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Home , Anthoni, Anthonius, Antoine Brumel, Antoine Busnois, Jacob Obrecht, Johannes Ockeghem

CDSAR 73 High Choral from the Low Countries New London Chamber James Wood: conductor

Pierre de la Rue, , , Busnois, Guillaume Dufay, , and Josquin des Prez The Amon Ra compilations Recorded at St. Barnabas Church, Finchley, Nov 1985 CDSAR 62 A Golden Treasury of Elizabethan Music Performing edition by John Milsom CDSAR 63 A Golden Treasury of ©1986, Saydisc Records, England CDSAR 64 A Golden Treasury of Historic Pianos Cover picture Funérailles Chrétiennes, Heures à l'usage de Troyes, 15th C. French CDSAR 65 A Golden Treasury of CDSAR 66 A Golden Treasury of Georgian Music Regis, Busnois, Dufay, Obrecht, Brumel CDSAR 67 The Romantic Piano - Richard Burnett (historic pianos) Editions by John Milsom, Jaap van Benthem (Busnois), CDSAR 68 A Golden Treasury of Recorded at S. Silas the Martyr, Kentish Town, London, November 1991 ©1992, Saydisc Records, England CDSAR 69 A Golden Treasury of Ancient Instruments CDSAR 70 A Golden Treasury of Flute Music Recorded and Produced by: CDSAR 71* Tranquillo - calm & tranquil music on orginal instruments Gef Lucena (Amon Ra) and David Wilkins (Valley Recordings) CDSAR 72 La Virtuossima Cantatrice - Virtuoso and bel canto masterpieces Choir Photograph: © Paul M.R. Maeyaert The Saydisc compilations Design: Genny Lucena CDSDL 436* Pleasures & Treasures - Saydisc 50th Anniversary sampler all tracks © Matchbox Music CDSDL 437* Christmas Music Through the Ages CDSDL 438* Percussion Around the World AMON RA RECORDS, THE BARTON, INGLESTONE COMMON, CDSDL 440 World’s Away -world music from 33 communities BADMINTON, S.GLOS. GL9 1BX, ENGLAND CDSDL 442 Awake & Join the Cheerful Choir - 18th/19thC gallery hymns E-mail: [email protected] CDSDL 444 The Funny Side Of Saydisc www.saydisc.com CDSDL 445* Victoriana - music, verse and recollections of VR This compilation is taken from Amon Ra albums: CDSDL 446 , Dulcimers and Hurdy Gurdies CDSAR 24 Pierre de la Rue, Josquin des Prez CDSDL 447 Exotica - exotic and strange music from many lands (omitted from this compilation are: Hercules Mass: Credo, Agnus Dei) CDSDL 448 The Beauty of Bells - church bells, handbells & carillons CDSAR 56 The Brightest Heaven of Invention (omitted from this compilation are: CDSDL 449* Traditional Dance Music of Britain & Ireland Preter rerum serium (Josquin des Prez), Salve crux (Jacob Obrecht), CDSDL 450* Traditional Songs of Britain & Ireland In hydraulis () Both albums performed by: CDSDL 451 Jazz & Ragtime on pianola rolls and from old 78 rpm recordings The New London Chamber Choir (James Wood: Conductor) CDSDL 452 Brass Band Spectacular - prize winning band performances * = Double CD - Single CD price

2 31 Part 2 Missa pro defunctis Pierre de la Rue 1 Introit [4’48”] Puer natus est nobis, et filius datus est Unto us a boy is born, unto us a son is nobis: cuius imperium super humerum given; and the government shall be upon 2 [2’40”] eius: et vocabitur nomen eius, Magni his shoulders, and his name shall be 3 Sicut cervus: Tract [4’01”] Consilii Angelus. called Angel of Great Counsel. 4 Offertory [5’08”] Tenor: Puer natus est nobis, et filius Tenor: Unto us a boy is born, unto us a 5 Sanctus [4’12”] datus est nobis. son is given. 6 Lux aeterna [2’53”] Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in The word hath been made flesh, and hath 7 Agnus Dei [3’50”] nobis. Et vidimus gloriam eius, quasi dwelt among us. And we have seen his unigeniti a Patre, plenum gratie et glory, as of the only-begotten of the 8 O admirabile commercium: Johannes Regis [06'31"] veritatis. Father, full of grace and truth. 9 usque limina: Antoine Busnois [06'38"] Magnum nomen Domini Emmanuel, Great is the name of our Lord Emmanuel, 10 Ave regina celorum: Guillaume Dufay [07'16"] Quod annunciatum est per Gabriel. which was announced through Gabriel. 11 Factor orbis: Jacob Obrecht [07'30"] Hodie apparuit in Israel. He hath appeared today in Israel. 12 Nato canunt omnia: Antoine Brumel [06'47"] Per Mariam virginem et per Joseph. Of Mary the maiden and of Joseph. Eia! Eia! Virgo Deum genuit Eia! Eia! The Virgin hath borne God Mass: Hercules Dux Ferrariae Josquin des Prez Sicut divina voluit dementia. as Divine Mercy willed. 13 Kyrie [2’27”] Pax in terra reddita nunc letentur omnia Peace hath been restored on earth; now 14 Gloria [3’20”] nati per exordia. let all things rejoice at the infancy of the 15 Sanctus [5’10”] Ipse sua pietate solvat omnia Son. peccata nostra. May he of his pity cancel all our sins. 16 La Deploration de . Alleluia. Noel. Alleluia. Noel. "" Josquin des Prez [6’13”] Tenor: Tenor: There hath arisen in the darkness the light Total duration: 79'38" Exortum est in tenebris lumen rectis to them that are righteous in their heart: corde: misericors et miserator et iustus piteous and merciful and just is the Lord. Dominus.

30 3 NOTES ON PIERRE DE LA RUE in the Ferrarese chapel in 1503-4.) One 12 NATO CANUNT OMNIA AND JOSQUIN DES PREZ fact is certain however, each work was (Antoine Brumel) conceived as being something out of the Part 1 Like so many of the greatest religious ordinary by the standards of the day, and Nato canunt Omnia, Domino pie agmina, To the Son all congregations piously sing, works of the fifteenth century, Josquin's both masses must have attracted the sillabatim neupmata, perstringendo passing syllable by syllable Mass Hercules Dux Ferrariae and Pierre attention of contemporary audiences no organica. through the neumes of the organum de la Rue's seem to have been less than they have come to be celebrated Hec dies sacrata, in qua nova sunt gaudia This is the hallowed day on which new composed not at the whims of their in our own time. mundo plena dedita. joys were given in full to the world. but rather for some more Hac nocte precelsa intonuit et gloria On this night, exalted glory thundered specific use. Admittedly, in neither case Like other Requiem masses of the in voce angelica. in the angel’s voice do we know the occasion at which the Renaissance, Pierre de la Rue's unusually work was first performed, and there is elaborate setting is deeply indebted to the Fulserunt et immania nocte media and immense lights shone forth even some doubt about the identity of the plainchant melodies that were pastoribus lumina. at midnight to the shepherds. person for whose funeral la Rue's inextricably linked with the words of the Dum fovent sua pecora, subito diva While they tended their sheep, suddenly Requiem was written—perhaps most Missa pro defunctis. La Rue's method of percipiunt monita. they heard the divine command. likely is Ermes Sforza, brother-in-law to procedure is thus a simple one: for each Tenor: Joseph fili David, noli timere Tenor: Joseph son of David, do not fear the emperor Maximilian, whose portion of text, the chant itself becomes accipere Mariam coniugem to take Mary as thy wife; for that which is obsequies took place in 1503. Josquin's the foundation for his music and each tuam: quod enim in ea natum est, de bom in her, is of the Holy Ghost,... Spiritu Sancto,... mass is more obviously personalised, for movement of his setting therefore draws the name of Ercole I d'Este, Duke of upon an entirely different melodic source. Magnificatus est Rex paci Ficus super The King that maketh peace is magnified , is actually made an integral (In this respect the Requiem diff e r s omnes reges universe terre. above all the kings of the whole earth. component of the music; but even here we fundamentally from Josquin's mass, in The angel said to the shepherds: ‘1 Angelus ad pastores ait: Annuntio vobis announce to you a great joy; for today is cannot be sure of the precise date at which which each successive movement might gaudium magnum: quia natus est hodie born the Saviour of the world. Josquin composed the piece, though it is be viewed as a variation of the preceding Salvator mundi. Alleluia. Alleluia.’ obviously a product of the years he spent music.) So unrelated to one another are Natus alma virgine, qui extat ante secula. Born of a kindly maid is he, that hath in Ercole's service. (Josquin appears to the chant melodies of the Requiem that Noel. existed from before the ages. Noel. have been associated with the Duke from they explore different modes and the early 1480s and he served as a singer compasses. By absorbing them into his Tenor: de Spiritu Sancto. Alleluia. Noel. Tenor:of the Holy Ghost. Alleluia. Noel.

