna). The music is uniformly excellent, and the ardent performances and ideal sonics pay it full and worthy tribute. Don't miss this--one of the year's more unusual and pleasant surprises. [4/5/2003] --David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com
This new issue seems a must-have:
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TÓMAS LUIS DE VICTORIA
Sacred Works
Ensemble Plus Ultra
Michael Noone
This new issue seems a must-have:
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The vocal ensemble Cantus Colln led by Konrad Junghänel is one of the most famous European ensembles of its kind with over 30 CD recordings. Cantus Colln has won numerous international awards and is noted for including compelling performances of musical rarities as well as groundbreaking interpretations of the "classics" of the baroque repertoire.
The set from Deutsche Harmonia Mundi features 10 compact discs that were formerly unavailable, these collectible titles are now available at a low price in high quality packaging with the original cover art.
1. Rosenmüller: Sacri Concerti
2. Knüpfer, Schelle, Kuhnau: Thomaskantoren vor Bach
3. Monteverdi: Madrigali Amorosi
4. Pachelbel, J.C. Bach, J.M. Bach: Motetten
5. Monteverdi: Vespro della beata vergine - part 1
6. Monteverdi: Vespro della beata vergine - part 2
7. Lasso: Prophetiae Sibyllarum
8. Schütz: Psalmen, Motetten und Konzerte - part 1
9. Schütz: Psalmen, Motetten und Konzerte - part 2
10. Lechner: Sprüche von Leben und Tod
For a variety of reasons--some purely musical, others related to circumstances of history--many perfectly fine composers of the Renaissance period have remained in virtual obscurity. One such is 16th-century Spanish composer Ginés Pérez, who achieved a certain stature in his home territory of Valencia but, as the liner notes point out, due to local inadequacies of music printing and the fact that he didn't travel beyond the region, his music was not widely disseminated. As this recording shows--these works have never before been recorded--Pérez was a highly competent master of contemporary liturgical form and style, setting texts such as the Salve Regina in easily flowing lines and sonorous harmonies.
In the music for the Office for the Dead, the major "work" on this program, Pérez employs varieties of vocal and instrumental combinations and builds his vocal textures with liberal use of homophonic structures. What's most striking is the solidity, the seeming inevitability of the harmonic progressions and the skilled voicing that imbues these works with bright, richly resonant sound. Psalm 120 and the Parce mihi, Domine in the Office of the Dead are excellent examples of this, but other instances abound, not least of which occur in the several purely instrumental sections (performed on shawm, sackbut, flute, cornett, organ). In its straightforward simplicity Pérez's Magnificat is as powerful and moving a setting as many I can think of that bear far more famous authorship.
The choir, part of the Spanish early-music group Victoria Musicae, has a refined ensemble technique and its well-balanced sound is captured in a slightly too bright, resonant acoustic that lets voices and instruments ring. These singers and their excellent instrumental partners are effective advocates and make a strong case for more attention to this unknown composer's work. All is not perfect: both singing and playing at times suffer from sagging intonation, and phrase endings aren't always ideally, uniformly shaped. But these are small lapses in otherwise strongly recommendable performances.
Words fail me.
That good? :) What pieces are on it?
Q
Modern ears have been subjected to a sound world so complex and chaotic--and just plain noisy--that it's impossible for us now to really appreciate the original contextual significance of works such as these 15th century motets of Guillaume Dufay. We can enjoy them on many levels and we can intellectually understand their importance, but when we hear these very complex rhythms, and harmonies that often have a strange, vacant quality, we can't erase from our memory the fact that we've heard Brahms and Ives and Stravinsky. But I picked those three composers because each owes something to Dufay and to others who wrote in ancient forms and styles, in this case the isorhythmic motet. Much like Bach's works were at the same time a summation and epitomization of the Baroque, so were these motets of Dufay in their way a final, ultimate statement regarding one of the more sophisticated musical forms of the Middle Ages. Simply put, the isorhythmic motet begins with a particular rhythmic formula or pattern that's applied to a melody in one or more voices and repeated several times throughout the piece. The structure can get quite complicated, especially if different rhythmic formulas are used for different voices, making for irregular patterns of repetition. Dufay was a master of this compositional technique and as you listen you can see why later composers looking for interesting new ideas would have found very fertile ground among pieces like these. Conductor Paul Van Nevel organizes the program chronologically so the careful listener can follow the gradual stylistic changes Dufay employed from first motet to last--a range of approximately 20 years. His singers and instrumentalists, the always intriguing, musically polished, and stylistically informed Huelgas Ensemble, just seem to revel in the music--somehow reaching back to that motorless, unplugged time where no sound was amplified or transmitted except by means of natural acoustics, where voices and instruments were commonly heard resonating from stone and wood. And we get that too, thanks to Harmonia Mundi's skillful miking in the suitably ancient, resonant space of l'Abbaye-aux-Dames.
--David Vernier
To celebrate 10 years of The Sixteen’s lively and successful record label, CORO, and to mark the launch of our new downloads site www.thesixteendigital.com we are delighted to offer you a FREE download of one of our most popular CDs - Venetian Treasures - featuring glorious Italian choral music.
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How do you like this CD? I bought the CD early in the year ...
Que; waiting for that disc to drop into my mailbox any minute now. Re early German repoertoire; you dont know Senfl and Isaac? There's a fine Isaac disc on Bongiovanni with the Missa La Spagna.
Que; waiting for that disc to drop into my mailbox any minute now.
Re early German repoertoire; you dont know Senfl and Isaac? There's a fine Isaac disc on Bongiovanni with the Missa La Spagna.
Good! :) Hope you are doing well after your operation, BTW.
Totally uncharted territory! :o So, any tips are welcome. :)Seem you have some work to do....the Im Maien disc on HM by Fretwork is a good introduction to the secular Senfll.
CD4 Missa de Beata Virgine; Motets: Vide speciosam, Gaude Maria virgo, Quam pulchra sunt
What are your impressions sofar BTW?I have them both.
I haven't purchased the set yet, but found Bruno Giordano's ongoing review at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/review/R1Q3QSZBOYJNPI/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0050F6JQE&nodeID=&tag=&linkCode=) fascinating.
According to him my Colombina set of the complete vespers for the Holy Week (Glossa) will not be redundant. ::)
Q
And is this as good as I have seen somebody think?
Leonhard Paminger (1495–1567) is one of many Renaissance composers whose names have slipped through the cracks of time and fallen into obscurity, awaiting rediscovery. [...] Born in Aschach on the Danube, Paminger studied in Vienna from 1513 to 1516, and then moved to Passau, where he spent the rest of his life as first a teacher and then headmaster of the Augustinian Choir School of St. Nikola. He composed more than 700 works and sired at least three sons—Balthasar, Sigismund, and Sophronius—who were also composers. Sophronius in particular sought to perpetuate his father’s memory, but of a planned posthumous edition of Leonhard’s works in 10 volumes only four were published. Aside from his musical activities, Paminger was also involved in the religious controversies of the era; several short polemical works by him on behalf of Lutheranism were published in the year of his death. Some evidence suggests that he may have been forced to relinquish his position in 1558 due to his confessional convictions.
This album presents a mixture of motets and psalm settings, all well crafted and worthy of revival. Despite his Protestant sympathies, virtually all of Paminger’s works set Latin rather than German texts—a practice not uncommon in areas that followed Lutheran rather than Reformed doctrine. The initial primary musical influences on Paminger appear to have been Heinrich Isaac and Josquin Desprez. However, in line with the Protestant principle that primacy should be given to intelligibility of the text, there is a good deal more homophony and less polyphony than this lineage might suggest. In particular, the psalm settings frequently feature an alternating pattern in which an initial is sung in unison and a responsory verse in harmony or relatively simple polyphony. As an appendix, a German hymn in four-part chordal harmony (with occasional antiphonal imitation) by Paminger’s son Sigismund (1539–71) is also presented.
Stimmwerck is a vocal trio, consisting of countertenor Franz Vitzhum, tenor Gerhard Hölze, and bass Marcus Schmidl, joined here by guest countertenor David Erler. As one might infer with such a small ensemble, intimacy and clarity are primary vocal virtues; the singing and interpretations throughout are highly polished. A minor caveat is that the ensemble members are miked a bit too closely for my tastes and can almost sound as if they are singing directly in one’s ear. Texts are provided in Latin, English, German, and French; curiously, though, the booklet note on Stimmwerck itself is given only in German. This disc is warmly recommended both on its own merits and for bringing a neglected and virtually forgotten figure back to our attention.
FANFARE: James A. Altena
What are your impressions sofar BTW?
I haven't purchased the set yet, but found Bruno Giordano's ongoing review at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/review/R1Q3QSZBOYJNPI/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0050F6JQE&nodeID=&tag=&linkCode=) fascinating.
According to him my Colombina set of the complete vespers for the Holy Week (Glossa) will not be redundant. ::)
Q
I am still sitting on the fence on this set. I expect to order another batch of early music CD's before the end of the year.
The only one of this band's albums I don't own is being rereleased on Helios in January. Very much looking forward to it.
Has anyone tried this new issue yet? :)
What piqued my interest was this glowing review (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2012/Jan12/ciconia_RIC316.htm) on MusicWeb. And the two Amazon reviews - one by Bruno Giordano - seem all the more reason to consider it seriously!
Q
The PAN release (Homage to...) that Bruno refers to is one I like.
I'm not surprised, since it is by the Huelgas Ensemble and Van Nevel. Recorded in 1984, later reissued on CD (Pavane), now OOP and vanished... :-\
But on the bright side - this new issue looks very appealing as well. :)
Q
Well, he mentions the Huelgas too, but his "PAN" refers to this album by Ensemble Project Ars Nova:
The Ricercar set is very good. The second disc, by Diabolus in Musica, with lower voices in play, rises to fabulous. Recommended.
Does anybody have any experience with these 3 discs?:
de la Rue is underrepresented on record.
Who knows what creative force drove 16th-century French composer Jean Richafort (c.1480-c.1547) to write music of such sublime power and soothing sensuality. But the fact is, the Requiem and several of the motets leave you wondering not only why this composer isn’t better known (he was highly respected in his time and many of his works have survived) but also just a little emotionally drained. The opening eight or ten minutes of the Requiem move with the majesty of the spheres, harmonies unfolding upon harmony, lines building on line, and by the time we reach a true cadence we’re looking upward for the certain appearance of some heavenly host or other. A little “over the top”, you say? Well, I suggest you reserve judgment until you’ve heard a few minutes of this marvelous music. The mood is interrupted--or some might say, relieved--by a faster-moving, more rhythmically complex section midway through the Gradual, nearly 12 minutes into the Requiem. The textural and temporal intensity picks up further in the following Offertory, a lengthy (eight and a half minutes) yet continually engaging setting. By now you’ve noticed that Richafort loves to interject an occasional startling, clashing harmony into the mix, just enough to grab our attention but not enough to become a mere tiresome gimmick.
The Huelgas Ensemble’s performances give us far more than a taste of Richafort’s genius; by disc’s end we feel immersed, baptized, and perhaps saturated, a little dazzled by all the color and walls of sound created by the various voices and voicings--and the singers’ near-perfect intonation. Among the motets, the five-part Salve Regina is touted as a masterpiece--and it is, but its musical impact still gives way to that of the Requiem’s opening sections. And just what is a drinking song doing in the middle of all of this--a chanson called “Tru tru trut avant” for three male voices? Who cares--when you hear this catchy little gem, you’ll just want to hear it again, and if you sing in a group you’ll be wishing for your own copy of the score. The only thing that keeps this disc from a top rating is the sound--a bit too much resonance overwhelms the most densely textured sections and obscures some of those lovely lines we just want to hear more clearly. But this is a relatively minor complaint, one that my professional duty requires me to make, but that itself is quickly subsumed with each resounding cadence (or with each replay of “Tru tru trut avant”).
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com
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It seems I got myself another OOP disc - my apologies for bringing it up... :-\ Still, as promised to Drasko a little writeup - maybe this recording will resurface again.
Anyway, what a gorgeous disc! :o the Franco-Flemish composer Jean Richafort (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Richafort) was an unknown quantity to me. He is of the first post-Josquin Deprez generation. He was widely known and respected during his life time, hence a lot of his works have been preserved for prosperity. Paradoxally little is known about his life - another short but more elaborate bio HERE (http://). So, why is this the sole recording? ::) The discontent for this neglect is clear in Van Nevel's liner notes, where he fulminates against certain musicologists that have dismissed Richafort on the basis of the scores as "uninteresting". He argues that the qualities of Richafort only truly become apparent when listened to.
And listening I did... :) In some comments on Richafort the similarity with Desprez is emphasised. Nonsense. Technically Richafort built on Desprez' heritage, but the experience is entirely different. What he presents us is sensuous, introverted music that is expansive with long drawn smooth lines that are continuously blending, with a lot of complex stuff going on below the surface. I suspect the sound blending is typically something that does not very visible in the score. Far from "uninteresting" - unique, engaging and achingly beautiful! :) Van Nevel and his ensemble do a superlative job with music that seems very hard to pull off in a proper way. The six-part Requiem in Desprez' memory is a daunting masterpiece, so are the motets included here - the Salve Regina in particular. It seems the only nag for some listeners are the church acoustics, that are spacious with a noticeable delay yet definitely clear. I think taking issue with this aspect is a mistake - this is exactly what the music was written for and actually needs! As long as this is taken in in the performance, which is here the case - Van Nevel takes a steady but unhurried pace as to prevent blurring of the musical texture.
I'm quoting below David Vernier's comments to which I fully concur:
Note also the elaborate Amazon reviews (http://www.amazon.com/Richafort-Requiem-memoriam-Josquin-Ensemble/product-reviews/B0000634VR).
More recordings of Jean Richafort's music please!! :)
Q
Of course its OOP, as I discovered when I tried to order it. :(
I know, I know... :-[ It was issued in 2002, which is not that long ago (or maybe I'm getting old 8)).
Harmonia Mundi should include it in their new pretty Hm Gold series. Don't you have any connections with them? :)
Q
I know, I know... :-[ It was issued in 2002, which is not that long ago (or maybe I'm getting old 8)).
Harmonia Mundi should include it in their new pretty Hm Gold series. Don't you have any connections with them? :)
Q
There are classical recordings that stay in the catalog for 20 or 30 years and perhaps longer ...Yes, but usually of pretty mainstream repertoire of interest to the non-special listener.
If some of you are in the know, I'd like to discuss the Anglo-German vocal ensemble The Sound and the Fury. And I promised Drasko a write up on their De la Rue disc. :)
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It seems I got myself another OOP disc - my apologies for bringing it up... :-\ Still, as promised to Drasko a little writeup - maybe this recording will resurface again.
Of course its OOP, as I discovered when I tried to order it. :(
No need to despair, it is still available as a part of a 3-CD Huelgas Ensemble Renaissance set: http://www.amazon.fr/Renaissance-Compilation/dp/B000H4VXMS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1327755005&sr=8-4
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De Vitry is best known (and only to musicologists) as the mastermind of the new musical notation which made ars nova polyphony possible, and which led to the development of modern notation. The evidence of his role is provisional, and the attribution of the motets on this CD to him is quite speculative, but if it's correct, then he was one of the greatest musical innovators of all time. Now the virtuosity of the Orlando Consort has brought this crucial repertory to life in a performance of such beauty and subtlety that the listener can forget about scholarship and just bask in sound. The art of this music is chiefly in the complex polyrhythmic development of relatively transparent harmonic progressions. As usual, the Orlando's control of phrasing and tuning is phenomenal. I have one huge gripe, however. There are no texts! These motets, most of them poly-textual, are of great literary interest. They are not just the usual love-stuff; they include mordant satire of 14th C society and of the church, as well as witty self-reflections. Still, the musical values are so strong that I have to rate the CD as five stars... or let's say as seven stars, minus two for the lack of texts.