4 29 Crastina die erit vobis salus, dicit Tomorrow shall be your salvation, saith music, la Rue in turn created a succession contrast to the Tract's duple metre, the Dominus exercitum. Crastina die the Lord of hosts. Tomorrow shall the of movements that might at first glance O ffertory (“Domine Jesu Christe”) delebitur iniquitas terre, et regnabit wickedness of the earth be wiped out, and seem to be scored for entirely different proceeds in a broad triple measure. Again, super nos salvator mundi. Alleluia. Noe. the saviour of the world shall reign over , some of high voices, others of low, it breaks into five parts during its course, noe! De celo veniet dominator Dominus, us. Alleluia. Noe, noe! The Lord shall and indeed most modern performers have and this texture is maintained in the et in manu eius honoret imperium. come in power down from heaven, and in taken his notation literally and exploited ensuing Sanctus, with its contrasted his hand honour and command. these unusual contrasts; but it is now Benedictus for four lower voices. The Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus , full of grace, the Lord be with almost certain that la Rue would have Requiem closes with the threefold Agnus tecum, benedicta tu in mulieribus, et thee, blessed art thou among women, and expected his singers to transpose the Dei, preceded in this concert version by benedictus fructus ventris tui. blessed the fruit of thy womb. movements at sight, and an 'equalized' the Communion, “Lux aeterna”. version of the kind recorded here is likely O virgo virginum, quomodo fiet istud, O maiden of maidens, how shall that be, to be authentic. Josquin's Mass H e rcules Dux quia nec primam sim ilem visa est nec for she hath not been seen to have one Ferrariae is probably the very earliest habere sequentem. Filie Jerusalem, like unto her before her nor after her. The Requiem opens with the four-part setting to be strictly based not on a quid me admiramini? Divinum est Daughters of Jerusalem, why do ye Introit (“Requiem aeternam”) in which plainchant melody, a popular song or an mysterium hoc quod cemitis. wonder at me? This that ye behold is a divine mystery. the chant melody is first taken up by all existing polyphonic work but rather on an voices in turn and made the substance of entirely original motto theme. The little Beata es Maria, que credidisti, que Blessed art thou, Mary, because thou the entire polyphonic web, then becomes eight-note tune that gives the work its title perficientur in te, que dicta sunt tibi. believedst the things that shall be the sole property of the baritone during is in fact nothing less than a musical accomplished in thee, that were told the verse “Te decet hymnus”. (These two transliteration of the dedicatee's name, for unto thee. methods of construction variously remain it derives directly from the eight syllables Veni Domine, et noli tardare. Alleluia. Come, O Lord, and tarry not. Alleluia the basis of all the succeeding “Her-cu-les Dux Fer-ra-ri-ae”: “'Hercules, Ecce Dominus veniet et omnes sancti Behold the Lord shall come and all his movements.) The Kyrie follows; and for Duke of Ferrara”. To convert these words eius cum eo. Et erit die illa lux magna. saints with him. And in that day shall its third invocation, la Rue introduces a into musical sounds, Josquin availed Alleluia there be a great light. Alleluia. fifth voice to enrich the sonority. Next himself of the centuries-old system of Noe. noe! Noe, noe! comes the Tract (“Sicut cervus”), a setting solmization (the ancestor of the more for contrasted groups of voices of the recent solfege and Tonic Sol-fa methods), opening three verses of Psalm 42. In known to all singers of the time, in which

28 5 the six ascending steps of the shortened passage for three voices, during which the Ecce veniet ad salvandum nos. Alleluia. but thee, O Lord? scale were given the names ''ut re mi fa sol baritone remains silent. In the Gloria this Behold he shall come to save us. Alleluia. la". By deleting consonants and same procedure occurs twice, first at the O clavis David et sceptrum domus Israel, O key of David and sceptre of the house of considering only vowels, the eight opening of the movement, then again at qui aperis et nemo claudit: claudis et Israel, who openest and none closeth, syllables of the motto could be converted the section commencing with the words nemo aperit: veni, et educ vinctum de closest and none openeth; come, and lead domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris et him that is bound from the prison-house, into their equivalent solmization degrees; “Qui tollis peccata mundi”. In the Credo umbra mortis. Canite tuba in Sion, quia him that sitteth in darkness and the thus “hEr-cU-lEs dUx fEr-rA-rl-aE” gives there are three statements, the last of prope est dies Domini. shadow of death. Sound the in rise to “'rE Ut rE Ut rE IA mI rE”—or, in which stands as a further development at Ecce veniet ad salvandum nos. Alleluia. Zion, for the day of the Lord is at hand. terms of modern pitches, D C D C D F E “Et in Spiritum Sanctum” the entire motto Behold he shall come to save us. Alleluia. D. Having calculated this motif, Josquin proceeds first backwards, then forwards repeated it obsessively so as to form a again in diminution. In the Sanctus the Alleluia. Alleluia. s c a ffold around which a large and process of dismembering and elaborate polyphonic mass could be foreshortening the motto continues, Part 2 constructed. Almost always stated in giving way in the Benedictus to three Spiritus Domini super me evangelizare The spirit of the Lord upon me hath notes of extended length and equal exquisite duets, each of which has the pauperibus iussit. bidden me preach the gospel to the poor. duration, the motto naturally stands out motto theme as its basis. The Agnus Dei from the accompanying texture, introduces further variations. In the first Veniet fortior me, cuius non sum dignus One shall come that is stronger than I, the irrespective of the pitch on which it enters invocation, the motto is again turned corrigiam calciamentorum solvere. latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to or the voice that carries it. backwards; in the second. it is dropped unloose. altogether so that Josquin can show off his Hodie scietis quia veniet Dominus, et Today ye shall know that the Lord shall The mass opens with a tidy Kyrie in skills in writing a strict canon for the mane videbitis gloriam eius. come, and tomorrow ye shall see his glory. which the standard procedure for stating remaining three voices; and in the the motto is established: it appears three sumptuous third Agnus, the texture Erunt prava in directa, et aspera in vias The crooked shall be made straight, and times in the baritone part, first at low expands to six real parts, of which two planas. the rough places into level roads. pitch, second in the middle of the range, take it in turn to sing the motto. Not Bethlehem es civitas Dei summi, ex te Bethlehem, thou art the home of God on finally in the upper register, an octave surprisingly in view of its curious exiet dominator Israel. high, from thee shall go forth the ruler of above the first statement, and each time, construction, Josquin's H e rcules Dux Israel. the motto is preceded by an eight-bar F ' e r r a r i a e Mass soon became a

6 27 11 FACTOR ORBIS celebrated work, and composers construction, for its foundation is a (Jacob Obrecht) continued to make use of this method of plainchant melody, sung by the baritone deriving a musical theme from the voices. Appropriately, this is the Introit of Part 1 syllables of words until well into the the Missa pro defunctis, “'Requiem Factor orbis Deus, nos famulos God that madest the world, seventeenth century. aeternam”, though its intervals have been Exaudi clamantes ad te tuos, hear us thy servants as we call upon thee, subtly modified to conform to the Et nostra crimina laxa and absolve our sins NB: In this compilation only the Kyrie, plangent phrygian mode. T h i s Die ista lucifera. on that day that shall bring light. Gloria and Sanctus are reproduced. The performance makes use of the reading of full mass can be heard on the originating the work contained in the great Medici Noe, noe! Noe, noe! album Amon Ra CDSAR 24. Codex, an early version that seems to come close to Josquin's original text. Tenor: Tenor: Josquin's Deploration for Johannes Veni, Domine, et noli tardare, relaxa Come, come, O Lord, and tarry not, facinora plebis tuae Israel. absolve the crimes of thy people Israel. O c k e g h e m, “Nymphes des bois”, was John Milsom probably written in or shortly after 1497, Canite tuba in Sion, quia prope est dies Sound the trumpet in Zion, for the day of the year in which this widely respected NOTES ON JOHANNES REGIS, Domini. the Lord is at hand. is now known to have died. By ANTOINE BUSNOIS, GUILLAUME the late fifteenth century, laments of this DUFAY, JACOB OBRECHT, Ad te, Domine, levavi animam meam: To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul: kind had become a standard means of ANTOINE BRUMEL Deus meus, in te confido,non erubescam. my God, in thee I trust, I shall not blush for paying homage to the towering figures of shame. music; and it is even possible that all four An old picture is the record of visual Ecce Dominus veniet, noli timere. Behold the Lord shall come, be not afraid. of the composers who are cited towards activity. One has to learn to read it, just as Alleluia. Alleluia. the end of Josquin's piece—Brumel, one has to learn to read a text from a Deus, qui sedes super thronos et judicas God who sittest upon thy throne and Pierre de la Rue, Compere and Josquin different culture, even when one knows, in equitatem, esto refugium pauperum in judgest righteousness, be the refuge of the himself—were especially indebted to a limited sense, the language. tribulatione, quia tu solus laborem poor in tribulation, for thou alone Ockeghem by having once been his pupils et dolorem consideras. Media vita in regardest their toil and sorrow. In the midst or colleagues. Though ostensibly a Michael Baxendall, Painting and morte sumus. Quern queritis adiutorem, of life we are in death. Whom seek ye as an , the Deploration makes use of a Experience in Fifteenth Century nisi te, Domine? helper classic method of and mass (Oxford, 1972)

26 7 Musical works from the past, like old his music has been committed to record. Tenor: Tenor: pictures, confront us with a dilemma. The collected edition is slender, certainly Super omnes speciosa. Lovely above all women. Often their surfaces are instantly alluring: by comparison with that of Regis’s best- none of the assembled on this known contemporary, Johannes Vale, valde decora, Hail, most comely one, recording, for instance, makes difficult Ockeghem, yet the music itself is of major Et pro nobis semper Christum exora and for our sakes ever entreat Christ listening even on first acquaintance, since status, and it shows Regis to have been In excelsis ne damnemur, on high, that we be not damned. there is so much pleasure to be gained one of the most startling and original nobis. Have pity on us from the music’s sonority, vitality, variety voices of his time. It is our loss if we and order. At the same time we recognize overlook him. Tenor: Tenor: that these are works created originally for Vale, valde decora, Hail, most comely one, a society that was very different from our The first thing that strikes the listener own. To fifteenth-century listeners they about the great Christmas-tide motet O Et iuva ut in mortis hora and help us that in the hour of death were rich in meanings that were obvious admirabile commercium is its exuberance and relevant. Today these meanings barely and rhythmic abandon. Rarely in Nostra sint corda decora. our hearts may be comely. register; the modern mind has to re-learn fifteenth-century music is so much Tenor: Tenor: and rediscover them. In the following virtuosity required of the singers; Regis Et pro nobis semper Christum exora. And for our sakes ever entreat Christ. commentaries I have tried to suggest some must have had top-class performers in of the ways in which the composers and mind. At first the motet excites and their immediate audience might have read confuses the ear with its brilliance and its these motets. We can, if we wish, follow wealth of ideas. On closer inspection, it their example. proves to be made up of many discrete panels, each of which is internally N.B: Solid lines indicate texts which are sung simultaneously. Even the most enthusiastic followers coherent. In the 1470s, when the piece of late fifteenth-century music will know was still new, audiences would have read Johannes Regis only by name. A collected those panels in the same way that their edition of his music appeared in the eyes would have scanned the various 1950s, but few performers have converted regions of a stained glass window. True, the scores into sound, and barely a note of the analogy can be taken only so far: one

8 25 10 AVE REGINA CELORUM may read a window at one’s own speed, Regis abandons them for a new panel: the (Guillaume Dufay) but in 0 admirabile commercium the pace popular song ‘Magnum nomen Domini’, a is set by the composer, and Regis is an tune with family resemblances to carols Ave Regina celorum, Hail, Queen of Heaven, impetuous guide. Sometimes he asks us to still in use today, such as ‘Joseph lieber, Ave Domina angelorum. Hail, Mistress of the Angels. consider two or more panels Joseph mein’ and ‘Resonet in laudibus’. simultaneously. Elsewhere he allows us Miserere tui labentis Dufay, Have pity on thy Dufay as he slippeth, only brief glances at a familiar image, The second section of the motet opens Ne peccatorum ruat in ignem fervorum. lest he fall into the fire where sinners then breaks our gaze by throwing in new with newly-composed words and music. burn. ideas. Into this Regis injects the ‘Verbum caro Tenor: Tenor: factum est’ tune, now speeded up; it Ave Regina celorum, Hail, Queen of Heaven. At the centre of many of the panels infiltrates all five voice-parts. Suddenly Ave Domina angelorum. Hail, Mistress of the Angels. there are quotations, both of words and the panel is changed: we are back in Salve radix sancta, Greetings, holy root [of Jesse], music. Listeners in Regis’s day would ‘Magnum nomen Domini’, with its lively Ex qua mundo lux est orta from whence light hath sprung up in the have recognized them instantly, but today triple-metre rhythms. world. those same Gregorian chants and popular Miserere, genitrix Domini, Have pity, mother of the Lord, carols fall on deaf ears: to understand the The third section is more obscure: it Ut pateat porta celi debili. that the gate of heaven may stand open work more fully we have to re-learn them. survives only in a manuscript that is full for the weak one. In the opening bars, for example, the first of errors and omissions. Like a seriously Tenor: Tenor: s o p r a n o — u n u s u a l l y, two of the five damaged canvas it can be restored only by Ex qua mundo lux est orta. From whence light hath sprung up in the voice-parts are for trebles—sings an guesswork, and there are bounds beyond world. Part 2: ornamented version of the plainchant which no conjecture can reach. This part Gaude virgo gloriosa. Rejoice, glorious virgin, antiphon ‘O admirabile commercium’, so of the motet opens with the Christmas Super omnes speciosa. lovely above all women. richly decorated that barely its contours Day introit ‘Puer natus est nobis’, which are recognizable. Soon after, the tenor and Regis slices into segments, inserting Miserere supplicanti Dufay, Pity thy suppliant Dufay, second soprano enter with a slow, stately between them lively duets. That finished, Sitque in conspectu tuo and let his death presentation of another antiphon, he quotes another popular Christmas Mors eius speciosa. be lovely in thy sight. ‘ Verbum caro factum est’. Having song, ‘Universalis ecclesia’, worked as a thoroughly intertwined those two ideas, canon between the tenor and one of the