--Giordano Bruno on amazon
'The flower and jewel of singers', 'the finest figure in the entire musical world', 'the outstanding prince of musicians, heir to Orpheus, whose name will live forever'… such contemporary views of Philippe de Vitry rightly suggest that his music (not so well known as it might be) is worthy of listening to. Born in 1291, probably in Champagne, he spent most of his life in the service of the royal administration and as Bishop of Meaux dying an accomplished poet, philosopher, cleric and mathematician to boot in 1361. Conjecture has it that this combination of skills and attendant predispositions towards both rigor and innovation, combined with drive and repute, enabled Vitry to play certainly a leading role, maybe a decisive one, in the changes that occurred in French music in the ten years or so before 1325; these changes were in three significant areas:
1.the systems of notation were thoroughly revised
2.a new form and technique of building the motet was arrived at
3.a new language of harmony and counterpoint was developed for the motet
These developments resulted in the classic isorhythmic motet, which sets a pair of texts simultaneously in its two upper voices; the repeated rhythmic patterns of the tenor do not necessarily accord with melodic ones. Other strict 'regulations' of repetition (coincidence at prominent or significant textual junctures, for example) made for a rigorously-organized structure, following which was an intentional intellectual challenge. That Vitry was able to utilize this set of self-imposed restrictions to such effect and specifically to create music which also sounds so well is remarkable. But here is the evidence; it's plain that, for all the mathematics, the text comes first and the music is unforced and never distorted by the format. What's more, textual cross-referencing, allusions, symbols and thematic subtleties are packed into each short motet (most last a mere three minutes and none much longer than seven on this disc) more densely than in almost any other mediaeval form. This means that careful listening is a requirement if you want to get the most from the whole. Nothing arid or crossword puzzle-like here, though: this tight, colorful weave is one on which Machaut gazed, which he understood and then unpicked for himself.
Philippe de Vitry and the Ars Nova is a wonderful CD with almost an hour's worth of 19 motets from the first quarter of the fourteenth century reflecting the changes through which the genre passed. In fact, it's unclear exactly which of the works were composed by Vitry himself and which by members of his circle. The earliest group of four motets dates from right at the beginning of this period of change; they illustrate Le Roman Fauvel, which satirizes religious and political corruption and, from specific references, can be dated fairly certainly to shortly after 1315. The rest are from the 1320s: they concentrate on courtly life, abuse, fawning dependency at court and (other) such deviants as writers who compose incoherent texts (In virtute/Decens, tr.12; the two texts, separated by the oblique, are that pair set in the isorhythmic motet, described above) as well as personal attacks. The lovely Tuba/In arboris, Vos/Gratissima, Impudenter/Virtutibus, Flos/Celsa, Almifonis/Rosa and Apta/Flos are strictly religious, particularly Marian, motets, the latter being probably of a later date and certainly of the 'ars subtilior' (more subtle style) which characterized the second phase of the 'ars nova'. The theme of courtly love, otherwise ubiquitous at this time, is represented here by only one motet, Douce/Garison ; while one other 'frivolous' piece, Se je chant, has been included because it is so close to the Vitry school or style.
The Orlando Consort consists of a countertenor, two tenors and a baritone: their singing is near impeccable. This is music which they know well and sing from the soul. Where a certain 'spring' is needed, the Orlando Consort has it; where reticence, a tender pause; and where humor is called for, just the right, light touch of emphasis. Relaxed yet meticulously-articulated, their performance of each motet is a study in paying perfect attention to the individual line; this greatly helps the listener to follow the dual texts. Each singer's part nevertheless melds into a deeply musical ensemble. There seem times (in Tribum que non abhorruit/Quoniam secta latronum, for instance) when Robert Harre-Jones' countertenor is a little too closely miked compared with the other singers. Their performance is intimate, focused and ultimately very satisfying. Although the accompanying booklet has clear notes on the historical and musical background, the motets' texts are not included: a pity. Amazingly, there is no other CD in the current catalog devoted exclusively to Vitry, so if you want to know more about this important and interesting period of French musical development, this excellent CD is a must. Buy it with confidence.
Copyright © 2007, Mark Sealey
I find my self enamoured of ars nova and the Burgundian school, Vitry, Machaut, Landini, Ciconia, Dufay, Binchois et al. I'll offer up favourite recordings and some background in the hope that others will find the matter worthy of comment.Will follow with interest.
First up is Philippe de Vitry and the Ars Nova by the Orlando Consort:
Glad to see the Orlando Consort mentioned - they recorded one of my favourite early music discs - desperately in need of reissue:
The singing is impeccable, but it's also not obscured by the acoustic as in some - just gorgeous-sounding.
In terms of influence and recognition elsewhere, yes! English singers and composers (the two were usually the same) had been working in France and 'Italy' long before Dunstaple's time of fame, but they had assimilated continental styles. Dunstaple's music introduced English harmony, based on fa-burden, emphasizing perfect thirds, to the generation of Dufay, and the effect was huge. Possibly the marked shift in tuning of instruments, from Pythagorean to "mean" reflected Dunstaple's influence; it's a chicken/egg question.
Influence aside, Dunstaple was a glorious composer, the musical ancestor of Ockeghem in his freely polyphonic, horizontally extended, rhythmically uninhibited lines. Sung well, both Dunstaple and Ockeghem sound like passionate improvisation in all four parts, which nonetheless reaches cadences with sublime harmonic assurance. No consort or choir has come close to singing this music as perfectly as the Orlandos, not even the wonderful Hilliard Ensemble. And since four voices are easier to record than twelve or twenty (a chamber chorus), the sound quality on this CD is excellent. Why, it sounds like four beautiful men's voices in the same room! And singing with incredible precision of pitch and attack! And inflecting every line as if the language had meaning! This is the best recording of Dunstaple ever made. Buy it while you can.
Modern ears have been subjected to a sound world so complex and chaotic--and just plain noisy--that it's impossible for us now to really appreciate the original contextual significance of works such as these 15th century motets of Guillaume Dufay. We can enjoy them on many levels and we can intellectually understand their importance, but when we hear these very complex rhythms, and harmonies that often have a strange, vacant quality, we can't erase from our memory the fact that we've heard Brahms and Ives and Stravinsky. But I picked those three composers because each owes something to Dufay and to others who wrote in ancient forms and styles, in this case the isorhythmic motet. Much like Bach's works were at the same time a summation and epitomization of the Baroque, so were these motets of Dufay in their way a final, ultimate statement regarding one of the more sophisticated musical forms of the Middle Ages. Simply put, the isorhythmic motet begins with a particular rhythmic formula or pattern that's applied to a melody in one or more voices and repeated several times throughout the piece. The structure can get quite complicated, especially if different rhythmic formulas are used for different voices, making for irregular patterns of repetition. Dufay was a master of this compositional technique and as you listen you can see why later composers looking for interesting new ideas would have found very fertile ground among pieces like these. Conductor Paul Van Nevel organizes the program chronologically so the careful listener can follow the gradual stylistic changes Dufay employed from first motet to last--a range of approximately 20 years. His singers and instrumentalists, the always intriguing, musically polished, and stylistically informed Huelgas Ensemble, just seem to revel in the music--somehow reaching back to that motorless, unplugged time where no sound was amplified or transmitted except by means of natural acoustics, where voices and instruments were commonly heard resonating from stone and wood. And we get that too, thanks to Harmonia Mundi's skillful miking in the suitably ancient, resonant space of l'Abbaye-aux-Dames.
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com
Music appreciation textbooks and timelines in magazines often name Guillaume Dufay as the first great composer of the European Renaissance, but one might equally call him the last great composer of the Middle Ages. This disc presents all 13 of Dufay's isorhythmic motets--the final masterpieces of a very medieval-minded genre. During the Middle Ages, music was considered a science (just like mathematics), and isorhythmic motets are constructed according to strict arithmetical principles. In addition, each voice generally has a different text, while the fundamental voice (called the tenor) usually has no text at all and is often (as here) performed by instruments. As this description might indicate, isorhythmic motets are among the most intellectualized and least emotive works in the entire pre-20th century repertory--yet Paul van Nevel and the Huelgas Ensemble achieve an impressive range of expression from such seemingly poker-faced music. Apostolo glorioso (composed for the consecration of a church) and Ecclesie militantis (written for the coronation of a Pope), performed by choir and (antique) brass, are ornate and imposing, while Magnanime gentes laudes, done by one soprano, one tenor, and one trombone doubled by recorder, is intimate and delicate. The director's excellent program notes explain how isorhythmic motets are constructed and what to listen for. Van Nevel also offers wise advice: Don't listen to this disc straight through--rather, listen carefully to one or two motets several times until you recognize the structural markers, then move on to other motets later. Following that advice will make this CD somewhat more work than most, but the listener's effort will be richly repaid by these splendid performances.
--Matthew Westphal
Machaut's elegant and glorious Notre (or, more properly, Nostre) Dame Mass is still emblematic of events 40 years ago in the 'early' music field. It was one of the first works to which attention turned during the great resurgence of interest and explosion of expertise in performing medieval music in the 1960s. Perhaps because this is the first complete polyphonic mass known to have been the work of one composer and preserved in its entirety. Perhaps because two or three generations ago it sounded so splendid, new – exotic, almost. Certainly striking. There are currently fewer than a dozen recordings in the catalog; these do not include the one by Noah Greenberg and the New York Pro Musica, an iconic recording central to the early music revival. Like any modern symphony or chamber work, Machaut's hour-long work admits of almost as many interpretations as there are interpreters.
On this CD we get a robust and highly convincing interpretation from the ever enterprising eight-person (all male) French group, Diabolus in Musica, under their director Antoine Guerber. 'Diabolus in Musica', by the way, implies the E-B (or the modern F-B) tritone, or augmented fourth, used throughout Western music to establish dissonance – the devil, to be kept out of music at all costs. The group's is a direct, intimate and penetrating approach. Although the textures which the ensemble consistently achieves are sonorous, they are neither fanciful, nor over-rich. The tempi are refreshingly slow, unhurried and allow exposition of the importance, weight and impact of every syllable; for the words are of the utmost importance.
Machaut (c.1300-1377) was a contemporary of Chaucer. It's tempting to see parallels between Chaucer's wry adaptability to the succession of disasters of the century (plague, famine, war, social instability) and the almost sanguine response to such suffering of Machaut, who was canon at Reims cathedral from 1337 until his death 40 years later. It's to what was surely Machaut's inner strength, his faith, certainty of the rightness of a devoted life and later salvation, that Guerber and Diabolus in Musica respond in this excellent performance.
It's just as important to bear in mind how much of a change in liturgical life this mass represents. This may be surprising: Machaut was following on the tradition established during the composer's first years in his post at Reims of singing a plainchant votive Marian mass; yet polyphony was discouraged. In 1352 Pope Clement VI funded the Chapter at Reims with twelve cantors of sufficient skill and experience to provide Machaut with executors of his more ambitious and resplendent music. It did, though, take him another dozen years or so before the Messe de Nostre Dame was written. But can there be no connection?
By refusing to overplay their hands, by judicious restraint, and by meticulous articulation of every note in undemonstrative yet highly expressive phrasing Diabolus in Musica seems to have captured not only the rigor and joy which Machaut employed in this task. But these wise musicians are also at one with the novelty and innovative impact which the mass must have made when first sung. The recording – which is crisp and atmospheric – was made in a low-ceilinged location at the Abbey of Fontevraud. This acoustic enhances the music-making. Ultimately, it's the perspicacity and skill of Guerber and his singers that makes this recording so successful and satisfying. Listen to the lines and varying intensities of the Gloria [tr.3], for example. As much gentle and yet lavish breath as unselfconscious poise. Yet without drawing any teeth: the singers in Diabolus in Musica are real individuals performing as such. No attempt to submerge or efface their vocal personalities. Nor yet to impose wayward, unnecessary color. The music comes first and last – and is somehow interpreted for what it is: a liturgy in which to be involved. Yet as much as an object of beauty and wonder as a rather austere – No, restrained – service.
Plainchant is interspersed with polyphony. The flow is never interrupted and onto the whole work is conferred a unity under the direction of Guerber that makes attentive listening particularly rewarding. Perhaps this is due in part to the pronunciation adopted… the Latin pronounced as was the 'Middle French' – for it is now thought that clerics in a setting like Machaut's at Reims used the vernacular. Note, too, that there are two motets: Rex Karole by the contemporary Philippe Royllart [tr.8], and the anonymous Zolomina/Nazarea/Ave Maria [tr.15] interspersed with the mass.
The booklet that comes with this CD is up to the usual standards with introductory essays in French and English; the text of the mass is in Latin, modern French and English. So here's a recording that can be unequivocally recommended both for anyone who has yet to discover the glorious intensity and transparent beauty of this music; and who may have one or more other recordings in their collection (that by Oxford Camerata under Jeremy Summerly on Naxos 8.553833 is otherwise a good first stop) but wants to get to know multiple perspectives. Don't wait!
--Copyright © 2008, Mark Sealey
Biographical note from medieval.org:
Guillaume de Machaut (d.1377) is one of the undisputed pinnacle geniuses of Western music, and the most famous composer of the Middle Ages. Today his four-voice Mass of Notre Dame is a textbook example for medieval counterpoint, and has served sufficiently to maintain his reputation across shifts in fashion. However Machaut's work is extensive, with his French songs & poetry dominating the fourteenth century by both their quality and volume. A series of carefully prepared illuminated manuscripts, undertaken for members of the French royalty, preserve his complete artistic output. Along with these major sources, various pieces are duplicated in scattered sources throughout Europe. His life and work are thus extremely well-preserved for the period, and his position as the most distinguished composer of the century has never wavered.
Machaut was apparently born in the vicinity of Rheims in Champagne, around the year 1300. He is first known as the secretary of John of Luxembourg in 1323, and used the position to travel extensively for various battles and political events. In approximately 1340, Machaut returned to Rheims to take up the position of canon (he had previously been an absentee office-holder) together with his brother Jean. However, he continued to serve John of Luxembourg until the latter's death at Crécy in 1346, and then served his daughter Bonne, who appears in the Remède de Fortune. The remainder of the fourteenth century was an epic of wars and plagues, and one of the few periods in which the population of Europe declined, but Machaut's reputation continued to rise. He went on to serve two kings of France, and was charged with a task as important as accompanying hostages during the English war. In 1361 the Dauphine was received in Machaut's quarters, an exceptional event. By the 1370s Machaut's name was associated with Pierre de Lusignan, King of Cyprus, thus establishing his fame nearly as far as Asia.
Machaut is frequently portrayed today as an avant garde composer, especially because of his position with regard to the early Ars Nova (a new, more detailed rhythmic notation), but one must also emphasize the masterful continuity with which he employed established forms. While using the same basic formats, he made subtle changes to meter and rhyme scheme, allowing for more personal touches and a more dramatic presentation. Indeed, Machaut's poetry is one of the most impressive French outputs of the medieval era, serving as an example even for Chaucer. The theme of courtly love dominates his writing, becoming heavily symbolized in the guises of such characters as Fortune & Love, and the personal dramas in which they act. Machaut's poetic output, and by extension the subset of texts he chose to set to music, is both personal and ritualized, lending it a timeless quality. Some of the love themes date to Ovid and beyond, from whom they had been elaborated first by the troubadours of Provence and then by the northern trouvères, and so it is truly a classical tradition to which Machaut belongs.
Machaut marks the end of the lineage of the trouvères, and with it the development of the monophonic art song in the West. This aspect of his work is found in the virelais and especially the lengthy lais. He also acted decisively to refine the emerging polyphonic song forms ballade & rondeau, and these were to become the dominant fixed forms for the following generations. What Machaut achieved so eloquently is an idiomatic and natural combination of words with music, forcefully compelling in its lyrical grace and rhythmic sophistication. His songs are immediately enjoyable, because he was able to shape the smallest melodic nuances as well as to conceive forms on a larger scale. The latter is reflected especially in his poetic-musical creations Le Remède de Fortune and Le Voir Dit, as well as in his Messe de Notre Dame. One must not lose sight of Machaut's position within the sweep of medieval history, as his great "multimedia" productions had clear precedents in the Roman de la Rose and especially the Roman de Fauvel. It is Machaut's ability to unite cogent and elegant melodic thinking with the new rhythmic possibilities of the Ars Nova which ultimately makes his musical reputation.