24 9 soprano parts. (The words sung by the fire’). Why Busnois should have 9 ANTHONI USQUE LIMINA remaining voices are missing here, so we composed such a piece is still unclear. (Antoine Busnois) have allocated to them the remainder of Possibly it was written for one of the lay the ‘Puer natus est nobis’ text.) Then, confraternities that flourished in the Part 1 : quite unexpectedly, the music freezes into region at the time; the Order of St chords, and the text turns into nonsense in Barbefosse, in the county of Anthoni usque limina , who by divine providence syllables: ‘Sus, valla, sus’. This appears to Hainaut, has been suggested. But there is Orbis terrarumque maris art invoked as far as the edges be the chorus of ‘Universalis ecclesia’; no record of Busnois having been a Et ultra qui vocitaris of the earth and sea the words probably evoke a lullaby. Out member of this or any similar Providentia divina. and beyond. because thou didst manfully overcome of this stillness the motet’s characteristic brotherhood. Quia demonum agmina Superasti viriliter. the hosts of demons, energy once again emerges. Here, too, the Audi cetum nunc omina hear the congregation now words are largely missing, but cries of In its unique source, the motet’s tenor Psallentem tua dulciter. sweetly hymning thy miracles. ‘Noe, noe!’ were among them, and part is notated as a riddle: it amounts to certainly the motet must end with a huge, nothing more than a drawing of a bell Part 2: sonorous ‘Amen’. surmounted by a tau-cross (St Anthony’s emblem), with a scroll bearing a Latin tag Et ne post hoc exilium And lest after this exile (on earth) Antoine Busnois delighted in riddles, that explains in cryptic language how to Nos igneus urat Pluto Fiery Pluto burn us, and no motet by him has caused convert the image into sound. For decades Hunc ab orci chorum luto bear assistance, rescuing musicologists greater puzzlement than the riddle was misunderstood, and even Eruens fer auxilium. this choir from the mud of hell. Porrigat refrigerium Let the water1 of grace Anthoni usque limina. For a start, the now parts of it remain unsolved. Clearly Artubus gracie moys, offer cooling to our limbs, composer’s own name is built into the the bell part has to alternate long notes Ut per verbum misterium that through the word, the mystery, opening and closing words, the latter by with equally long periods of silence. But Fiat in omniBus Noys. the Spirit may be in us all.2 way of a tortuous Latin-Greek pun (‘Fiat whether it should be sung or played on a 1 in omniBus Noys’). Yet the text itself is real bell is unclear; and, if the latter, just Moys, supposedly the Hebrew for ‘water' (correctly mayyim), was imagined in the Middle Ages to be the origin of Musa and musica. Here it rhymes with noys, from the addressed to Busnois’ patron saint, St- how often the bell should be struck is Greek nous. ‘mind’. Antoine-de-Viennois, who was venerated imperfectly specified. In this performance 2Noys is the Greek nous, ‘mind': the congregation is praying for sound God-fearing widely in the Low Countries by sufferers we have opted for the sonorous tone of a mind and for inspiration by the Holy Ghost. It also rounds off the signature in which of gangrenous ergotism (‘St Anthony’s bronze cow-bell, tolled in units of that all- the composer has enclosed his text: Busnoys.

10 23 Part 3 mysterious number, three. The result is sacrament, two of his works were to be distinctly odd; no other motet sounds like sung: the hymn Magno salutis gaudio Puer natus est nobis, et filius datus est Unto us a boy is born, unto us a son is it. But even without the bell, Anthoni and—‘if time permits’—the antiphon Ave nobis; cuius imperium super humerum given; and the government shall be upon usque limina must rank as one of the Regina celorum. On the evening of 27 eius: et vocabitur nomen eius Magni his shoulders; and his name shal| be weirdest works of its age. Its vocal November 1474, time did not permit. Consilii Angelus. called Angel of Great Counsel. scoring is unique. Traditionally the central Instead those two pieces were sung during Universalis ecclesia Let the Church Universal voice in all medieval music is the tenor, the composer’s Requiem Mass the Congaudeat his temporibus. rejoice at this time, but Anthoni usque limina has no tenor following day. Cum angel is sic canentibus: with the angels singing thus: part, the bell excepted. At the top of the Eia! Eia! Eial! Eia! texture there are two alto voices— There is evidence to show that Ave sometimes three when the bell is silent— Regina celorum was composed at least a Alleluia! Alleluia! which weave themselves into intricate decade before 1474. Whether or not it was polyphonic knots. Beneath them a bass ever performed before Dufay’s funeral it Deo in excelsis gloria, Glory to God in the highest, part roves widely, sometimes exploring is impossible to say, but certainly it Et in terra pax hominibus. and on earth peace unto men. the altos’ tessitura, sometimes cannot have been used widely, for the text Sus, valla, sus! Sus, valla, sus! disappearing into murky depths far below refers specifically to Dufay’s bodily Valla, sussin, O risus! Valla, sussin, O the smile! them. In its sound-world no less than in its decline and his impending death. These Requiescat iste parvulus. Let that little one rest. riddle-construction, it is an audacious highly personal references have been piece. woven into one of the most familiar Noe, noe! Noe, noe! medieval prayers to the Blessed Virgin Just as many of Guillaume Dufay’s Mary: the antiphon ‘Ave Regina Amen. Amen. motets were composed specifically for celorum’. The work unfolds in the form of great occasions of state, so his four-part a dialogue. First, three voice-parts sing setting of Ave Regina celoru m the opening couplet of ‘Ave Regina’; then commemorates the greatest occasion of the fourth (tenor) voice sings those same his own life: the moment of its ending. words, now to the plainchant melody, According to Dufay’s will, when the while the others begin the interpolated dying composer had received his last prayer on Dufay’s behalf. As the tenor

22 11 falls silent at the end of the couplet, so the stylistic language and formal principles of 8 O ADMIRABILE COMMERCIUM main choir returns to the ‘Ave Regina’ all late fifteenth-century motets, it (Johannes Regis) text. The tenor re-enters; the three-voice achieves a poignancy of effect that no Part 1 choir sings more newly-composed words; other work of its age can equal. O admirabile commercium! Creator O admirable transaction! The creator of and so the piece proceeds into its second generis humani, animalum corpus the human race,taking on a living body, sumens, de virgine nasci dignatus est: hath deigned to be born of a virgin; and Factor orbis main section. In Jacob Obrecht’s we et procedens homo sine semine, largitus coming forth without seed as a man, hath are confronted with another massive est nobis suam deitatem. bestowed upon us his godhead. The secunda pars contains two Christmas motet constructed according to surprises. First, one line of the prayer for the panel principle. But the result is quite Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in The word hath been made flesh. and hath Dufay—the words ‘Miserere supplicanti different from Regis’s motet. Obrecht, the nobis. dwelt among us. Dufay’; ‘Pity thy suppliant Dufay’—is younger man by several decades, is singled out for special treatment. For once generally more interested than Regis in Magnum nomen Domini Emmanuel. Great is the name of our Lord the tenor remains silent; and the three-part making the words audible; and instead of Quod annunciatum est per Gabriel. Emmanuel, which was announced choir abandons its usual luxuriant melodic the bounding energy of O admirabile through Gabriel. style in favour of stark declamation, the commercium, Obrecht prefers a steadier Part 2 locundare die, Theotoce, tinnula festo Rejoice with ringing bells, Mother of sincerity of the appeal underscored by tread, into which rhythmic vitality can be omnique inesto gaudio. God, on the festal day, and be in all joy. sudden minor harmonies and curious shot at appropriate points. Altogether his chromatic twists. Second, at the words ‘Et is a more level-headed, reasoned work. Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in The word hath been made flesh, and hath iuva ut in mortis hora’—‘And help us that The panels are less sharply differentiated nobis, et vidimus dwelt among us, and we beheld his in the hour of death’—Dufay again from one another than are those of Regis’s gloriam eius... glory... suppresses the tenor and writes a passage motet; there is more glass, less evidence of unprecedented rhythmic energ y, of tracery. And secular overtones are Hodie apparuit in Israel. He hath appeared today in Israel. thrusting (as it were) into the climactic avoided: Obrecht shuns the popular carols Per Mariam virginem natus est. Of Mary the maiden was he born. That which Daniel foretold hath been release of the motet’s last moments. that are so prominent in O admirabile Sunt impleta quae predixit Daniel. Eia! Eia! fulfilled. Eia! Eia! Neither of these passages has been arrived commercium, and instead he quotes only Virgo Deum genuit The Virgin hath borne God at by chance. Instead they breathe from liturgical plainchant. Sicut divina voluit as was the will of expressive urgency into the text. For all Clemencia. Divine Mercy. that Ave Regina celorum draws on the Factor orbis opens with a ...quasi unigeniti a Patre. … as of the only-begotten of the Father

12 21 16 La Deploration de Johannes eis, Domine, supplicatory duet, the only section of the All this might add up to chaos were it Ockeghem. Et lux perpetua luceat eis. motet in which both the words and the not for the fact that Obrecht arranges his "Nymphes des bois Requiescat in pace. Amen. music are newly invented. T h e r e a f t e r materials within an orderly scheme. As in Josquin des Prez everything is built around borrowed so many motets composed before 1500, material: all told, Obrecht invokes the two halves are in contrasted metres: nineteen different texts from the liturgy, the first proceeds in broad, leisurely triple Nymphes des bois, déesses des fontaines, Nymphs of the woods, goddesses of the six of them with their plainchant melodies time, the second is cast in a more Chantres experts de toutes nations, fountains, Expert singers from all clearly stated, a further three with the animated duple metre, breaking into Changez voz voix tant clères et nations, Turn your voices, so clear and tunes partly disguised. Some are easy to lively triplets at the coda. To that extent haultaines En cris trenchans et high, To rending cries and lamentation. follow. In the wake of the opening duet, the secunda pars acts as an intensification lamentations. for example, a tenor voice enters with the of the prima pars. But Obrecht also takes Advent antiphon ‘Veni, Domine, et noli measures to cement their connection: a Car Atropos, très terrible satrape, A For Atropos, the terrible ruler, Has tardare’, lightly accompanied by three long passage of music from the end of the vostre Ockeghem attrapé en sa trappe. seized your Ockeghem in her trap. The further voices who sing only the first part is quoted verbatim (though with Vrai trésorier de musique et chief true treasurer of music and its exclamation ‘Noe, noe!’. Other new words) towards the end of the second d'oeuvre, Doct, élégant de corps et non masterpiece Learned, elegant in body quotations are far less easy to discern. part, its original triple metre somehow point trappe. Grant dommage est que la and in no way old-fashioned. It is a When the fifth voice enters with another accommodated into the duple time. In terre le couvre. Acoustrez vous d'habits terrible loss that the earth covers him. Advent antiphon, ‘Canite tuba in Sion’, terms of its form, the motet possesses a de deuil Josquin, Pierson, Brumel, Put on your mourning clothes Josquin, Obrecht sets it amid a polyphony of texts solid simplicity and noble symmetry. Like Compère, Et plourez grosses Pierson, Brumel, Compère, And weep that only the sharp-eared will be able to the stone of a gothic window, the form larmesd'oeul : Perdu avez vostre bon great tears from your eyes Gone is your distinguish one from another. And so the frames and supports the glass. père. great father. work continues: some panels are readily comprehensible, others are dense and To appreciate Antoine Brumel’s Nato Requiescat in pace. Amen. May he rest in peace. Amen. obscure—none more so than the opening canunt omnia, you must first have a firm of the motet’s second main section, in grasp of Regis’s 0 admirabile Cantus fìrmus : Requiem aeternam dona : Eternal rest give them, which five different Advent texts are sung commercium, for Brumel’s setting pays Lord, And light perpetual shine on them. s i m u l t a n e o u s l y, one of them with its homage to Regis’s motet in a clear and May he rest in peace. Amen. associated plainchant melody. audible manner. But Nato canunt omnia is

20 13 no pale imitation of its model. Rather it Christmas Eve: ‘Magnificatus est Rex Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, explores Regis’s ideas by way of a pacificus’ and ‘Angelus ad pastores ait’. Dominus, tu solus Altissimus, in the glory of God the Father. different musical language, more modern- In each case, Brumel’s music lightly Jesu Christe, cum Sancto Spiritu: in Amen. sounding to our ears. From the start the ornaments the ancient plainchant gloria Dei Patris. Amen. metre is firmly duple; clear cadences melodies. These panels completed, 15 Sanctus punctuate even the longest paragraphs Brumel returns us to ‘Nato canunt omnia’ Glory to God in the highest, and on Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus into tidy sentences; and there’s an (with the last few words of its attendant Dominus Deus Sabaoth. efficiency about the text-declamation that tenor, ‘Joseph fili David’), and the first earth peace to people of good will. points to its being the younger work by main section of the motet draws to an end. Pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria tua. several decades. Possibly it dates from We praise you, we bless you, we Hosanna in excelsis. around 1490, when Brumel was Master of Now begin the homages to Regis, a adore you, we glorify you, the Innocents at St Peter’s, Geneva. series of quotations that seem to we give you thanks for your great Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. modernize the past by shedding new light glory, Lord God, heavenly King, Hosanna in excelsis. Unlike the other panel-based on familiar material. First comes a panel Christmas motets, Brumel’s piece is built built on the Christmas Day introit ‘Puer O God, almighty Father. Holy, holy, holy, around a single main text, the Christmas natus est nobis’, used prominently by Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Lord God of Hosts. Day sequence ‘Nato canunt omnia’. At Regis at the start of part 3 of O admirabile Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. first this is the only text set to music, sung commercium. Then Brumel builds a panel Hosanna in the highest. by a four-part choir. Then a fifth voice out of the antiphon ‘Verbum caro factum the Father, you take away the sins of enters with the first of several plainchant est’, quoted in parts 1 and 2 of Regis’s the world, have mercy on us; Blessed is He Who cometh in the Name melodies. It will be heard sung by the motet. The third allusion to Regis is also you take away the sins of the world, of the Lord. tenors, presented slowly and simply: the most striking: Brumel launches into a receive our prayer; you are seated at ‘Joseph fili David’, an antiphon from the thrilling performance of the carol the right hand of the Father, have Hosanna in the highest. Christmas Vigil. As this approaches its ‘Magnum nomen Domini’, with its jaunty mercy on us. end, so the words of ‘Nato canunt omnia’ melody and cheery words. A c o d a are suddenly dropped. In their place come follows: four voices return to the text of For you alone are the Holy One, two smaller panels, both of them ‘Nato canunt omnia’, while the tenor you alone are the Lord, antiphons from the night offices of sings a plainchant antiphon from you alone are the Most High,

14 19 7 Agnus Dei Lord, have mercy. Christmas Vespers, ‘Exortum est in THE TEXTS Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: Christ, have mercy. tenebris’. But this is no ordinary coda. It dona eis requiem. Lord, have mercy. is Brumel’s coup de grâce. The sopranos Missa pro defunctis might have sung any music here, but Pierre de la Rue Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: 14 Gloria instead Brumel gives them a short, dona eis requiem. Gloria in excelsis Deo striking tune, which they sing over and 1 Introit over with obstinate insistency. Last of all et in terra pax hominibus bonae Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine: comes a rising sequence composed to the Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: voluntatis. et lux perpetua luceat eis. dona eis requiem sempiternam word ‘Alleluia’, and a great cadence on ‘Noel’. Laudamus te, benedicimus te, Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion, Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins et tibi reddetur votum in Ierusalem: of the world, grant them rest. adoramus te, glorificamus te, John Milsom © 1992 gratias agimus tibi propter magnam exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins gloriam tuam A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s : We are indebted above all to Jennifer Bloxam, whose of the world, grant them rest. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine: doctoral dissertation (Yale, 1987) served Domine Deus, Rex caelestis, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins Deus Pater omnípotens. as the inspiration for this recording. Many scholars helped to shape the performing of the world, grant them eternal rest. Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe, Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord, editions; in particular we are grateful to Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius and let perpetual light shine upon them. M a rgaret Bent, Jaap van Benthem, Patris, qui tollis peccata mundi, Bonnie Blackburn, Jeffrey Dean, David A hymn, O God, becometh Thee in Sion; miserere nobis; qui tollis peccata Howlett, Leofranc Holford-Strevens and Mass: Hercules Dux Ferrariae and a vow shall be paid to Thee in mundi, suscipe deprecationem Rob Wegman. The notes draw upon the Josquin des Prez Jerusalem: hear my prayer; nostram. researches of , Paula all flesh shall come to Thee. 13 Kyrie Higgins, Reinhard Strohm, Richard Taruskin and Flynn Warmington, to Kyrie, eleison. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord, whom we also extend our warmest Christe, eleison. miserere nobis. and let perpetual light shine upon them thanks. Kyrie, eleison. .