Although he wrote music for more than one hundred of his French poems, and even for half a dozen motets in Latin, Machaut remains best-known for his Mass of Notre Dame. This mass was written as part of the commemoration of the Virgin endowed by the Machaut brothers at Rheims, and was intended for performance in a smaller setting by specialized soloists. The most striking aspect of the piece is not simply the high quality of the contrapuntal writing, but the architectural unity of the Ordinary sections as well. Machaut's mass is not the earliest surviving mass cycle (there are two which predate it), but it is the earliest by a single composer and indeed the earliest to display this degree of unity. While the chants used as cantus firmus do vary, opening gestures and motivic figures are used to confirm the cyclical nature of the work. Technique of this magnitude is frequently offered as evidence of Machaut's prescience, given the prominence of such forms a hundred or two hundred years later, but the musical quality of his cycle can be appreciated on its own terms. Of course, the same can be said for Machaut's oeuvre as a whole.
--Todd McComb, 4/98
Gothic Voices is a durable British ensemble that has performed medieval secular music mostly in vocal a cappella style. You may or may not like that approach, but if you'd like to give it a try, this disc contains repertory in which unaccompanied singing works well. The group sings some of the fixed-form chansons of Machaut -- and not the usual ones -- but then seizes on the inherent complexity of Machaut's music and looks forward in time to one of his successors, the mysterious Solage. Nothing, not even a first name, is known of this composer, but he was active at the end of the fourteenth century, and his music, lumped at the time under the label of ars subtilior or "subtle art,"seems to have been intellectual and at times freakish. Many discs contain one or two of his pieces, but this one offers a more generous sampling of this music. For a taste of what you're getting into, sample his best-known piece, Fumeux fume par fumee (track 6), whose opening lines are here translated as "Out of dreams the dreamer dreams up dreamy speculation." Elsewhere the pieces have been thought to refer to smoke, or perhaps even to drug use -- a logical supposition in view of the thoroughly cosmic text. This was apparently music made for small groups of aficionados, and the rather claustrophobic atmosphere induced by the small groups of voices singing medieval intervals actually helps put across the weirdly arcane mood of Solage's music. Other songs involve acrostics in their texts, comment on political affairs (S'aincy estoit, track 10), or even argue in favor of jackets as opposed to robes or cloaks (Pluseurs gens, track 11). The Gothic Voices achieve variety by assigning pieces to high or low ranges and deploying shifting groups of singers. This album is worth anyone's time for the ride through Solage's music, and it's a must for those already enamored of the Gothic Voices style.
--allmusic
Gothic Voices explore songs by two 14th-century French composers. Machaut, well known to lovers of early music, represents the first half of the century; Solage, almost unknown today, represents the second half, the evolution of Ars Subtilior from Ars Nova. We can only surmise that he wrote for princely and ducal courts by names hinted at in his songs.
The opening song, Solage's ballade Le Basile, is sung at a brisk tempo by a soloist over a busy "di-di-di-di" accompaniment. Many of the ballades have a similar accompaniment, sometimes with a soprano soloist, more often a male voice. The singers manage with perfect ease the long vocalisations and rhythmic complexity of some of the ballades, for example S'aincy estoit: their performance flows as naturally as a gentle stream. Several of Machaut's virelais are particularly interesting, especially the passionate Mors sui se je ne vous voy, where two solo male voices respond to each other melodically.
Perhaps most intriguing of all is Solage's rondeau Fumeux fume par fumee. Gothic Voices take this strange song at face value and perform it at pitch with a group of the lowest male voices. They seem to suggest that these rFhe effect is astoundingly modern, entailing chromaticism and exotic modulations' singers sink into a boozy haze. But what do we know about performance practice in the 14th century? Precious little. The truth is that Solage is actually describing an existing group of poets, bent on trying to uncover the very essence of poetic imagination and creation. We hear several series of short phrases, sung sequentially, six or seven in a row, reaching the very bottom of the vocal range. The effect is astoundingly modern, entailing chromaticism and exotic modulations. It would take another 200 years before a Gesualdo might attempt anything equally exotic.
--Mary Berry, Gramophone
Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594), Lassus, was the most widely-respected composer of his age. His output ranges over a wide spectrum of styles and genres – from the demotic and downright "lowly" chansons and Lieder through both secular and sacred madrigals and court music, to highly refined masses and liturgical compositions. All these forms of Lasso's music share the quality of an almost naîve joie de vivre; yet Lassus never descended to the vulgar, or ran the risk of pomposity or undue piety. Bonjour mon Cœur is a collection of what the note which accompanies the CD calls "Entertainment music of substance" by Lassus and nearly a dozen of his contemporaries… some well known, like Adrian Willaert (1490-1562); others more obscure and unrepresented elsewhere in the current catalog, like Jean de Castro (c.1540-c.1600).
Not that the teeth are in any way drawn from this music – at least not in these spirited and at the same time authoritative interpretations of Capilla Flamenca. There is a nice mix: there are gaiety, movement and elegance. And grace: the way the ensemble conveys all the emotions of the music stops well short of punchiness. Equally, they perform each work with sensitivity and style, never in any staid way.
Many of the pieces here presented are variations, "imitations", "emulations", "parodies" or "contrafacts" of works originally conceived (or indeed perhaps themselves originally borrowed) by Lassus and his contemporaries. The music remained, but a – usually sacred – text replaced a – usually secular – one. It's still hard for a post-Romantic mind to appreciate just how acceptable, how lauded even, this practice was. The CD is in fact centered around the particularly refined chanson by Ronsard, Bonjour mon Cœur. It should also be enjoyed for the lyrical beauty of the songs, which Capilla Flamenca perform with as much gravity and gentility as wit. Indeed, this is an excellent assembly of pieces illustrating the ways in which Renaissance songs dealt with love.
The way in which Capilla Flamenca expose, rather than completely sink themselves into, the songs on the CD is never either didactic or doctrinaire. Their approach comes across as well thought-out: their decision to divide the selection into four groupings corresponding to times of day (in keeping with the spirit of Bonjour mon Cœur) should better provide the listener with a framework for reacting to love's many attendant emotions… pain, exhilaration, hope, despair etc. than would a random sequence. Love awakes in the morning, becomes "exuberant" in the afternoon, eternal in the evening (all six pieces in this section are Lassus') and sleeps at night. On the whole, there are more slower and implicitly reflective works here than there are upbeat ones.
So, it's clear that great care has gone into conceiving, performing and producing this exemplary CD. Capilla Flamenca and Dirk Snellings, its director who also sings bass, are to be congratulated. The result is both entertaining and substantial. The variety of music is stimulating, and is enhanced when you know something of this contextualization. The standard of interpretation itself is very high. Unless every composer here is familiar to you, it's likely that you'll find new favorites. And, although just half the works are by Lassus himself, Bonjour mon Cœur is a good introduction to his work and the genres at which he was so expert and which he could turn to such good account.
The acoustic is close and intimate – surely the right way to present this repertoire… the plucked, wind and stringed instruments have presence and make an appropriate contribution. The "Digipak" has notes in Flemish, French, German and English – and has the texts in their original language and in translations where necessary (the songs are variously in Flemish, French, German). There is a detailed track listing, and an image of a very stern Lassus which somehow conveys his stature, as well as a photograph of the nine-person Capilla Flamenca. This is a more than merely pleasant recital. It's informative, representative of the genres whose music it contains, very persuasively performed and makes an excellent introduction to the accompanied vocal music in the sixteenth century of which Lassus was such an accomplished, imaginative and impeccably polished exponent. Recommended.
Copyright © 2010, Mark Sealey.
When this was first issued (15:4), we had been getting Ars Subtilior music on records with some frequency. This period between Machaut and Dufay (about 1380 to 1420) had always been characterized by the fiendishly difficult notation of the sources. It seemed that notation, which had until that time been used to record musical sounds, was becoming the starting point for a composer, who began with notation on the page and left it to performers to execute what they read. It seemed possible that notation could even indicate what the voice could not execute, at least until a new level of performing mastery was achieved. Page, however, avoided this paradox by starting with the music rather than the notation, settling on Romanticism as the characteristic ideal that defines the efforts of any composers to expand their resources. To clarify his point, he widens the time period to 1340–1440, incorporating late Machaut and early Dufay for contrast. He is also frank about the ongoing issues of text underlay and use of instruments that had exercised performers and scholars for over a decade before that. He explains his approach clearly and convincingly, rejecting accompaniment and the texting of untexted vocal lines in favor of vocalizing them. Page’s notes have been slightly abbreviated and shorn of footnotes.
Solage is underrepresented here with only one piece, Joieux de cuer, as is Jacob de Senleches with En ce gracieux temps joli, but covering the principal Ars Subtilior composers was not the main focus here. Margaret Philpot’s solo Comment qu’a moy of Machaut is ideal, still unsurpassed today. J. de Porta’s Alma polis religio/Axe poli cum artica, probably a first recording, is still the best, since duplicated only by La Reverdie (17:5) and Obsidienne (on Calliope), which both use instruments. Gilet Velut, one of the more obscure composers of the lot, is represented by Je voel servir, not recorded elsewhere, although three other pieces are found on four other discs, two of them duplicated. Johannes de Lymburgia is better known than that, for his Salve virgo is on four recordings, two of them with an additional piece, and another motet like this one is on a later Gothic Voices disc.
This is a significant disc, although it is hard not to say that about most of the score of recordings that the group made for Hyperion before Page went to Academe. The program unfolds intelligently, the music is entrancing at best (as the Machaut virelai), and the singing is ravishing. New collectors who were not around for the initial release of the series will have the benefit of the lower price when most (if not all) have been reissued. Those of us who have the originals will be satisfied that we heard them when they first blazed a new trail of performance practice. Go for it.
FANFARE: J. F. Weber
There is a famous book which interprets the fourteenth century as the time when the Middle Ages finally went to seed like the crops in Autumn. Another describes it as ‘the calamitous fourteenth century’. Small wonder, therefore, if the music composed in France during the century of Guillaume de Machaut (d1377) has often been described as ‘mannerist’ and ‘precious’: terms that suggest decadence and escapism.
The performances recorded here spring from a different view of French music during the fourteenth century, for we believe that French song of the later Ars Nova can be described by a term that is both positive and evocative: Romantic. To be sure, these songs have been called Romantic before, but it may still seem rash to speak of ‘The Medieval Romantics’. Devotees of nineteenth-century music will object that there was no cult of genius in the fourteenth century, no passion for the wildness of Nature and no such nationalism as we associate with the 1800s. And yet if Romanticism implies a taste for beauty touched by strangeness, and if it is associated with a desire to expand the resources of musical language (and especially of harmony) with sheer profligacy of invention, then the second half of the fourteenth century in France was truly a period of Romantic composition.
This is not to say that every composer of the period was a Romantic artist. Most of the polyphonic songs produced in France between c1340 and c1400 are light and melodious, being neither ‘wayward’ (a term often used of this repertory) nor Romantic. The virelai Mais qu’il vous viengne a plaisance is a representative example of this style at its best. Nonetheless, in addition to these plainer songs we find others, many of them attributed to named composers, which reveal different priorities.
With the Romanticism of the fourteenth century—as with that of the nineteenth—a major priority is the sheer scale of what is attempted. To hear a thirteenth-century motet such as Quant voi le douz tans/En Mai/[Immo]LATUS, followed immediately by the four-part motet Alma polis religio/Axe poli/Tenor/Contratenor of the next century, is to sense that there has been a great expansion in the musical territory colonized for composition. The later work is longer, its harmonic language more studied but also more diversified, and its compass much wider (reaching two octaves, the limit of the human voice according to contemporary theorists). With its complex isorhythmic scheme, it is altogether a more grandiose and intellectually ambitious work than its thirteenth-century counterpart.
In the chanson repertoire of rondeaux, virelais and ballades, where the Romanticism of the later Ars Nova is principally to be found, the desire for expansive musical conceptions was closely allied (as it was to be five hundred years later) to an enlarged conception of melody. As early as the twelfth century, of course, some monophonic songs of the trouvères (not to mention some Latin songs) had been supplied with expansive, melismatic melodies, but the desire to stretch a long, measured melody over a large polyphonic frame was new in the fourteenth century. Among French composers of the Ars Nova this produced compositions going far beyond what could be accomplished in a thirteenth-century piece such as the motet just mentioned, Quant voi le douz tans/En Mai/[Immo]LATUS. In that piece, as it is performed on this recording, we hear first a monophonic song with its roots in the trouvère tradition, and then the same song as it was given mensural rhythm and placed above a vocalized tenor to make a motet, perhaps around 1240. As far as we can discern—for the origins of the polyphonic chanson in the fourteenth century are still obscure—this is one of the textures which passed to the fourteenth century and which helped to form the basis of chansons such as Guillaume de Machaut’s Tant doucement me sens emprisonnes, here performed as a duet comprising the Cantus and (vocalized) Tenor to display the mastery of Machaut’s two-part technique. The comparison with the thirteenth-century motet shows that the musical scope of Machaut’s piece is much greater than the Triplum–Tenor duet of the motet, largely because Machaut’s Cantus is so vast and needs so little support from the text. The thirteenth-century composer works syllable by syllable, but Machaut’s melismatic melody is directed, in particular, by a rhythmic elasticity which is entirely new to the fourteenth century and which merits comparison with some of the freedoms that were also ‘new’ in the nineteenth.
We hear this freedom again in the highly flexible melodic line of the anonymous virelai Je languis d’amere mort, or in the Cantus of Paolo da Firenze’s Sofrir m’estuet et plus non puis durer. Paolo’s piece demonstrates that the supposedly wayward rhythms of fourteenth-century song can be lyrical, even lilting, in their effect upon the ear, however strange they may look to the eye. In a similar way, the phrase-lengths in the Cantus of Quiconques veut d’amors joïr, a superb piece by an anonymous master, are so supple that they resist ‘the tyranny of the bar line’ at every turn.
There were many experiments with harmony among the medieval Romantics. As we leave the thirteenth century and enter the fourteenth century we become more confident that unusual harmonic effects may be tokens of a colouristic interest in harmony rather than the by-products of a compositional method. That kind of interest in harmony could coexist with the cerebral and calculating tendencies of all medieval composing, and indeed it could be advanced by them. The composer of Alma polis religio/Axe poli/Tenor/Contratenor, for example, is fascinated by a chord of Bb–G–D–G, and he exploits his isorhythmic scheme in such a way that the top three notes sound alone—so that the ear processes a simple chord of G—and then the low B flat enters in the Contratenor to tint the sonority in a most unexpected way. Many other examples could be cited from the pieces recorded here, but the master in this art is Solage, a composer who has left only ten securely attributed works, all of them experimental in various ways, and a high proportion of them in four parts (relatively rare in the chanson repertoire of the Ars Nova). His virelai Joieux de cuer en seumellant estoye, in four parts, is perhaps the summit of fourteenth-century Romanticism. The Cantus—the only part bearing the text—is a vast melody both in terms of its length and its width; it regularly spans a tenth or an eleventh within a few measures, a distance acknowledged by fourteenth-century theorists such as Jacques de Liège to represent the workable (if not the absolute) limit of the human voice. The other three parts are highly vocal in character, or in contemporary terminology, dicibilis (literally ‘pronouncable’). It is the essence of Solage’s achievement in this piece that the textless parts seem to strain towards the beauty and sufficiency of Cantus-style melody.