18 15 2 Kyrie appear before the presence of God? the bottomless pit: deliver them from the Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Kyrie, eleison. lion's mouth, that hell swallow them not Hosanna in the highest. Christe, eleison. My tears have been my meat day up, that they fall not into darkness, but Kyrie, eleison. and night : let the standard-bearer holy Michael Blessed is He Who cometh in the Name lead them into that holy light: Which of the Lord. Lord, have mercy. While they daily say unto me, Thou didst promise of old to Abraham Christ, have mercy. Where is now thy God? and to his seed. Hosanna in the highest. Lord, have mercy. 4 Offertory We offer to Thee, O Lord, sacrifices and 6 Lux aeterna 3 Sicut cervus: Tract Domine Iesu Christe, Rex gloriæ, prayers: do Thou receive them in behalf Lux æterna luceat eis, Domine: Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes aquarum, libera animas omnium fidelium of those souls of whom we make Cum Sanctis tuis in æternum: Ita desiderat anima mea ad te Deus. defunctorum de poenis inferni et de memorial this day. Grant them, O Lord, quia pius es. profundo lacu: libera eas de ore leonis, to pass from death to that life, which Sitivit anima mea da Deum vivum: ne absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadant in Thou didst promise of old to Abraham Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine: Quando veniam et apparebo ante faciem obscurum: sed signifer sanctus Michael and to his seed. et lux perpetua luceat eis. Dei mei? repræsentet eas in lucem sanctam: Quam olim Abrahæ promisisti, et semini eius. 5 Sanctus Cum Sanctis tuis in æternum: Fuerunt mihi lacrimae meae panes die ac Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus quia pius es. nocte. Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis Dominus Deus Sabaoth. offerimus: tu suscipe pro animabus illis, May light eternal shine upon them, O Dum dicitur mihi per singulos dies ubi quarum hodie memoriam facimus: Pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria tua. Lord, with Thy Saints for evermore: est Deus tuus? fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad Hosanna in excelsis for Thou art gracious. vitam. Quam olim Abrahæ promisisti, et "Like as the hart desireth the semini eius. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Eternal rest give to them, O Lord, waterbrooks : Hosanna in excelsis. and let perpetual light shine upon them: so longeth my soul after thee, O God. O Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, My soul is athirst for God, yea, even for deliver the souls of all the faithful Holy, holy, holy, With Thy Saints for evermore, the living God : when shall I come to departed from the pains of hell and from Lord God of Hosts. for Thou art gracious.

16 17 2 Kyrie appear before the presence of God? the bottomless pit: deliver them from the Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Kyrie, eleison. lion's mouth, that hell swallow them not Hosanna in the highest. Christe, eleison. My tears have been my meat day up, that they fall not into darkness, but Kyrie, eleison. and night : let the standard-bearer holy Michael Blessed is He Who cometh in the Name lead them into that holy light: Which of the Lord. Lord, have mercy. While they daily say unto me, Thou didst promise of old to Abraham Christ, have mercy. Where is now thy God? and to his seed. Hosanna in the highest. Lord, have mercy. 4 Offertory We offer to Thee, O Lord, sacrifices and 6 Lux aeterna 3 Sicut cervus: Tract Domine Iesu Christe, Rex gloriæ, prayers: do Thou receive them in behalf Lux æterna luceat eis, Domine: Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes aquarum, libera animas omnium fidelium of those souls of whom we make Cum Sanctis tuis in æternum: Ita desiderat anima mea ad te Deus. defunctorum de poenis inferni et de memorial this day. Grant them, O Lord, quia pius es. profundo lacu: libera eas de ore leonis, to pass from death to that life, which Sitivit anima mea da Deum vivum: ne absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadant in Thou didst promise of old to Abraham Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine: Quando veniam et apparebo ante faciem obscurum: sed signifer sanctus Michael and to his seed. et lux perpetua luceat eis. Dei mei? repræsentet eas in lucem sanctam: Quam olim Abrahæ promisisti, et semini eius. 5 Sanctus Cum Sanctis tuis in æternum: Fuerunt mihi lacrimae meae panes die ac Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus quia pius es. nocte. Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis Dominus Deus Sabaoth. offerimus: tu suscipe pro animabus illis, May light eternal shine upon them, O Dum dicitur mihi per singulos dies ubi quarum hodie memoriam facimus: Pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria tua. Lord, with Thy Saints for evermore: est Deus tuus? fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad Hosanna in excelsis for Thou art gracious. vitam. Quam olim Abrahæ promisisti, et "Like as the hart desireth the semini eius. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Eternal rest give to them, O Lord, waterbrooks : Hosanna in excelsis. and let perpetual light shine upon them: so longeth my soul after thee, O God. O Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, My soul is athirst for God, yea, even for deliver the souls of all the faithful Holy, holy, holy, With Thy Saints for evermore, the living God : when shall I come to departed from the pains of hell and from Lord God of Hosts. for Thou art gracious.

16 17 7 Agnus Dei Lord, have mercy. Christmas Vespers, ‘Exortum est in THE TEXTS Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: Christ, have mercy. tenebris’. But this is no ordinary coda. It dona eis requiem. Lord, have mercy. is Brumel’s coup de grâce. The sopranos Missa pro defunctis might have sung any music here, but Pierre de la Rue Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: 14 Gloria instead Brumel gives them a short, dona eis requiem. Gloria in excelsis Deo striking tune, which they sing over and 1 Introit over with obstinate insistency. Last of all et in terra pax hominibus bonae Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine: comes a rising sequence composed to the Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: voluntatis. et lux perpetua luceat eis. dona eis requiem sempiternam word ‘Alleluia’, and a great cadence on ‘Noel’. Laudamus te, benedicimus te, Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion, Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins et tibi reddetur votum in Ierusalem: of the world, grant them rest. adoramus te, glorificamus te, John Milsom © 1992 gratias agimus tibi propter magnam exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins gloriam tuam A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s : We are indebted above all to Jennifer Bloxam, whose of the world, grant them rest. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine: doctoral dissertation (Yale, 1987) served Domine Deus, Rex caelestis, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins Deus Pater omnípotens. as the inspiration for this recording. Many scholars helped to shape the performing of the world, grant them eternal rest. Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe, Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord, editions; in particular we are grateful to Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius and let perpetual light shine upon them. M a rgaret Bent, Jaap van Benthem, Patris, qui tollis peccata mundi, Bonnie Blackburn, Jeffrey Dean, David A hymn, O God, becometh Thee in Sion; miserere nobis; qui tollis peccata Howlett, Leofranc Holford-Strevens and Mass: Hercules Dux Ferrariae and a vow shall be paid to Thee in mundi, suscipe deprecationem Rob Wegman. The notes draw upon the Josquin des Prez Jerusalem: hear my prayer; nostram. researches of David Fallows, Paula all flesh shall come to Thee. 13 Kyrie Higgins, Reinhard Strohm, Richard Taruskin and Flynn Warmington, to Kyrie, eleison. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord, whom we also extend our warmest Christe, eleison. miserere nobis. and let perpetual light shine upon them thanks. Kyrie, eleison. .