What signs are there that medieval composers recognized that the later fourteenth century had produced composers of profligate inventiveness—musicians who had lent a touch of strangeness to beauty? The surest indication that composers of the fifteenth century recognized that something very striking had happened in the recent past is to be found in the kinds of pieces that they chose to produce themselves. The highly controlled scale and harmonic language of chansons such as Dufay’s Je requier a tous amoureux, the same composer’s Las, que feray? Ne que je devenray? or Gilet Velut’s Je voel servir plus c’onques mais, are characteristic of much early fifteenth-century secular music and may be interpreted as a reaction against the luxuriance of later fourteenth-century composers such as Solage. When we turn to a mature composition of the mid-1430s, Johannes de Lymburgia’s Tota pulcra es, amica mea, we find a four-part technique completely unlike that of Solage. Lymburgia’s harmony is rigorously controlled so that almost every vertical sonority is a consonance, thirds and sixths are crucial building blocks of the music and fleeting rests are inserted in the texture to avoid dissonant colours that the ‘Medieval Romantics’ would have prized.
Christopher Page © 1991
This recording completes a three-part series featuring the songs and motets of the French Ars Nova, initiated by The Medieval Romantics (Helios CDH55293), and continued by Lancaster and Valois (Helios CDH55294). The title of this third recording is the most pertinent of all, for the poets and composers of fourteenth-century France did indeed regard love as a study. Our cover illustration is a reminder that the narrative poets of the period often present themselves as retiring individuals who have learned all they know of love from books. When the poet of La grant biauté speaks of ‘Nature’, for example, he uses a personification enriched by several centuries of thought and imagination in both Latin and vernacular (Chaucer’s Parlement of Fowles provides a fine example in Middle English), while figures such as ‘Envie’, ‘Desir’ and ‘Amours’, ubiquitous in these poems, evoke the tradition of the narrative romances whose authors were expected to share their knowledge of Biblical and classical story with their readers. If the scholar shown on our cover were not St Jerome, one might imagine him to be a poet checking his knowledge of Marticius (for Marticius qui fu), the basilisk (for Le basile), Euclid and Pygmalion (for Fist on, dame) or the labyrinth that Daedalus made for Minos (for En la maison Dedalus).
The musical resources displayed in these pieces are extensive. Puis que l’aloe ne fine has the kind of sinuous melody, with musical phrases of unpredictable length and momentary flashes of musica ficta colour, that French composers of the Ars Nova always loved; we find similar qualities in La grant biauté, Combien que j’aye and Renouveler me feïst, this last being one of the earliest ‘New Year’ songs in the repertory. Several pieces in four parts, particularly the anonymous Jour a jour (a popular work to judge by the number of surviving copies) and Le basile, by Solage, reveal the desire for sweet and consonant harmony, occasionally embittered by moments of dissonance, which characterizes a good deal of fourteenth-century French writing in four parts. Particularly striking, perhaps, are the two pieces in the ‘B flat’ tonality (that is to say with a double flat signature) that was especially favoured by composers in the decades around 1400. Of these two songs, Marticius qui fu and Fist on, dame, the first owes something to the mature style of Machaut in the rhythmic gestures of its texted voice. Both are robust compositions with almost swaggering melodies.
Guillaume de Machaut is featured on all three recordings of this series. Trop plus / Biauté paree / Je ne suis is a three-part motet that welcomes a very sprightly performance. Many years ago, David Munrow recorded the piece at a very slow tempo; this brings out the dissonances but may sometimes deprive the cross-rhythms and fragmented musical phrases of their excitement. Dame, je vueil endurer and Se mesdisans are drawn from Machaut’s collection of monophonic virelais, a variety of music which only Machaut chose to produce and notate in the fourteenth century and which invariably, as here, reveals his distinctive musical voice. In a similar way, Tres bonne et belle could not be the work of any other Ars Nova composer; its palette of dissonant colours, with prominent fourths and sevenths, seems distinctively Mascaudian.
Il me convient guerpir is one of the latest pieces. Probably dating from the early fifteenth century, it is a distinguished member of a small group of songs composed for two equal voices. Finally, there is the Gloria by Pycard. It belongs here in that Pycard was apparently a Frenchman, although his music is only known from the English Old Hall Manuscript, and his rhythmic intricacies recall the French Ars subtilior. In rhythmic terms, this Gloria is one of the most complex mass compositions in the entire medieval repertory; at times, the upper voices travel so far away from the basic tactus or ‘beat’, and the lower voices, holding sustained notes, do so little to assert it, that all sense of metrical organization is lost. I hope that the pieces by Pycard recorded for this series will help to establish the reputation of this extraordinary artist as one of the leading composers of his generation.
Christopher Page © 1992
Guillaume de Machaut, Messe de Nostre Dame, by Diabolus in Musica
Anyone able to make a brief comparison between this and the recordings that I have, by Ensemble Gilles Binchois (Harmonic/Cantus) and Ensemble Organum (HM)? :) And then there is the new recording by Ensemble Musica Nova (Aeon)- there are too many! :o :)
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Anyone able to make a brief comparison between this and the recordings that I have, by Ensemble Gilles Binchois (Harmonic/Cantus) and Ensemble Organum (HM)? :) And then there is the new recording by Ensemble Musica Nova (Aeon)- there are too many! :o :)
Q
Students and others who set themselves to the task of understanding the initially elusive musical language of the Renaissance often learn about Dufay and the cantus firmus -- the preexisting chant or song around which a mass was built -- and about his mathematically dizzying isorhythmic motet Nuper rosarum flores. The more intimate sacred motet, directly expressive of its text, seems to be more the province of Josquin Desprez, two generations later; Dufay's motets, many of which address Mary, are rather tough going for the newcomer. They are not closely tied to the text like the motets of Josquin, and even those that have a cantus firmus don't feature it as an obvious unifying device the way Dufay's masses do.
This superb French disc is the one that clarifies what Dufay's motets are all about. This may not knock Beethoven and Andrea Bocelli off the top of the classical charts, but anyone with an interest in the rather arcane musical language of the early Flemish-Italian Renaissance, or even in the art of the period, should add this disc to his or her library. The Ensemble Musica Nova strives for absolute clarity of texture. It sings a cappella (as Dufay himself is thought to have preferred), with text added to the untexted lower parts for greater intelligibility. The group sings precisely but in a relaxed fashion that gets across the crucial sense of when a line of the polyphony is being ornamented by the composer -- the sense of expression in Dufay's music is very much bound up with ornament and rhythm, which most performances don't communicate very well. The "flowers" referred to in the texts -- Mary, the city of Florence -- seem almost to burst from the music, which may seem remarkable to anyone who has sat through a lot of dull Dufay performances, but sample the first or the third track. (English text translations in the booklet do not, unfortunately, run parallel with the Latin and French, but follow them at the end.) The booklet notes are rather dense, not always smoothly translated ("to sing of death enabled musicians and poets to suggest a filiation"?) and confusingly divided into two separate essays, one dealing with the allusive quality of Dufay's texts and the other delving into musical structure and into what Dufay's audiences would have listened for in the two types of motets represented here, the motet with cantus firmus and the freely composed "song motet." The notes may be a hard slog for those without some previous knowledge of the subject, but effort expended in understanding them will bring these pieces alive and deepen the listener's perception of Dufay as the composer, perhaps more than any other, who lay right at the emergence of the idea of individual musical expression that is taken for granted today. The disc can also be appreciated for its sensuous surfaces alone, and Mornant church where the music was recorded could not have been more appropriate to the performers' aims. An essential choice for libraries -- the disc really furnishes enough material for an upper-level or graduate class all by itself -- or for Renaissance collections.
--allmusic
Dufay, writing in fifteenth century, is a figure of greater variety (and much greater profundity, for that matter) than is often realized. Attracting an enormous following and widespread admiration in Europe throughout his long lifetime, he wrote primarily for the church: Dufay was an ordained priest. But he used many forms – from elaborate and florid polyphonic masses to simple songs. And secular songs at that: over 80 survive which may in part or whole be safely attributed to the composer. If it is possible to generalize, one would say that Dufay's earlier songs were more extrovert, happier, upbeat, than those composed before the trials his life brought him; the later works tend to be reflective, morose even.
These songs generally date from two distinct periods in Dufay's life… from his late teens in 1414, 1415 on his leaving Cambrai to travel to various European courts, where he would have heard a variety of styles from England and Italy as well as France; this lasted until 1439, when Dufay returned to Cambrai. Duties at the Burgundian court and the cathedral virtually precluded any but liturgical compositions – until after Dufay's move, after 1451, to the court of Duke Louis and Duchess Anne of Savoy, whom we know to have been lively patrons of also the kind of secular music, the chansons by Dufay, some of which form the substance of this atmospheric, well-performed and appropriately-contextualized CD from Diabolus in Musica.
The majority of Dufay's output of this kind is rondeaux (with some ballades) for three (some for four) voices. The rest mostly follow such established structures as the ballade, bergerette/virelai and the like. Two tenors take the parts of the fundamental voice part (tenor), superius with the main text line; and a high voice the contratenor for additional color. These are taken by Raphaël Boulay (tenor), Frédéric Betous and Andrès Rojas-Urrego (altos) and Aïno Lund-Lavoipierre (soprano). They sing with unfussed enthusiasm, sweetness and an accurate and expressive articulation that seems to come from within the music's spirit, rather than gliding along the top of the melody as has happened with some recent Dufay recordings. This is highly effective. Nor – whatever your reservations about accompaniment – are the clavicytherium (an early spinet with as much hammer noise as sweet key sounds), gittern (plucked strings) and vièle (medieval fiddle) intrusive or superfluous. Their euphonic, low key adds a mellow tinge to the singing. It's worth noting that Guerber, the author of the essay in the accompanying booklet, disputes the work of recent musicologists and suggests that there is little or no evidence for an a cappella (unaccompanied) performing tradition, and cites Patterns in Play (by Graeme Boone) in support of what will be a somewhat controversial conclusion.
Technically what Dufay does to develop the achievements of the earlier and by now defunct Ars Subtilior is remarkable. Not only because of the inventiveness of theme, texture and melody; but also in terms of contrapuntal rhythm, the beauty of the effects and the fitness of music to words.
Those texts were almost all in the French of his day (only a handful were in Italian); although there are settings of Petrarch, Le Rousselet and Perinet etc, it is probable that Dufay wrote much of his own poetry.
The recording is a nice, close and intimate one with perfect balance between singers and the four instrumentalists playing here. The text of all the songs is printed in French and English in a useful, glossy booklet in the Alpha 'digipak' with candid photographs of the performances and performers. Guerber makes some interesting speculations on just who would have performed such songs as these and suggests that those retained for sacred music were unlikely also to have worked on the songs we hear on this CD. Less because of any distinction between the sobriety of the one and the freer and easier often dance-inspired ways of the other, than between the type of skills and traditions on which each broad genre was based.
So, if this is repertoire which in any way interests you, here is a first class introduction. If you're already persuaded of Dufay's greatness, you'll want to extend your exposure to his secular music. If medieval song performed exquisitely and idiomatically in unpretentious and direct manner, then do not hesitate to buy this CD. Thoroughly recommended.
Copyright © 2008, Mark Sealey
Without a moment's doubt, I can say that this is the best-performed CD of Dufay's secular chansons that I've ever heard, with 19 of those supremely sophisticated miniature masterpieces assembled in a concert progress from love-sickness to joie-de-vivre. This recording is a perfect companion to Diabolus in Musica's CD of Dufay's most memorable mass, Missa Se La Face Ay Pale (which I've reviewed previously. Wonder of wonders, the chanson Se La Face Ay Pale is included on this disk, in an elaborated "keyboard" setting from a tablature manuscript, played on an instrument that worked somewhat like a harpsichord and sounds rather like a harp on energy drinks. The singers have to share glory in this performance with some extraordinarily skillful playing of late Medieval instruments: vielle (fiddle) and Burgundian harp especially. But there's plenty of glory to be shared.
The name of this ensemble - Diabolus in Musica - would probably get this CD banned from certain libraries in Alaska, but actually the term refers to the interval of the tritone (the augmented fourth) which either in chords or in scale passages caused innumerable headaches for polyphonists, always sounding "wrong' to their ears. The solution involved something called "musica ficta", the addition of a sharp or a flat to avoid the tritone. Such ficta were seldom notated; the performer was expected to recognize the need and to know the rules. Rest assured that Ensemble Diabolus in Musica is totally avoidant of devilish dissonances.
The secular chanson repertoire, from Machaut to Dufay, is the prime glory of Medieval music, as pre-eminent as the madrigal in the late Renaissance or the polka at a Minnesota family reunion.
I need Bruno to recommend me some polka CDs.
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Starting the day with gorgeous voices.
Bill, I have this CD in my collection. It is excellent IMO ...
Now listening:
An oldie, but a goodie.
Any works by David Munrow on this twofer? I bought the following twofer a few weeks ago and it is wonderful ...
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The Tallis Scholars recording was both my introduction to Renassiance music and the start of my infatuation with the Tallis Scholars.
Its a long while since David Fallows welcomed The Cardinall's Musick's recording debut with superlatives (ASV, 7/93). Ludford's six-voice festal Mass cycle on 1/Idete miraculum was followed by three other volumes, but these seemed not to quite fulfil the promise of the first; so the chance to hear again his other sixvoice settings is most welcome. Though not as showy as Taverner, his more understated idiom is every bit as persuasive. Repeated listening reveals great subtlety in the handling of texture, an exhilarating sense of confidence in formal planning, and real melodic inspiration. The opening of each movement is identical, and excludes the trebles, whose subsequent appearance in a different context is nicely managed. From the point of view of repertoire this is a major issue.
I've long admired New College's trebles, and here they show how much young singers can achieve in the way of cohesiveness, coherence and sheer persuasiveness of melodic shape. That speaks volumes, considering that, of all the
English choral repertory written for trebles, this is perhaps the most difficult for today's youngsters to master. I'd invite listeners to compare them to the recent recording by their near-neighbours Christ Church College of that cornerstone of this repertory, Taverner's Musa Glori tibi trinitas (Avie, 10/07), in which the trebles seemed to me to lack this sense of line, of unanimity of purpose. Here it's difficult to argue that adult female singers are demonstrably better equipped than boys: the advantage of bigger lungs is offset by the careful choice and placement of breaths. For the rest, I've always held that the tone of these particular trebles is anyway expressive in itself. More, please.
Nicholas Ludford was a British contemporary of John Taverner, active during the first half of the sixteenth century. His music has only recently been unearthed, and based on this recording one can say it was not only worth the trouble but might even cause some rewriting in the history books. The main attraction is the six-voice Missa Benedicta et Venerabilis, which (like other English Renaissance masses) lacks a Kyrie and is sung with appropriate office chants between the polyphonic choral movements. What is most startling is the sheer expressivity of a good deal of the music. The Incarnatus, Crucifixus, and the almost abrupt, exuberant Et Resurrexit and conclusion of the Credo (track 6) are good places to start. Ludford reduces the texture to three or four voices and seems to focus on specific passages of text in a way that brings to mind no one as much as Josquin; this in a compositional world thought to be dominated by monumental, abstract polyphony. The music employs rhythmic shifts and some striking vertical sonorities, all again seemingly linked with the text, and the text-setting has some really outlandish details: Ludford likes, for instance, to kick off a cadential drive with the last syllable of the penultimate phrase of text rather than with the final phrase or "Amen." Oddly enough, the two votive anthems surrounding the mass are more conventional in style. The venerable New College Choir Oxford (men and boys), which was around when this music was composed, delivers a strong reading, with the boy trebles getting into the meaty spirit of the work and more than making up for occasional slips to the flat side of the tone in what is certainly quite difficult music to sing, and the recording ambiance of a church in the northeastern French town of Sarrebourg is ideal. An important find for devotees of English religious music or the Renaissance mass.
Two different groups, two different time periods. ... music from that era appeals to me much less than music from the later Middle Ages/Renaissance.
It is all such wonderful music that I refuse to say which period is more pleasing to me than the other.
:)
This is one Ludford's "festal masses" A complete set under Carwood and the Cardinall's Musick, consisting of 4 discs was issued by ASV, but is now OP. I looked into it, but read a comment that subsequent volumes didn't live up to the promises of the 1s volume... So I leave it be for now - maybe other members can comment on that set? :)
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Two different groups, two different time periods. There's about (speaking very roughly) a three hundred year gap between the music on the Munrow disc and the music on the Tallis Scholars disc. [ETA: the Philips duo is composed solely of performances by the Tallis Scholars, including their nearly divine performance of Spem in Alium. SiA and most of the other performances have been issued again (and sometimes again and again) on their own label, Gimell.]
The Tallis Scholars recording was both my introduction to Renassiance music and the start of my infatuation with the Tallis Scholars.
The Munrow recording is also another classic performance, although I rarely listen to it, as music from that era appeals to me much less than music from the later Middle Ages/Renaissance.
I was fortunate to obtain this set a few years ago - I would need to go back and listen again, but recall that the whole set was a joy - as with almost everything Cardinall's Musick has produced.
I pretty much have purchased all the recordings by the Tallis Scholars on the Gimell label ...
Not a more beautiful voice than Kirkby's to end the evening:
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What are your 10 or so favorite?
Guillaume Dufay's Missa se la face ay pale is one of the earliest examples of a Mass being thematically based on the melody of a secular song. All who perform this masterpiece are indebted somewhat to David Munrow, whose ground-breaking 1973 EMI (now Virgin) recording with the Early Music Consort of London remains the standard by which all are judged. In the notes, Diabolus in Musica (The Devil in Music) director Antoine Guerber dedicates this performance to Munrow's memory (he committed suicide in 1976) and describes first listening to Munrow's performance 20 years ago both as a revelation and as a key factor that inspired his love of medieval music. That humble acknowledgment aside, Guerber and colleagues also pay homage to Munrow's legacy in the most important of ways--by offering arguably the best performance of this work since that of his mentor.
Unlike Munrow, who in his recording offered Dufay's original chanson and only the five primary sections of the Mass, occasionally augmented with instrumentation, Guerber takes a more purist, authentic approach. He not only eschews instrumentation, but also for a more complete presentation reconstructs the piece as was customary during the period, adding other sacred elements (in this case the Proper for Trinity Sunday). Other performers have completed their versions in similar fashion, but in comparison to Diabolus in Musica, the harmonics and textural balances suffer because of the often unorthodox ensemble sizes. For example, the four otherwise vocally outstanding members of the Hilliard Ensemble sound insufficiently thin and austere. Binkley's full choral arrangement (Focus) impresses, though it goes to the other extreme by sounding equally disproportionate. In Guerber's version the balances and clarity are absolutely perfect. There are many moments--though especially in the Credo and Sanctus--where the ensemble's sensuous expression of Dufay's complex polyphony can only be described as a religious experience.
Alpha's sound is gorgeous--richly detailed yet not at the expense of a naturally illusionistic acoustic setting. Guerber's notes are a joy to read, and as usual, Alpha's presentation is first class. Given the caliber of these performances, perhaps Guerber will inspire others to play and listen to this repertoire much as Munrow did before him.
--John Greene, ClassicsToday.com
This
:)
Looked for more info on the composer and found a helpful biography (http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/vitry.php).
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See upthread, reply #369.
He is under represented in the catalog, in my opinion.:)
I'd like to agree. The album you cite is gorgeous. But there seems to be a problem securely ascribing works to Vitry.
I don't have access to the Grove. Good to see the academics are hard at work! :)
I am myself frustrated by the relative paucity of Ars Nova works in the catalogue, even including, as I do, the Ars Subtilior among them. Vitry, Machaut, Landini, Ciconia and Anonymous -- that's it! for substantial recorded oeuvres at least. :-\ Then you've reached Binchois and Dufay and the music has a different character altogether.
If you've discovered more 14c beauties than I have, do tell!
Edited to add: I failed to mention the marvellous Solage. But what does his stuff amount to, half a disc? Alas!
Late fourteenth-century instrumental music that forms the core of the present release comes from the two most important surviving sources of this repertoire: the London and the Faenza codices. While the performance medium repeatedly employed in recordings of both monophonic and polyphonic instrumental music of the Late Middle Ages has been a band of various instruments, the present recital demonstrates, that all it takes to bring this exquisite music back to life is a single, persuasive performer. Corina Marti sets out “in search of the delightful flowers” (Jacopo da Bologna) hidden in those two distinct universes of Late Medieval music, the monophonic and the polyphonic. In this, her solo debut, she achieves a remarkable variety by juxtaposing the sound of recorders (including the double recorder so frequently seen in the fourteenth-century Italian iconography) and of a clavisimbalum – a reconstruction of the earliest form of a harpsichord.
A whole list of delectable goodies, but this one jumps out! :) Since the discovery of this important Striggio mass, only one other recording has been issued, and that was not quite what I was looking for: (very) large forces and in British choral style. I was waiting for a more appropriate approach and Niquet might be the ticket. Please keep me posted on that one. :)
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I dilettosi fiori: 14th Century Music for Clavisimbalum and Flutes, Corina Marti
One doesn't hear a clavisimbalum every day, by gum. 'Tis gossamer, gossamer, I tells ya! The notes form a fine essay, by the way. Can't find a review, so here's a blurb:
Just got this one yesterday, and listened to it three times in a row. Ferrara Ensemble is excellent as always.
Well, after all the positive reviews here and a $25 gift card from my sister, I grabbed this still in the shrink wrap for 10 bones:
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Well done! I paid more than that, but still thought I got a bargain given the quality.
Well, after all the positive reviews here and a $25 gift card from my sister, I grabbed this still in the shrink wrap for 10 bones:
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I do seriously wonder if not Lassus Pentitential Psalms is the greatest late renaissance music ever written.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61oodvg0aJL.jpg)Yes I do and I agree. I also have the Hyperion set (not as good). But I do absolutely love the old Bruno Turner/Pro Cantione Antiqua recordings of some of these psalms on Archiv, even though they are not as technically accomplished as modern ensembles they have an almost frightening intensity. I feel as if those guys really were repenting.
I'm just getting into it, but it's absolutely gorgeous! :) Lassus is IMO definitely one of the big ones in Early music.
I'm very happy with this recording - the combination Lassus & Herreweghe has worked for me splendedly so far! Do you have the same? :)
Q
Yes I do and I agree.
Prophetiae Sibyllarum: I have the Cantus Colln. It is very precise and quick (I'm given to understand), and the recording relatively dry. Other folks seem to find them cold, but I think this a typically fine effort from a wonderful group.The music itself is quite notey, more thrilling than atmospheric. Good stuff.
Instinctively I also eyed the Cantus Cölln recording. Then I read on Amzon that Bruno Giordano, whose opinion I value, changed his allegiances from that recording to the newer one by the ensemble Daedalus under Roberto Festa (Alpha). So I'm seriously considering that one - the fact that the Cantus Cölln is OOP also weighs in to it. :)
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It is included in the super bargain box - someting to consider.Good thing I didn't order it then, as I have this box, and didn't know. Strange how Lassus isn't mentioned on the front, despite having a complete disc to himself!
It is included in the super bargain box - someting to consider.
Absolutely, thanks! :)
Q
Good thing I didn't order it then, as I have this box, and didn't know. Strange how Lassus isn't mentioned on the front, despite having a complete disc to himself!
How I would love to get references to what albums these tracks were originally on!
I'll get back to you on that. No time just now.Nice and helpful if you could do it, but don't feel obliged!
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I'm just getting into it, but it's absolutely gorgeous! :) Lassus is IMO definitely one of the big ones in Early music.
I'm very happy with this recording - the combination Lassus & Herreweghe has worked for me splendedly so far! Do you have the same? :)
Q
How I would love to get references to what albums these tracks were originally on!
1-2. Flos Florum: Motets, Hymnes, Antiennes, Ensemble Musica Nova, Zig Zag 50301Yes great; Thank you!
3. A Song for Francesca: Music in Italy, 1330-1430, Gothic Voices, Hyperion 21286
4. Homage to Johannes Ciconia, Ensemble P.A.N., New Albion 48
5-6. Chansons de la Renaissance (2), Ensemble Gilles Binchois, Virgin Veritas 07623
7. Cancionero Musical de Palacio: Music at the Spanish Court, 1505-1520, Ensemble Accentus, Naxos 8553536
8-10. The Service of Venus and Mars: Music for the Knights of the Garter, Gothic Voices, Hyperion 21238
11. Remède de Fortune, Ensemble P.A.N., New Albion 068
12. Mass for St. Anthony Abbot et al., The Binchois Consort, Helios 67474
13-14. Ballades, Ensemble Musica Nova, Aeon 0982
15. The Unknown Lover: Songs by Solage and Machaut, Gothic Voices, Avie 2089
US release date May 29
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19 CDs--in essence, it's the complete (I think) box of the Capella Augustana recordings
ATM, Arkivmusic is offering a somewhat lower price than Amazon.
Also, few The Clerk's Group Ockeghem disc are coming back in print. Any opinions on these?
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Missa Caput et al Missa Cuiusvis Toni, Missa Quinti Toni, Celeste Beneficium
Promising new release:
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Hyperion website offers Kyrie as free download, nice touch for sampling purposes.
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67959&vw=dc
Also, few The Clerk's Group Ockeghem disc are coming back in print. Any opinions on these?
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Missa Caput et al Missa Cuiusvis Toni, Missa Quinti Toni, Celeste Beneficium
On the topic of Ockeghem, there is also this coming soon, from the great Diabolus in Musica/Antoine Guerber, on occasion of their 20-year celebration. I have all of their releases from 2002 onwards, and each one of them is special; can't wait to get this one.
Here's a 7-min video about the occasion:
http://vimeo.com/38214031 (http://vimeo.com/38214031)
Just got half a dozen CDs on Arcana by La Reverdie (http://www.lareverdie.com/eng/index.php). Enjoying every single one of them thoroughly!
I am interested in that Vaet series, Que. My only points of reference for him are a couple recordings by Cinquencento, on Hyperion:
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only part of the first of which is Vaet's music.
I was hypnotized by MISSA EGO FLOS CAMPI in particular, but I haven't moved any further.
I think exploring Jacobus Vaet further would be very worthwhile. Found him a real find - an original style with sobriety and complex density at the same time. Despite the fact that he often used material of other composers as a base - more a sign of unselfish admiration - very much his own man. I find him more engaging than Gombert, for instance. And he has some of the sweetness of Lassus but remains closer to the roots of the Franco-Flemish School IMO.
I don't own the Cinquecento disc, but they sound upon sampling extremely accomplished, mandatory.
None of the discs by the Dufay Ensemble duplicates the Missa Ego Flos Campi, so that is fortunate. I've found their performances very satisfactory, maybe a bit less polish/brilliance than Cinquecento but nicely balanced performances of great integrity.
Anyway, I'm sure the online samples that plenty availble will tell you more than I can! :)
Q
The singing is of very high quality: unassuming, gentle, fluid and circumspect, without being either cautious or introspective as such. It's a style of singing that breathes respect and admiration for the gentle and delicate lines of melody which Vaet spins.
On the other hand, this is not whispered or in any way "under-performed" music. The Ensemble's articulation is clear and expressive. Each syllable is audible and comprehensible, wherever the polyphonic line so intends.
In the Dufay Ensemble's conception this emphasis on sonic impact is not a priority. Rather, the delicacy and pointedness of the texts. Every word is clear in the half dozen pieces which they perform here – even though the Te Deum and Magnificat are typically large scale, demonstrative, works. As you finish listening to this CD with its resonant acoustic, you will be left with a great sense of satisfaction. The Dufay Ensemble has emphasized expressivity and resolution over effect; and done Vaet a great service as a result.
[...] it's harder than ever to understand why Vaet should have been eclipsed when Lassus and Palestrina shone.
There's no comparable selection available. If there were, it would be hard to imagine its making the simple yet memorable impact that does the justifiably acclaimed Dufay Ensemble.
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Pulling this one out of the box set for a first listen.
Not many cds that feature ONLY him, but right now I am playing this and am absolutely mesmerized:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51klE56OW9L._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
Started the day with:
I think exploring Jacobus Vaet further would be very worthwhile. Found him a real find - an original style with sobriety and complex density at the same time. Despite the fact that he often used material of other composers as a base - more a sign of unselfish admiration - very much his own man. I find him more engaging than Gombert, for instance. And he has some of the sweetness of Lassus but remains closer to the roots of the Franco-Flemish School IMO.
I don't own the Cinquecento disc, but they sound upon sampling extremely accomplished, mandatory.
None of the discs by the Dufay Ensemble duplicates the Missa Ego Flos Campi, so that is fortunate. I've found their performances very satisfactory, maybe a bit less polish/brilliance than Cinquecento but nicely balanced performances of great integrity.
Anyway, I'm sure the online samples that plenty availble will tell you more than I can! :)
Q
That is a fantastic disc - one of my best buys last year.
Huelgas Ensemble recording of Richafort's Requiem reissued on Harmonia Mundi and available cheap at UK amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00A2CL6SQ/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i04
I am interested in getting another recording of Lassus' LAGRIME DI SAN PIETRO (the only one I have is the one included in the Huelgas/Nevel SECRET LABYRINTH box, a gift that keeps giving). Any recommendations for recordings would be appreciated, though I think I am most interested in the Herreweghe and unfortunately it seems to be OOP. I see two HM editions, 1994 and 2001:
I never thanked Que for his Lassus assistance above; cheers for that, Que!
I am interested in purchasing some stuff from the Cantus label. Apparently they were out of production for a while but are back in business, though I have had a hard time finding a few titles at Amazon, so it might be necessary for me to buy directly from them. If this ends up being the case, I might as well minimize my number of order with them. Does anyone know of some essential or truly excellent Cantus titles that they highly recommended? I am interested in the Handel DUETTI ITALIANI (La Venexiana et al) and the Machaut box set by Vellard et al (which can be had cheaper from Brilliant Classics, but apparently the Cantus package is much nicer and seems to include a ~290-page book (maybe all of this is included on the CDR of the Brilliant package anyway?).
I wonder if anyone out there can help me. I'm listening a bit now to Machaut's Lay de la fonteinne, but the only text I have is in 14th century french, which i can't read. Can anyone locate a text inmodern French or Enblish for me? My initial attempts with google have come up with nothing.
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA66358
Q
A Spotify member, Jesse Brinkerhof, has created a playlist of music from Medieval and Renaissance periods. The list has nearly 9,000 tracks. I am listening right now to:
Requiems by Lassos and Ockeghem performed by the Laudantes Consort, led by Guy Janssens, from the excellent series History of Requiem
This is Vol. 1, there are four altogether.
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA66358
Q
I noticed! It now has to compete with Cinquecento's new recording:
Anyway, the music itself is selfrecommending! :)
Q
Is this group still active? I have 3 of their discs and they are fantastic.
Indeed, they are generally exceedingly good.
They are still active. Can't wait to get their latest:
I'm also interested in their Dark-Light disc and have it wishlisted on amazon.
If I had to choose 3 of their releases, that one [NOX-LUX] would be on that list, along with Sponsa Regis and Historia Sancta Eadmundi.
Thanks very much for the Ferrabosco input, Que. Those will be at the top of my to-buy queue.
It's been mentioned before, but the requiem on this disc is stunning.Have you heard Cinquecento's OOVP recording? I only know that one, but it is exquisite.
(http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0001/036/MI0001036618.jpg) |
Well-prepared and spontaneous performances of religious music by Demantius, an original voice that is rarely heard.
Christophorus Demantius was born and died in exactly the same years as Monteverdi, but there the similarities stop. A Bohemian craftsman who spent most of his professional life in Freiberg in Saxony, he is revealed in this disc of Whitsun Vespers to be a confident individualist, combining the polyphonic fluency of the great 16th-century masters with the strong harmonic kernel derived from the clear phrasing of the early German Lied.