18 15 no pale imitation of its model. Rather it Christmas Eve: ‘Magnificatus est Rex Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, explores Regis’s ideas by way of a pacificus’ and ‘Angelus ad pastores ait’. Dominus, tu solus Altissimus, in the glory of God the Father. different musical language, more modern- In each case, Brumel’s music lightly Jesu Christe, cum Sancto Spiritu: in Amen. sounding to our ears. From the start the ornaments the ancient plainchant gloria Dei Patris. Amen. metre is firmly duple; clear cadences melodies. These panels completed, 15 Sanctus punctuate even the longest paragraphs Brumel returns us to ‘Nato canunt omnia’ Glory to God in the highest, and on Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus into tidy sentences; and there’s an (with the last few words of its attendant Dominus Deus Sabaoth. efficiency about the text-declamation that tenor, ‘Joseph fili David’), and the first earth peace to people of good will. points to its being the younger work by main section of the motet draws to an end. Pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria tua. several decades. Possibly it dates from We praise you, we bless you, we Hosanna in excelsis. around 1490, when Brumel was Master of Now begin the homages to Regis, a adore you, we glorify you, the Innocents at St Peter’s, Geneva. series of quotations that seem to we give you thanks for your great Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. modernize the past by shedding new light glory, Lord God, heavenly King, Hosanna in excelsis. Unlike the other panel-based on familiar material. First comes a panel Christmas motets, Brumel’s piece is built built on the Christmas Day introit ‘Puer O God, almighty Father. Holy, holy, holy, around a single main text, the Christmas natus est nobis’, used prominently by Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Lord God of Hosts. Day sequence ‘Nato canunt omnia’. At Regis at the start of part 3 of O admirabile Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. first this is the only text set to music, sung commercium. Then Brumel builds a panel Hosanna in the highest. by a four-part choir. Then a fifth voice out of the antiphon ‘Verbum caro factum the Father, you take away the sins of enters with the first of several plainchant est’, quoted in parts 1 and 2 of Regis’s the world, have mercy on us; Blessed is He Who cometh in the Name melodies. It will be heard sung by the motet. The third allusion to Regis is also you take away the sins of the world, of the Lord. tenors, presented slowly and simply: the most striking: Brumel launches into a receive our prayer; you are seated at ‘Joseph fili David’, an antiphon from the thrilling performance of the carol the right hand of the Father, have Hosanna in the highest. Christmas Vigil. As this approaches its ‘Magnum nomen Domini’, with its jaunty mercy on us. end, so the words of ‘Nato canunt omnia’ melody and cheery words. A c o d a are suddenly dropped. In their place come follows: four voices return to the text of For you alone are the Holy One, two smaller panels, both of them ‘Nato canunt omnia’, while the tenor you alone are the Lord, antiphons from the night offices of sings a plainchant antiphon from you alone are the Most High,

14 19 16 La Deploration de Johannes eis, Domine, supplicatory duet, the only section of the All this might add up to chaos were it Ockeghem. Et lux perpetua luceat eis. motet in which both the words and the not for the fact that Obrecht arranges his "Nymphes des bois Requiescat in pace. Amen. music are newly invented. T h e r e a f t e r materials within an orderly scheme. As in Josquin des Prez everything is built around borrowed so many motets composed before 1500, material: all told, Obrecht invokes the two halves are in contrasted metres: nineteen different texts from the liturgy, the first proceeds in broad, leisurely triple Nymphes des bois, déesses des fontaines, Nymphs of the woods, goddesses of the six of them with their plainchant melodies time, the second is cast in a more Chantres experts de toutes nations, fountains, Expert singers from all clearly stated, a further three with the animated duple metre, breaking into Changez voz voix tant clères et nations, Turn your voices, so clear and tunes partly disguised. Some are easy to lively triplets at the coda. To that extent haultaines En cris trenchans et high, To rending cries and lamentation. follow. In the wake of the opening duet, the secunda pars acts as an intensification lamentations. for example, a tenor voice enters with the of the prima pars. But Obrecht also takes Advent antiphon ‘Veni, Domine, et noli measures to cement their connection: a Car Atropos, très terrible satrape, A For Atropos, the terrible ruler, Has tardare’, lightly accompanied by three long passage of music from the end of the vostre Ockeghem attrapé en sa trappe. seized your Ockeghem in her trap. The further voices who sing only the first part is quoted verbatim (though with Vrai trésorier de musique et chief true treasurer of music and its exclamation ‘Noe, noe!’. Other new words) towards the end of the second d'oeuvre, Doct, élégant de corps et non masterpiece Learned, elegant in body quotations are far less easy to discern. part, its original triple metre somehow point trappe. Grant dommage est que la and in no way old-fashioned. It is a When the fifth voice enters with another accommodated into the duple time. In terre le couvre. Acoustrez vous d'habits terrible loss that the earth covers him. Advent antiphon, ‘Canite tuba in Sion’, terms of its form, the motet possesses a de deuil Josquin, Pierson, Brumel, Put on your mourning clothes Josquin, Obrecht sets it amid a polyphony of texts solid simplicity and noble symmetry. Like Compère, Et plourez grosses Pierson, Brumel, Compère, And weep that only the sharp-eared will be able to the stone of a gothic window, the form larmesd'oeul : Perdu avez vostre bon great tears from your eyes Gone is your distinguish one from another. And so the frames and supports the glass. père. great father. work continues: some panels are readily comprehensible, others are dense and To appreciate Antoine Brumel’s Nato Requiescat in pace. Amen. May he rest in peace. Amen. obscure—none more so than the opening canunt omnia, you must first have a firm of the motet’s second main section, in grasp of Regis’s 0 admirabile Cantus fìrmus : Requiem aeternam dona Cantus firmus: Eternal rest give them, which five different Advent texts are sung commercium, for Brumel’s setting pays Lord, And light perpetual shine on them. s i m u l t a n e o u s l y, one of them with its homage to Regis’s motet in a clear and May he rest in peace. Amen. associated plainchant melody. audible manner. But Nato canunt omnia is

20 13 falls silent at the end of the couplet, so the stylistic language and formal principles of 8 O ADMIRABILE COMMERCIUM main choir returns to the ‘Ave Regina’ all late fifteenth-century motets, it (Johannes Regis) text. The tenor re-enters; the three-voice achieves a poignancy of effect that no Part 1 choir sings more newly-composed words; other work of its age can equal. O admirabile commercium! Creator O admirable transaction! The creator of and so the piece proceeds into its second generis humani, animalum corpus the human race,taking on a living body, sumens, de virgine nasci dignatus est: hath deigned to be born of a virgin; and Factor orbis main section. In Jacob Obrecht’s we et procedens homo sine semine, largitus coming forth without seed as a man, hath are confronted with another massive est nobis suam deitatem. bestowed upon us his godhead. The secunda pars contains two Christmas motet constructed according to surprises. First, one line of the prayer for the panel principle. But the result is quite Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in The word hath been made flesh. and hath Dufay—the words ‘Miserere supplicanti different from Regis’s motet. Obrecht, the nobis. dwelt among us. Dufay’; ‘Pity thy suppliant Dufay’—is younger man by several decades, is singled out for special treatment. For once generally more interested than Regis in Magnum nomen Domini Emmanuel. Great is the name of our Lord the tenor remains silent; and the three-part making the words audible; and instead of Quod annunciatum est per Gabriel. Emmanuel, which was announced choir abandons its usual luxuriant melodic the bounding energy of O admirabile through Gabriel. style in favour of stark declamation, the commercium, Obrecht prefers a steadier Part 2 locundare die, Theotoce, tinnula festo Rejoice with ringing bells, Mother of sincerity of the appeal underscored by tread, into which rhythmic vitality can be omnique inesto gaudio. God, on the festal day, and be in all joy. sudden minor harmonies and curious shot at appropriate points. Altogether his chromatic twists. Second, at the words ‘Et is a more level-headed, reasoned work. Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in The word hath been made flesh, and hath iuva ut in mortis hora’—‘And help us that The panels are less sharply differentiated nobis, et vidimus dwelt among us, and we beheld his in the hour of death’—Dufay again from one another than are those of Regis’s gloriam eius... glory... suppresses the tenor and writes a passage motet; there is more glass, less evidence of unprecedented rhythmic energ y, of tracery. And secular overtones are Hodie apparuit in Israel. He hath appeared today in Israel. thrusting (as it were) into the climactic avoided: Obrecht shuns the popular carols Per Mariam virginem natus est. Of Mary the maiden was he born. That which Daniel foretold hath been release of the motet’s last moments. that are so prominent in O admirabile Sunt impleta quae predixit Daniel. Eia! Eia! fulfilled. Eia! Eia! Neither of these passages has been arrived commercium, and instead he quotes only Virgo Deum genuit The Virgin hath borne God at by chance. Instead they breathe from liturgical plainchant. Sicut divina voluit as was the will of expressive urgency into the text. For all Clemencia. Divine Mercy. that Ave Regina celorum draws on the Factor orbis opens with a ...quasi unigeniti a Patre. … as of the only-begotten of the Father