The Huelgas Ensemble are about as convincing advocates of this sonorous repertoire as one could imagine, supported as they are by Paul van Nevel's luminous textural palette — a palette varied by such pleasing instrumental contributions. His ear for detail and the sense of meticulous preparation is immediately noticeable, though he also lets his singers sail into the intensely worked flourishes of the hymn, Veni Creator, with radiant abandon. Previously, we see Demantius — `an inconsiderate man and a turbulent genius', as one contemporary put it — conduct an impressive journey of church modes, and their variants, in 28 different Psalm verses. It makes for a slightly exhausting voyage, despite the imaginative way the composer traverses the rigid, alternating sections with rich five- and six-part sonority in the best of German traditions.
The solo singing is altogether less memorable than the fragrant coloration (which is central to van Nevel's approach) of the integral ensemble. The vespers, which were published in Nuremberg in 1602, also contain a variable Magnificat and an all-too-short, brilliant Benedicamus Domino a 6, confirming Demantius's natural grasp of decorated homophony. This is music of great dignity and an unassailable momentum. The disc ends with two extended chorale settings from Threnodiae, an extensive litany for the dead, from 1620; a touching melodic intimacy abounds, with correspondingly sensitive instrumental additions.
One feels a bit short-changed by just 47 minutes of music, but only because the Huelgas Ensemble bring a distinctive vitality to their music-making which calls for at least an hour. Demantius was prolific enough!
-- Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Gramophone [12/2000]
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61jLG0iK5pL.jpg)
Antoine Busnois - Missa L'homme arme
Probably the earliest of the masses based on eponymous chanson, and for me still the best. Superb performance as well. Some might not like the ensemble's attempt at pronouncing Latin closest possible to medieval French manner.
(http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/imgs/s300x300/4456672.jpg)
Antoine Busnois - Missa L'homme arme
I just listened to that too. I have to say that I couldn't stop myself thinjing that this is some of the most interesting music I've ever heard. It was in the credo that I started to think that.
There is a great moment toward the end of Credo when all of a sudden everything gets very frantic. The moment where I went 'wow!' is in Gloria, that amazing upward bass surge on deprecationem nostram. It was totally the moment of ecstatic truth for me (to quote Werner Herzog). The whole piece is extraordinary, the expressiveness of it, almost flamboyance when compared to lets say Dufay, who is stylistically the closest, is what completely took me back in the beginning. I've been listening to it a lot last couple of months.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61jLG0iK5pL.jpg)
Antoine Busnois - Missa L'homme arme
Probably the earliest of the masses based on eponymous chanson, and for me still the best. Superb performance as well. Some might not like the ensemble's attempt at pronouncing Latin closest possible to medieval French manner.
I've steered away from British ensembles to avoid a "Englis cathedral style" or bias in the choral singing, which is IMO not suited for the Franco-Flemish School, smooth and in many cases with parts of the music transposed upwards. Despite the abundance of avaible recordings. Perhaps this is not in all cases justified. How does the Binchois Consort in that respect?
Q
Anyone read this? Care to comment on how accessible it is to someone with little formal training in musical analysis?
(http://c379899.r99.cf1.rackcdn.com/9780521036085.jpg)
There's a fairly generous preview on Google Books. Lots of solid historical information (and speculation) but not much musical analysis at all that I could see - and what there is seems to be related to the historical situation.
DF
Thanks. All that stuff about mysticism looks quite interesting. I've never been to Reims.As a Champagne nut I've been there twice, but never knew Machaut worked there.
Belder may not be first choice for Byrd - I think Hogwood or Moroney will remain hard to beat
- but it's very civilized and thoughtful playing. For many of the other pieces he's the only option, and none of it disappoints and is often delightful.
Glenn Gould did a very good job, too.
(runs away as fast as can)
No need to run - Gould's "Consort of Musicke" is one of my favorite keyboard albums.
I thought Id dedicate this weekend to Elizabethan music - I think this era has some really beautiful music.
Today it was some William Byrd and tomorrow maybe more or selections from the John Dowland box.
The pictures below represent just about my entire Elizabethan collection (theres not much so I will post them all:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41av%2BC2L5qL.__PJautoripBadge,BottomRight,4,-40_OU11__.jpg) (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71bcZjzJQ0L._SL1200_.jpg) (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NhTFDTDgL._SX450__PJautoripBadge,BottomRight,4,-40_OU11__.jpg) (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511HBbtORVL._SY450_.jpg)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bscAwY1IL._SX450_.jpg) (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41GF9CNS4BL.jpg) (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51M9HFdpwbL._SY450__PJautoripBadge,BottomRight,4,-40_OU11__.jpg) (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51K%2BXJjv9gL._SX450_.jpg)
Im always looking for recommendations so if anyone knows a recording(s) from this era they think I might like I am all ears :)
Edit: all the stuff I posted may not be strictly Elizabethan but I hope it will give other members an idea of the type of music I mean
I'm not so well advanced into the English Renaissance music to give you an elaborate answer, but I'm sure others will! :)
Q
Very quiet over here :)
I just want to join this thread and say hi. I am presently reading John Gardiner's book on Bach, and listening to lots from various early music boxes from Harmonia Mundi, Vivarte, Archiv, and Erato. I've always liked Bach, but am presently enjoying earlier stuff much more, especially polyphonic vocal music and early small group ensemble music by people like Muffat and Biber (just to randomly select a couple of names from the last CD I listened to). It's amazing that virtually every disc I randomly play I end up really liking, and am moved by its thoughtfulness and integrity. Odd that when I sample more recent music my feelings are often almost diametrically opposite...
We'll get you eventually Baklavaboy. Dufay and Muffat are gateway drugs, but Josquin and Schutz are pure crack.You're everywhere, Ken :)
You're everywhere, Ken :)Allow me to make the formal introduction.
Josquin I've played and liked, but Schutz is just a name...
You're everywhere, Ken :)I work for the NSA.
;D ;D
thank you gentlemen! My shop has a lot of those HM boxes, at very reasonable prices, but I still have about 150 discs to listen to from other recent early music boxes (including some Schutz, actually). Somebody here at GMG forced me into a "cease and desist new purchases" pact. The sadistic s o b....
It's only for two weeks. You can use the time to plan out a really really big order.
so I am probably OK for new purchases...except for HM early music boxes ::)
You're everywhere, Ken :)
Josquin I've played and liked, but Schutz is just a name...
This 2 CD set has been in very heavy rotation since I purchased it in late 2013
There are also earlier editions available, so poke around for the best price. . .
Dig these pretty great reviews, including one by Amazon early music maven 'Giordano Bruno'~
This 2 CD set has been in very heavy rotation since I purchased it in late 2013:I second the praise for the set.
There are also earlier editions available, so poke around for the best price. . .
Dig these pretty great reviews, including one by Amazon early music maven 'Giordano Bruno'~
I second the praise for the set.
Lots of good stuff in the boxes too. The brilliant box is a little uneven, but it's bigger!
Some guy over at Amazon named Ken Braithwaite only gave the Brilliant 3 stars, but gave the HM 5. Something about the guys name makes me suspect he might be a little shady >:D, so not sure whether to believe him or not.I don't know, I find his reviews pretty good. But he always reviews stuff I already have.
I knew I had some Schutze somewhere and finally found I have two discs of the Psalms in the Vivarte box. So far I have been crazy about everything I've played from that box, so have high hopes. Playing Charpentier right now...
I don't know, I find his reviews pretty good. But he always reviews stuff I already have.:laugh: :laugh:
:-\
:laugh: :laugh:Herreweghe is indeed highly thought of, at least by me and that Braithwaite fellow.
I've heard a lot of enthusiasm directed towards Herreweghe. Is he pretty well thought of over here?
I actually have a fair amount of older stuff from Deller. What I've heard sounds good to me, but I have no real standard of reference. Is he generally considered solid, or dated?
I've heard a lot of enthusiasm directed towards Herreweghe. Is he pretty well thought of over here?
:laugh:
Actually, the postman brought me the EMI Eminence and Erato boxes this morning...and Amazon UK just sent a notice that the new Colin Davis box has shipped, and last night I started burning some of the 7K discs I have on my Hard drive to CD, so I am probably OK for new purchases...except for HM early music boxes ::)
This sounds like a very familiar scenario.... Last time I went to the post office the staff members looked at me inquisitively and said "Oh, you are the one that is getting all those boxes!! Huh! Are you running a business? *sigh*" . It made me crack up! :laugh:
:laugh: :laugh:
It's a glorious time to be a classical music fan!
BTW, I just got to this baby in my Archiv box:
Wow. I haven't heard anything like this before. It doesn't sound like early music or baroque, exactly. It reminds me of Shakespeare's English, constantly fresh and surprising, but not breaking any rules because it comes before the rules have hardened into place...
I think you'll like the Lumieres box. You delve much into the DHM 50 ?
You will eventually want the Music in Versailles box ...
I got the Lumiere's box last week and like it a lot. Have the DHM 50, 30, Centuries, and sacred. Working on all and sundry, but only so many hours per day.
Never heard of the Versailles box. Will research ASAP :)
Down boy
BTW, I just got to this baby in my Archiv box:
Wow. I haven't heard anything like this before. It doesn't sound like early music or baroque, exactly. It reminds me of Shakespeare's English, constantly fresh and surprising, but not breaking any rules because it comes before the rules have hardened into place...
Nice! I am a big fan of this one too. 8)
Many forum members seem to be fans as well (but not all ;D). . .
Thanks for that antidote! :)
Alonso Lobo (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alonso_Lobo) was actually close colleague of Victoria. This recording is my first acquintance with his music. I like it very much. If it is true that Victoria valued Lobo as an equal, that is wel deserved. The musical feel is however quite different. Lobo is incoporating more Italian influences and the result is a more, airy, transparent contrapunctual style. I do not quite get the Amazon review (though the reviewer in question knows his Early Music well). The voices DO blend well together, but not into a smooth ethereal sound British choir style. I haven't heard the Tallis in Lobo, but I bet that is what they offer. Music Ficta's sound is intimate, personal and sober. I guess it depends what you are looking for. :)
My only quible is that this disc is with 56 minutes rather short measured...... But definitely recommended if you are into Spanish Renaissance - or rather: not to be missed.
Q
Arcana has recently released a Mala Punica 3-CD boxed set:
Any thoughts? Thanks. :)
The critically-acclaimed ensemble Mala Punica came into the limelight in the mid-1990's with a trilogy of illustrious, multi-award-winning discs on Arcana, which revolutionized the world of medieval music and performance practice: Ars subtilis Ytaliaca (A21), D'Amor ragionando (A22) and En attendant (A23). For the first time, all these milestone recordings are united in one set.
Any thoughts? Thanks. :)
Arcana has recently released a Mala Punica 3-CD boxed set:
From amazon:
The critically-acclaimed ensemble Mala Punica came into the limelight in the mid-1990's with a trilogy of illustrious, multi-award-winning discs on Arcana, which revolutionized the world of medieval music and performance practice: Ars subtilis Ytaliaca (A21), D'Amor ragionando (A22) and En attendant (A23). For the first time, all these milestone recordings are united in one set.
Any thoughts? Thanks. :)
I am also pondering Ciconia's Opera Omnia. Wonderful samples on Spotify. I am mesmerized.......They are state of the art.
Any thoughts on these recordings?
They are state of the art.
I don't really feel you mean it that way, but that sounds more like a thumbs down than thumbs up:They are state of the art in every way. They have collected dozens of prices and recommendations too.
"So, how is this album?"
"Well, the recording quality is very good...." :-\
I don't really feel you mean it that way, but that sounds more like a thumbs down than thumbs up:Diabolus in Musica is one of the best early music groups out there.
"So, how is this album?"
"Well, the recording quality is very good...." :-\
Diabolus in Musica is one of the best early music groups out there.
I could not find any entry for this collection at GMG (but it has to be here somewhere...).
Any thoughts on this collection of polyphony from Ricercar?
Content:
http://www.outhere-music.com/fr/albums/the-flemish-polyphony-colour-book-of-200-pages-8-cd-s-in-a-magnificent-box-ric-102/livret (http://www.outhere-music.com/fr/albums/the-flemish-polyphony-colour-book-of-200-pages-8-cd-s-in-a-magnificent-box-ric-102/livret)
It's a very worthwhile box with plenty of material to dig through (both in music and in text). Recommended if you enjoy or would like to explore the music of the period. I also have (and recommend) the other 4 boxes they have released in a similar format.
Ahhh, I was looking at those. It seems like one is surrounded by musical temptations here at GMG. I presume they won't go OOP in the near future? Do you have the set that examines ancient instruments as well? If so, would you recommend it?The first customer review has a complete tracklist for the entire thing. No bits in these sets.
Is the Flemish polyphony set structured as an "educational" anthology, i.e. bits and pieces with unifying themes elucidated by the accompanying book?
Arcana has recently released a Mala Punica 3-CD boxed set:
Any thoughts? Thanks. :)
They are state of the art.
It is difficult to talk about "state of the art", when we know so little about the performance practice of these pieces.Studio der Frühe Musik made me discover this music. I was an Andrea von Ramm groupie in a former life.
But I agree that the CD by Diabolus in Musica is a fine contribution to the relative sparse Ciconia discography. I am more reserved as to the CD by La Morra, i do not think they always find the right pure and intimate mood for these pieces, but I may be biased by other Ciconia recordings, by Studio der Frühe Musik and Paul van Nevel e.g.
Do you have the set that examines ancient instruments as well? If so, would you recommend it?
Is the Flemish polyphony set structured as an "educational" anthology, i.e. bits and pieces with unifying themes elucidated by the accompanying book?
Any thoughts on this collection of polyphony from Ricercar?
Re: FLEMISH POLYPHONY box (Ricercar label):
You asked about this over a month ago, so I imagine by now you own it ;)
but I think it's great and I find the packaging quite attractive with thick booklet/book in a kind of chocolate-box slipcase.
One thing about it, if you go bonkers for this music by these groups, you might end up with the full releases (several labels) from which the contents of the box is drawn. I think you have seen the Amazon review which helpfully lists some or all of those original releases. For example, I just got that Pierre de la Rue 3cd set ~40 minutes of which is on the Ricercar anthology.
I have been even more enthralled with the Ciconia.
Have you (or anyone here) listened all of the Millenarium box? Is the whole thing recommended? When you are finished with it, some more comment would be most welcome.
Re: FLEMISH POLYPHONY box (Ricercar label):
You asked about this over a month ago, so I imagine by now you own it ;)
but I think it's great and I find the packaging quite attractive with thick booklet/book in a kind of chocolate-box slipcase.
One thing about it, if you go bonkers for this music by these groups, you might end up with the full releases (several labels) from which the contents of the box is drawn.
Five Choir Boys and a Lovely Lass
No disrespect intended! That's how Singer Pur identifies its members. How this plays out between rehearsals is none of our business. The ensemble is twenty years old this year and extremely successful in Europe, with assorted prizes, performances at all the major festivals, twenty or more CDs on the market, and an ongoing program of workshops in vocal technique in their hometown of Regensburg. They are one of the premiere "a capella" vocal ensembles in the world and one of the few that perform with equal artistry both Renaissance polyphony and more modern genres. HIPPsters, don't be disdainful of this sextet for producing Christmas albums and excursions into Pop and Kitsch! When an ensemble sings the motets of Orlando di Lasso as superbly as Singer Pur on this CD, any "misadventure" may be forgiven.
Singer Pur performs Renaissance polyphony one-voice-per-part. In many cases, the 'superius' is sung by high tenor Klaus Wenk. You'll hear the all-male quintet on several of the nine Lasso motets included on this CD. When the superius is sung by soprano Hedwig Westhof-Düppmann, the balance and match-up of timbres remains PUR gold. Singer Pur never sacrifices the expressiveness of its tenor and bass voices in favor of a bright top-loaded imbalance. Hedwig is certainly lovely, but vocally she's one of the boys.
Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594) was unquestionably the best-known, most influential, and most prolific composer of his era. The earliest "complete" edition of works reached forty volumes. His early career left him time for experimentation in secular genres -- partsongs in Italian, French, German, and Flemish -- but the bulk of his work consists of sacred vocal music in Latin. The "market" for such music was insatiable; even today previously unknown motets by Lasso are found whenever an old castle or cathedral cabinet is pried open. Lasso was the heir of all the great "Franco-Flemish" polyphonists, but especially of Nikolas Gombert (149s-1560). The central opus of this CD, Lasso's Missa Tous Les Regretz, not only recycles material from the Gombert French chanson of the same title but also expands and polishes the innovative harmonic 'language' that distinguished Gombert from his predecessors. Gombert's chanson, by the way, is sung as the last track on this CD. It's a work that still seems harmonically bold even after later works from Gesualdo to Schoenberg to Szysmanowski. This entire performance stirs with thrilling but entirely logical 'dissonances' and chromaticisms. Modern ears are hard to surprise, of course, but this performance will overcome any complacency you might feel about "Early" Music.
Lasso's musical imagination is most obvious in his variety of rhythms and phrases. None of the nine motets on this CD sound boringly like any other. Singer Pur is masterful (and mistressful) in extracting Lasso's rhythmic subtleties and in shaping the emotional rhetoric of his phrases. That's a good part of what distinguishes this performance from performances by lesser ensembles such as Pro Cantione Antiqua or The Tallis Scholars. Let's be blunt: this is as fine a performance of Lasso as any I've ever heard.
Orlando Lassus by the German ensemble Singer Pur. What an amazing performance! :)
With a-one-voice-per-part (OVPP) approach, this is very expressive and intensely engaging. Lassus is showcasing his Despres lineage via Gombert and the ensemble give us a full picture with all the rhythmic details. Sounded even much better on a 2nd hearing- all the detailing requires a fresh ear! :)
So far I haven't beB006RD8VT6
n able to really connect with Lassus. Actually with majority of late Renaissance (Spain excepted), too smooth. Maybe ovpp could really work for me. Where did you get the disc? Looks out of print.
Orlando Lassus by the German ensemble Singer Pur. What an amazing performance! :)
With a-one-voice-per-part (OVPP) approach, this is very expressive and intensely engaging. Lassus is showcasing his Despres lineage via Gombert and the ensemble give us a full picture with all the rhythmic details. Sounded even much better on a 2nd hearing- all the detailing requires a fresh ear! :)
Actually, there is very little to add to Amazon's Giordano Bruno's review:
Q
I think you're right in your assumption and would defintely try OVVP. :)
This disc is still on sale at jpc: http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Orlando-di-Lasso-Lassus-1532-1594-Missa-Tous-les-regrets/hnum/3866757
Also note that this disc is under two asin nrs on Amazon: B001S86JAS and the one that is OOP: B006RD8VT6
Q
And finally a reissue of something I've been waiting for long time. Not technically early music but sounding magnificently primordial to me.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81ZdjfvkMaL._SL1476_.jpg)
Ah, jpc ... 5 euros for the CD and then the rest of my monthly income for shipping. ::)
I'll check the amazons. Thanks!
And finally a reissue of something I've been waiting for long time. Not technically early music but sounding magnificently primordial to me.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81ZdjfvkMaL._SL1476_.jpg)
... and taster for those who might be interested:
http://www.youtube.com/v/EXR75n7OH7o
Is this thread about Medieval music mostly, or does it also accommodate music into the high renaissance and early baroque?
Medieval and Renaissance, but indeed, there is always the question where Renaissance ended and Baroque began. :) There are inevitablycomposers that are somewhere in betweeen.
Q
And this is my preferred performance/recording of Gibbons viol consort music:
(http://cdn.naxosmusiclibrary.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/others/BKD486.gif)
I don´t know if it´s been discussed before, but the complete set of Cantigas de Santa Maria by the Musica Antigua ensemble conducted by Eduardo Paniagua is mind-blowing. A must for every Early Music afficionado.
Arcana has recently released a Mala Punica 3-CD boxed set:Thanks everyone who recommended this set. It is extremely beautiful. I will check out other recordings mentioned here.
I can't recall that it has been mentioned before.Is this it?
Q
Sorry for the belated reply, I've been rather busy in other threads. :D
That's only a small part of it. You can find an incomplete discography here: http://www.ctv.es/USERS/pneuma/cantigae.htm (http://www.ctv.es/USERS/pneuma/cantigae.htm).
For complete discography, with complete previews of each cd, see here: https://www.youtube.com/user/emallohuergo/search?query=cantigas (https://www.youtube.com/user/emallohuergo/search?query=cantigas).
Hope it helps.
Postman brought this today. I got it second hand from Japan for a really good price (although more than the ultra-bargains some of you apparently got). I'm so glad I managed to wrangle a copy (seems to be harder and harder to track down). Anticipating a lot of profound musical enjoyment.
Extremely intesting book review about the reception history of medieval music here
http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac%3A179363
Has all my favorites.
I'm assuming this box has been mentioned, but if not - it is a good one. I was reminded of it by a post of a different recording of the Ockeghem Requiem in the New Purchases Thread -
Has all my favorites.
I'm assuming this box has been mentioned, but if not - it is a good one. I was reminded of it by a post of a different recording of the Ockeghem Requiem in the New Purchases Thread -
Has all my favorites.
It's great deal. But stylistically outdated IMO. For me personally the British choral style and Franco-Flemish composers simply does not compute... ::)
These days there are plenty of preferable alternatives by other ensembles. :)
Q
. For me personally the British choral style and Franco-Flemish composers simply does not compute... ::)I totally agree. They sound to cold and clinical (to generalize absurdly).
These days there are plenty of preferable alternatives by other ensembles. :)
Q
I admit compared to most of you I am a dabbler in this repertory. But I have listened to a lot of it over a long stretch of time. I find it a little odd that your opinions of the Hilliard group's recording of Ockeghem is so negative. Apparently the very things I love about their performance, you dislike, e.g. "cold and clinical", which I would describe as clean, restrained and entirely suited to the music.I like it gritty, as in sung by real people, not angels. Which is also an effect of using a smaller number of voices in an more intimate acoustic. A personal preference and view I've come to after listening to this music for 40 years. Which doesn't mean you have to agree. But after hearing this music sung by Singer Pur, Capella Pratensis, The Sound and Fury, Cinquecento etc the traditional English choral style just seems mostly dull to me in this strictly polyphonic music, beautiful, but lacking sentiment. And it also blurs the sense of the polyphonic lines so important in this music.
:-\
I like it gritty, as in sung by real people, not angels. Which is also an effect of using a smaller number of voices in an more intimate acoustic. A personal preference and view I've come to after listening to this music for 40 years. Which doesn't mean you have to agree. But after hearing this music sung by Singer Pur, Capella Pratensis, The Sound and Fury, Cinquecento etc the traditional English choral style just seems mostly dull to me in this strictly polyphonic music, beautiful, but lacking sentiment. And it also blurs the sense of the polyphonic lines so important in this music.
I like it gritty, as in sung by real people, not angels. Which is also an effect of using a smaller number of voices in an more intimate acoustic. A personal preference and view I've come to after listening to this music for 40 years. Which doesn't mean you have to agree. But after hearing this music sung by Singer Pur, Capella Pratensis, The Sound and Fury, Cinquecento etc the traditional English choral style just seems mostly dull to me in this strictly polyphonic music, beautiful, but lacking sentiment. And it also blurs the sense of the polyphonic lines so important in this music.Agreed, but I'm not sure 'gritty' is the right word. The sound of one voice per part ensembles (or the odd great ones with two voices) is more direct of course, with the ensemble being more together and not making every dynamic change gradual.
Actually, I guess The Sound an Fury are on Spotify, but from the CD covers I thought they were different band with the same name; a punk rock band.:laugh:
;D
Agreed, but I'm not sure 'gritty' is the right word. The sound of one voice per part ensembles (or the odd great ones with two voices) is more direct of course, with the ensemble being more together and not making every dynamic change gradual.
If I am not mistaken, The Hilliard do utilize OVPP for most of their early recordings, and I am pretty sure their recording of the Ockeghem Requiem is OVPP. The recording was made in a church, and quite reverberant, this can undermine the clarify of each voice, but does enhance the ensemble blend.'Ensemble blend' - apart from timing - isn't necessarily a good thing though, if it means that the individual lines can't be followed. In any case, I wasn't commenting on the Hilliard recording, and instead took what Erato said on a more general level.
I suppose it comes down to what we are looking for in the performance of this music. For me, I prefer a meditative and ephemeral sound that serves to quiet the mind - I am seeking the music to be an inducement to the spiritual, which is how I understand the music to have been written.I'm sure that's a part of why I listen to early music as well.
To the extent an ensemble wishes to make the music "gritty", it probably will not appeal to me.'Gritty' is not something I look for either.
I suppose it comes down to what we are looking for in the performance of this music. For me, I prefer a meditative and ephemeral sound that serves to quiet the mind - I am seeking the music to be an inducement to the spiritual, which is how I understand the music to have been written.
To the extent an ensemble wishes to make the music "gritty", it probably will not appeal to me.
I would say earthy or more human than angelic. There is more to the issue about some of British ensembles than just OVPP. It is about the choral/ ensemble sound, particularly the male voices - both low and high, it is about phrasing, diction. Music is usually transposed upwards to accomadate the taste for a higher , more "angelic" sound of choirs with larger propotions of female voices and male altos. (Just listen to the grumbling basses in the Huelgas ensemble in comparison) It is simply not always idiomatic or authentic....
Please don't mind me and enjoy nonetheless, I am simply pointing out that there is more out there and it might be of interest to you. :)
Ockeghem by the French Ensemble Musica Nova or Ensemble Organum, or De la Rue by the Flemish ensemble Capilla Flamenca can be a very satisfying experience.
Q
I was not trying to argue for the Hilliard Ensemble as much as trying to gain an insight as to your and other's reasons for being negative.
Thanks for your post.
I like this a lot - curious about other views
De Fevin : Requiem d'Anne De Bretagne
Doulce Memoire
I am relatively new to this board and I am delighted to have discovered this thread. I like Early Music but I really do not know a lot about it relative to other eras. I therefore look forward to spending some time reading this thread in order to enlighten myself and further educate myself in the beauties of this sound world.
I am jealous! ??? :) That has on my shopping list forever.... ::)
Just in case you don't already have, it a recommendation of a set with two of their other reocrdings:
Q
I wish the Huelgas Ensemble's Labyrinth box set was still available, that would have been my primary recommendation... ::)
(http://www.jpc.de/image/w600/front/0/0886974784425.jpg)
Q
Guillaume De Machaut : Sacred & Secular Music, by Ensemble Gilles Binchois - excellent boxset very reasonably priced.I'll second that recommendation.
There are members who contribute to this thread who are more knowledgeable than I, but the most representative and reasonably priced introduction to early music I can think of is this box from Naxos:
While it mainly has movements from larger works it will expose you to a large selection composers and ensembles so that through it you can find ones you may wish to study in more depth. Generally good performances.
I wish the Huelgas Ensemble's Labyrinth box set was still available, that would have been my primary recommendation... ::)
(http://www.jpc.de/image/w600/front/0/0886974784425.jpg)
Q
Guillaume De Machaut : Sacred & Secular Music, by Ensemble Gilles Binchois - excellent boxset very reasonably priced.
That one looks interesting.
When L'oiseau Lyre/Decca released their Baroque compilation last year I remember reading that they were planning to make two additional sets: one focused on Early Music and one on the Renaissance. Does anybody know anything about the progress of these projects?
The Art of Courtly Love
David Munrow | The Early Music Consort of London
Masters from Flanders: Polyphony from the 15th & 16th century a ten volume series featuring Capella Sancti Michaelis and Currende Consort (Erik van Nevel). It appears to be available only in digital formatting, and on most streaming services (I found all ten volumes on Spotify).
Seems to be a very good survey of this period.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HzeTpYiuL._SS280.jpg)
Masters from Flanders: Polyphony from the 15th & 16th century a ten volume series featuring Capella Sancti Michaelis and Currende Consort (Erik van Nevel). It appears to be available only in digital formatting, and on most streaming services (I found all ten volumes on Spotify).Looks amazing. Thanks for posting it sanantonio. Shout-out to Moonfish too, for listing the contents. ;)
Seems to be a very good survey of this period.
I'm now playing a new purchase:
Vox Cosmica
Hirundo Maris
Stunningly beautiful recording of music composed by Hildegard of Bingen. The group also performs several instrumental 'meditations' inspired by Hildegard's spiritual visions. Powerful music! A riveting performance - sounds like a true musical offering.
I'd say urgently recommended for those with an interest in the music of Hildegard. :)
Phenomenal box setwhich will probably be included in a coming Renaissance box set from L'Oiseau-Lyre.....
Dowland - The Collected Works
The Consort of Musicke, Rooley
which will probably be included in a coming Renaissance box set from L'Oiseau-Lyre.....
I like this a lot - curious about other views
Yes I think it's tremendous. I started a thread on amazon about Ars Subtilior which you might find interesting, I tried here but there were no contributions
http://www.amazon.com/forum/classical%20music/ref=cm_cd_search_res_ti?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx2O5YQ79OVJBUQ&cdPage=1&cdSort=oldest&cdThread=Tx3HCWWJYD19UN2#Mx17QK1DW0H29TO
Interesting thread, thanks for linking it. I found several of the suggested recordings on Spotify. BTW, is your avatar Oswald van Wolkenstein?
Yes. The big one which isn't on spotify is 'Saracen & the Dove' It's growing on me, you should try to hear it I think. Same for Tetraktis.
Yes I am Oswald van Wolkenstein. I like his wink more than his music.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/36/Andrea_Mantegna_-_The_Dead_Christ.jpg)
I've found the Kassiopeia Quintet's complete Gesualdo madrigals recordings on Spotify:
Anyone else familiar with them?
Saracen & the Dove is on Spotify (https://play.spotify.com/album/0PwdTl838sZmGZg2LjLkBJ).
I agree regarding Oswald.
I remember asking the same question few years ago, and someone replying that they are ok but bland compared to Concerto Italiano and La Venexiana.
How does this Huelgas recording ...
... compare with this one by Cinquecento?
Most of us seem to have one or the other, and both parties seem to be very happy... 8) Though I believe the few that have both prefer the Cinquecento. I touched on the topic briefly before, mentioning some reviews:
http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,21492.msg738941/topicseen.html#msg738941
It seems these are both excellent yet distinctly different performances? :)
Q
I listened to Saracen and Dove again. It's some of the strangest, most difficult, music I know. The Orlando Consort remind me of Ensemble Organum in their Chantilly Codex CD, in that they underplay the sensuality, and highlight the avant garde aspect.
I went back to Reese and read about the trecento (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_the_Trecento), or Italian Ars Nova, a somewhat related style, e.g. Ciconia is included in the discussion. There are several recordings of interest on Spotify featuring the composers from Italy from 1325-1425, which is how Reese dates this period. The music primarily comes from the Squarcialupi Codex and Rossi Codex.
Stylems, Music from the Italian Trecento (https://play.spotify.com/album/6MBieZ3u5sK2f2cXEEsE5O) (Spotify link)
I'm convinced that appreciating Ars Subtilior can demmand a new order of listening skills, and this is why Orlando Consort and others can be so disorienting. Others force the music into a more conventional pattern of harmony, rhythm, voicing, tones, etc. I do feel that the austere approach is rewarding, but requires more effort than the relaxing, easy listening style of ensembles like Tetrakis, or Hesperion 20. IMO the Codex Chantilly is Brian Ferneyhough avant la lettre.
Yes I think it's tremendous. I started a thread on amazon about Ars Subtilior which you might find interesting, I tried here but there were no contributions
Here's a recording done by a group specializing in Spanish Renaissance, Musica Ficta (not to be confused with other ensembles using the same name), led by Raúl Mallavibarrena:
I happened to have ordered that a while ago and just found it in my letter box! :)
Q
New ensemble for me, but a good one. Listening now.
Le Codex de Saint Emmeram
Stimmwerck
Great ensemble, great disc! :)
http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,21492.msg820674/topicseen.html#msg820674
http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,3732.msg568496/topicseen.html#msg568496
http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,3732.msg579916/topicseen.html#msg579916
Q
At regular intervals (30:6; 32:1), Robert Hollingworth offers a well-filled disc programming a selection of Monteverdi's madrigals. His intellectual approach is rewarding beyond the usual presentation of complete published books, for he finds relations between the pieces that can only be brought out by astute selection. No one has ever linked the two settings of Zefiro torna on record, the one a Petrarch poem that Monteverdi included in Book 5, the other poem Rinuccini's homage to his renowned predecessor that was published in Monteverdi's setting in 1632. Except for this juxtaposition, these madrigals from Books 5 to 8 are sung in chronological order, but only after Hollingworth decided that this made better sense than his original conception. This places at the end a half-hour work that was published in 1638, although it was first performed (at the Gonzaga/Savoy wedding) 20 years earlier. Here Hollingworth chooses to edit the published version of Ballo delle ingrate to match the unrevised text that Rinuccini originally published (its references to the Mantua wedding were obliterated for a publication dedicated to the emperor). Hollingworth also points out that most performances of some of these madrigals fill in the continuo with harmonies matching the vocal lines. Hollingworth compares this to a woman in a print dress standing in a flower garden. Instead, he employs a chordal harmony that howls against the dissonant upper voices. This gives his interpretations a unique appeal, a worthy alternative to other versions.
Clearly, Hollingworth's programs are complementary to any collection of recorded complete books, whether the various ensembles that have recorded them are mixed or matched. His usual ensemble is augmented by a Norwegian string quintet. To be sure, this is an English approach to Monteverdi, in contrast to a group such as La Venexiana, but we have been making this comparison for many years now (recall the Consort of Musicke), and we can hear complementary qualities. Hollingworth brings a unique perspective to Monteverdi. -- Fanfare, J. F. Weber, Nov/Dec 2009
I am now considering their recording of Ockeghem's Missa Prolationum (http://www.amazon.com/Ockeghem-Prolationum-Ensemble-Musica-Nova/dp/B0093N4DXU)Their recording of the Ockeghem is my favorite version. I've heard a few others, but none as good as that.
Their recording of the Ockeghem is my favorite version. I've heard a few others, but none as good as that.Not that there is much competition from the current generation ensembles.
Thoroughly enjoyed de Mauchaut's Ballades this evening in the able hands(/voices) of Ensemble Musica Nova. These performances are serene in every aspect combining instruments and voices into mesmerizing patterns that permeate the mind. Great stuff! Giordano Bruno (http://www.amazon.com/review/R1E9AHC4390WDW/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B002P9KAE0&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=5174&store=music) seemingly liked it quite a bit.. ;)
I am now considering their recording of Ockeghem's Missa Prolationum (http://www.amazon.com/Ockeghem-Prolationum-Ensemble-Musica-Nova/dp/B0093N4DXU)
Their recording of the Ockeghem is my favorite version. I've heard a few others, but none as good as that.
When I returned to Early Music, after not listening intently for over a decade or more, I naturally went back to the groups I had known from the past, Hilliard, Tallis, and others. But now that I have been exposed to some of the groups like Sound/Fury, Blue Heron, Cinquecento, Stimmwerck, A Sei Voci, Orlando Consort (I feel like I'm forgetting some), I am now totally convinced of the superiority of their approach.
It has been a fascinating (short) journey so far and one I will continue with excitement.
:)
Great! :)
I would like to add to that shortlist in any case (there are some more): Ensemble Musica Nova (Aeon), Diabolus in Musica (Alpha), Singer Pur (Oehms), Dufay Ensemble (Freiburg) (Ars Musici), Orlando di Lasso Ensemble (Hannover) (Thorofon), Labyrintho (Stradivarius), Ludus Modalis (Ramée), Concerto Vocale Amsterdam (Glossa, CPO)
Q
For anyone wishing to get a taste of Stimmwerk, here's YouTube clip:
https://www.youtube.com/v/IWgUATjdw_w
Thanks for the suggestions. However, as my listening experience deepens, I am sure to refine my favorites to all-male, OVPP groups. I've already lost one group from my list, A Sei Voci who ceased activity in 2011, which is unfortunate. And I still enjoy The Hilliard Ensemble.
;)
RICERCAR now celebrates its 35th anniversary with a homage to the greatest Flemish composer of the Renaissance. The works of Cipriano de Rore (1515/16 1565) remained extremely popular until well after his death.Several of his madrigals later appeared in dozens of ornamented versions and continued to do so until the beginning of the 17th century; this was an extraordinary success for the time.Ricercar's leading ensembles of singers and instrumentalists have each made their own original contribution to this recording, providing a complete overview of de Rore's sacred and secular works. The madrigal Ancor che col partire binds the entire recording together, firstly through the original setting with its erotically charged text and secondly through many instrumental versions that were soon made from it.
Uuhhmmm, I have to admit that I didn't see that one coming... ???
Is that because you think that is historically correct or just a personal preference?
You would be denying yourself so much wonderful stuff! :)
BTW a reissue of a Gesualdo recording by Sei Voci (love their recordings of the Desprez masses, despite the participation of women ;)) has just come out:
Q
This new issue should be fun:
Q
Thanks for the suggestions. However, as my listening experience deepens, I am sure to refine my favorites to all-male, OVPP groups. I've already lost one group from my list, A Sei Voci who ceased activity in 2011, which is unfortunate. And I still enjoy The Hilliard Ensemble.
;)
Have you explored Ensemble Organum yet?
Yes; I like them quite a bit but their choice in repertory is rather limited. A couple of groups I'm focusing on currently are The Suspicious Cheese Lords (http://suspiciouscheeselords.com/) (a pun on the phrase Suscipe Quæso Domine), a male ensemble based in Washington, DC. They are not OVPP but 2VPP is okay as well. Also the Cappella Pratensis (http://www.cappellapratensis.nl/en/) who specializes in the music of Josquin Desprez and other polyphonists from the 15th and 16th centuries.
Vivat Rex! Sacred Choral Music of Jean Mouton is the Cheese Lords (http://suspiciouscheeselords.com/about/)' third CD and their third world premiere recording. It was produced by Tina Chancey of Hesperus.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61O1KEjb%2BOL._SY455_.jpg)
Jean Mouton (c. 1459 – October 30, 1522) was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was famous both for his motets, which are among the most refined of the time, and for being the teacher of Adrian Willaert, one of the founders of the Venetian School. Mouton was hugely influential both as a composer and as a teacher. Of his music, 9 Magnificat settings, 15 masses, 20 chansons, and over 100 motets survive; since he was a court composer for a king, the survival rate of his music is relatively high for the period, it being widely distributed, copied, and archived. In addition, the famous publisher Ottaviano Petrucci printed an entire volume of Mouton's masses (early in the history of music printing, most publications contained works by multiple composers).
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51dm5HibWHL._SS480.jpg)
Ensemble Clement Janequin, an excellent French group specializing in music from the Renaissance. This recording is of motets by Claudin de Sermisy (c. 1490 – 13 October 1562) a French composer of the Renaissance. Along with Clément Janequin he was one of the most renowned composers of French chansons in the early 16th century; in addition he was a significant composer of sacred music. His music was both influential on, and influenced by, contemporary Italian styles.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/613P2rt6tWL._SX455_.jpg)
Diabolus in Musica (founded Paris, 1992) is a French medieval music ensemble directed by Antoine Guerber.
This recording was released in October 2014 and contains French music from the 12th century; most are by "anonymous" with one work apiece attributed to Léonin and Pérotin. The individual pieces celebrate different saints. If you generally enjoy music from this period (as I do), this is a very good recording by a male group, OVPP, with occasional instrumental accompaniment on medieval harp.
Palol: Joys Amors Et Chants
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61dEt8Apw6L._SX425_.jpg)
For those who enjoy Medieval music, troubadours and troveres, especially, this is a fascinating recording.
From the notes,
Berenguer de Palol was born in Catalonia, the land of the Count of Rossillon. We know very
little about his life; the only date regarding his life that can be established with certainty is 1164,
the year in which his patron Jaufre III died. Berenguer s artistic activity has reached us through
a series of passionate compositions of rare musical and poetic beauty. His poetry shows an
evident research of the supreme love, or joy; a way paved with suffering for love joined to the
cult of feminine beauty. The main subject is woman, seen partly as an abstract goal in the
search of love, and partly real.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511-8%2BcFrpL._SS380.jpg)
Cross posted from the New Releases thread - Mouton: 1515 - Sacred Works
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71Bgcu3pxlL._SX355_.jpg)
May
Balades a III chans de Johan Robert "Trebor", Baude Cordier, Matteo da Perugia, Antonio da Cividale, Magister Grimace, & al.
Ferrara Ensemble/Crawford Young
Just listened to the Ferrara Ensemble from the set below. I picked it up after San Antonio recommended it on this list. Thank you SA! Excellent recording! Full of harmony and allure that makes me want to dig deeper into early music. I am certainly looking forward to the other recordings in this box. Seemingly the originals are OOP so I am pleased that Arcana decided to reissue them.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61ZHmX10CvL.jpg)
from
Gyri Gyri Gaga - German Renaissance Songs of Lust & Life Stimmwerck (http://www.stimmwerck.de/index.php)
Led here by San Antonio's "ravings"! ;) A new ensemble for me and, indeed, a very pleasant experience. This is an anthology of music with quite varied pieces from the realm of the German Renaissance. Worthwhile! Plenty of music at 74 min and the disc also includes a quicktime video of the making of the recording (also on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HJ_YqBcNy0) - see below).
The ensemble seems very vibrant in their music making. Some of the pieces are less appealing to me, but the overall experience was very positive. If you are interested the disk is available at Daedelus Books & Music (http://www.daedalusbooks.com/Products/Detail.asp?ProductID=111941&Media=Music) for a song. They also have a large number of early music recordings at affordable prices. Worth checking out if you are a frequent visitor of this thread! :)
Gyri Gyri Gaga - German Renaissance Songs of Lust & Life Stimmwerck (http://www.stimmwerck.de/index.php)
Haven´t heard this one, but it looks delicious. Wishlisted.
In the same vein this disc is a must:
(http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0000/980/MI0000980025.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
Allmusic review by James Leonard -
What is music coming to? With a song called "I'm Called Mister Erection," lyrics including the deathless line "it's a piece of dog sh*t," melodies so primitive that they're infantile, and harmonies so primitive that they barely exist, it's hard to imagine ever calling this stuff music. But not only was this stuff written by Orlande de Lassus, one of the greatest of the late-Renaissance composers, he even saw fit to publish most of it. Apparently, despite his transcendent motets and his exquisite madrigals, Lassus had a sense of humor and all listeners can do is to take it or leave it. But if they decide to take it, they have to take it with a grain of salt and a sense of humor.
Rinaldo Alessandrini and the Concerto Italiano clearly decided to take it with a great sense of humor because this is one of the funniest discs of so-called serious music ever released. That this is the same rarified vocal ensemble that has released so many emotionally nuanced recordings of Monteverdi's madrigals is hard to believe, but clearly the singers are enjoying their work and their enjoyment is infectious. Although the singers still sing with wonderful expressivity and tremendous flexibility, the Concerto Italiano is not shy about making the sound of its voices match the crude, rude, and lewd music. The result is a terrific disc, but certainly not for listeners with delicate sensitivities.
Itis unfortunate, since they make a lot of records, but I am not a fan of Anonymous 4. Nothing worse for my ears than an all female group.
:(
You mysoginistic, sexist, patriarchalistic male suprematist! Missing sublime music and musicmaking will be your punishment! ;D :P
Nothing worse for my ears than an all female group.
:(
For historical reasons, all-male ensembles faced the lacking of natural treble voices through special training or, more brutally, surgical interventions (castrati).
There were also boy trebles, of course.
For historical reasons, all-male ensembles faced the lacking of natural treble voices through special training or, more brutally, surgical interventions (castrati). But, apparently, it also had some successful all-women ensembles, with women competently doing bass voices. The documentary "Vivaldi's Women" is very interesting to watch in this aspect:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=153WVp8QJQ0
:)
My preference is not based on historical reasons, but because of the sound of women's voices.
Your wife / girlfriend must have a hard time talking to you then. :P
Seriously now, what's wrong with the sound of women's voices?
I just prefer the sound men singing this repertory.
My preference is not based on historical reasons, but because of the sound of women's voices. And for mixed groups, if the balance is top heavy it is not to my taste.
I see. I suppose you're not into opera either. :)
The preference I am speaking of is limited to very early up to Medieval music. Monteverdi madrigals are already too late to figure in.
Even so, in regards to Monteverdi, IIRC, you're one of the very few people here that have expressed a very good opinion of Delitiae Musicae which I certainly share. :)
Even so, in regards to Monteverdi, IIRC, you're one of the very few people here that have expressed a very good opinion of Delitiae Musicae which I certainly share. :)Well, I like them too, and said so some years ago.
Well, I like them too, and said so some years ago.
Is it the Naxos series for Monteverdi and Gesualdo that you are thinking of? I do consider them very worthwhile recordings.
Yes, but just Monteverdi, I bought the complete collection. On the other hand, I never liked Gesualdo. It's probably too much experimental for my usual tastes. ;D
Two fantastic recordings by Pierre Hamon, Marc Mauillon, and others performing music of Guillaume de Machaut.
Remede de Fortune Import
Mon chant vous envoy
On Mon Chant Vous Envoy, the team formed in 2005 by Pierre Hamon around the exceptional baritone Marc Mauillon continues to explore the work of the great French musician-poet of the 14th century, Guillaume de Machaut. The album's collection of songs, virelais, ballads and roundels of Guillaume de Machaut exemplify the composer's understanding of the poetic art of courtly love, whose melodies are part of our memory and our psyche. Mauillon is an exceptional talent even in the current environment of medieval music and these melodies 700 years on still maintain an impact. Marc Mauillon is accompanied by his sister Angelique Mauillon on harp, violinist VivaBiancaLuna Biffi, and group leader Pierre Hamon on flute.
A while ago I read that the fourth movement of Messiaen's Et Exspecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum was based off of a Gregorian Easter chant. Would anyone happen to know what exactly this chant is? I'd like to hear it in its original setting. Here is the fourth movement of the Messiaen, in case it helps (which it probably won't because I'm sure it has been mangled beyond recognition :laugh:).Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NbjEA7WCYs
Of course! You're among the very few [to express a liking for Delitiæ Musicæ]. :D
Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about?
The theme Messiaen uses in the beginning sounds similar to the Introit chant for Easter day. Here's one recording with the chants for Easter MassThat is definitely it. It must be. Thanks for the help!
https://www.youtube.com/v/oPLRZGaqA3A
The theme Messiaen uses in the beginning sounds similar to the Introit chant for Easter day. Here's one recording with the chants for Easter Mass
https://www.youtube.com/v/oPLRZGaqA3A
Well done! :)
Enjoyed that blogpost very much, sanantonio.
By the way, has there ever been a reissue of the Byrd cd mentioned in your post?
I have recently bought that CD after seeing it receive Diapason D'Or award. I also think it is rather nice.
Guillaume De Machaut according to Munrow....
(http://rymimg.com/lk/f/l/faec239febce556486f60123ff22cb7c/4305489.jpg)
What does this release contain?
My version above is the original vinyl LP but here is a link (http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/various_artists_f2/guillaume_de_machaut_and_his_age__the_early_music_consort_of_london___david_munrow__dir__/) with the track listing. It may well indeed be incorporated in the set listed by Jo498.