12 21 Part 3 mysterious number, three. The result is sacrament, two of his works were to be distinctly odd; no other motet sounds like sung: the hymn Magno salutis gaudio Puer natus est nobis, et filius datus est Unto us a boy is born, unto us a son is it. But even without the bell, Anthoni and—‘if time permits’—the antiphon Ave nobis; cuius imperium super humerum given; and the government shall be upon usque limina must rank as one of the Regina celorum. On the evening of 27 eius: et vocabitur nomen eius Magni his shoulders; and his name shal| be weirdest works of its age. Its vocal November 1474, time did not permit. Consilii Angelus. called Angel of Great Counsel. scoring is unique. Traditionally the central Instead those two pieces were sung during Universalis ecclesia Let the Church Universal voice in all medieval music is the tenor, the composer’s Requiem Mass the Congaudeat his temporibus. rejoice at this time, but Anthoni usque limina has no tenor following day. Cum angel is sic canentibus: with the angels singing thus: part, the bell excepted. At the top of the Eia! Eia! Eial! Eia! texture there are two alto voices— There is evidence to show that Ave sometimes three when the bell is silent— Regina celorum was composed at least a Alleluia! Alleluia! which weave themselves into intricate decade before 1474. Whether or not it was polyphonic knots. Beneath them a bass ever performed before Dufay’s funeral it Deo in excelsis gloria, Glory to God in the highest, part roves widely, sometimes exploring is impossible to say, but certainly it Et in terra pax hominibus. and on earth peace unto men. the altos’ tessitura, sometimes cannot have been used widely, for the text Sus, valla, sus! Sus, valla, sus! disappearing into murky depths far below refers specifically to Dufay’s bodily Valla, sussin, O risus! Valla, sussin, O the smile! them. In its sound-world no less than in its decline and his impending death. These Requiescat iste parvulus. Let that little one rest. riddle-construction, it is an audacious highly personal references have been piece. woven into one of the most familiar Noe, noe! Noe, noe! medieval prayers to the Blessed Virgin Just as many of Guillaume Dufay’s Mary: the antiphon ‘Ave Regina Amen. Amen. motets were composed specifically for celorum’. The work unfolds in the form of great occasions of state, so his four-part a dialogue. First, three voice-parts sing setting of Ave Regina celoru m the opening couplet of ‘Ave Regina’; then commemorates the greatest occasion of the fourth (tenor) voice sings those same his own life: the moment of its ending. words, now to the plainchant melody, According to Dufay’s will, when the while the others begin the interpolated dying composer had received his last prayer on Dufay’s behalf. As the tenor

22 11 soprano parts. (The words sung by the fire’). Why Busnois should have 9 ANTHONI USQUE LIMINA remaining voices are missing here, so we composed such a piece is still unclear. (Antoine Busnois) have allocated to them the remainder of Possibly it was written for one of the lay the ‘Puer natus est nobis’ text.) Then, confraternities that flourished in the Part 1 : quite unexpectedly, the music freezes into region at the time; the Order of St chords, and the text turns into nonsense Anthony in Barbefosse, in the county of Anthoni usque limina Antony, who by divine providence syllables: ‘Sus, valla, sus’. This appears to Hainaut, has been suggested. But there is Orbis terrarumque maris art invoked as far as the edges be the chorus of ‘Universalis ecclesia’; no record of Busnois having been a Et ultra qui vocitaris of the earth and sea the words probably evoke a lullaby. Out member of this or any similar Providentia divina. and beyond. because thou didst manfully overcome of this stillness the motet’s characteristic brotherhood. Quia demonum agmina Superasti viriliter. the hosts of demons, energy once again emerges. Here, too, the Audi cetum nunc omina hear the congregation now words are largely missing, but cries of In its unique source, the motet’s tenor Psallentem tua dulciter. sweetly hymning thy miracles. ‘Noe, noe!’ were among them, and part is notated as a riddle: it amounts to certainly the motet must end with a huge, nothing more than a drawing of a bell Part 2: sonorous ‘Amen’. surmounted by a tau-cross (St Anthony’s emblem), with a scroll bearing a Latin tag Et ne post hoc exilium And lest after this exile (on earth) Antoine Busnois delighted in riddles, that explains in cryptic language how to Nos igneus urat Pluto Fiery Pluto burn us, and no motet by him has caused convert the image into sound. For decades Hunc ab orci chorum luto bear assistance, rescuing musicologists greater puzzlement than the riddle was misunderstood, and even Eruens fer auxilium. this choir from the mud of hell. Porrigat refrigerium Let the water1 of grace Anthoni usque limina. For a start, the now parts of it remain unsolved. Clearly Artubus gracie moys, offer cooling to our limbs, composer’s own name is built into the the bell part has to alternate long notes Ut per verbum misterium that through the word, the mystery, opening and closing words, the latter by with equally long periods of silence. But Fiat in omniBus Noys. the Spirit may be in us all.2 way of a tortuous Latin-Greek pun (‘Fiat whether it should be sung or played on a 1 in omniBus Noys’). Yet the text itself is real bell is unclear; and, if the latter, just Moys, supposedly the Hebrew for ‘water' (correctly mayyim), was imagined in the Middle Ages to be the origin of Musa and musica. Here it rhymes with noys, from the addressed to Busnois’ patron saint, St- how often the bell should be struck is Greek nous. ‘mind’. Antoine-de-Viennois, who was venerated imperfectly specified. In this performance 2Noys is the Greek nous, ‘mind': the congregation is praying for sound God-fearing widely in the Low Countries by sufferers we have opted for the sonorous tone of a mind and for inspiration by the Holy Ghost. It also rounds off the signature in which of gangrenous ergotism (‘St Anthony’s bronze cow-bell, tolled in units of that all- the composer has enclosed his text: Anthonius Busnoys.

10 23 10 AVE REGINA CELORUM may read a window at one’s own speed, Regis abandons them for a new panel: the (Guillaume Dufay) but in 0 admirabile commercium the pace popular song ‘Magnum nomen Domini’, a is set by the composer, and Regis is an tune with family resemblances to carols Ave Regina celorum, Hail, Queen of Heaven, impetuous guide. Sometimes he asks us to still in use today, such as ‘Joseph lieber, Ave Domina angelorum. Hail, Mistress of the Angels. consider two or more panels Joseph mein’ and ‘Resonet in laudibus’. simultaneously. Elsewhere he allows us Miserere tui labentis Dufay, Have pity on thy Dufay as he slippeth, only brief glances at a familiar image, The second section of the motet opens Ne peccatorum ruat in ignem fervorum. lest he fall into the fire where sinners then breaks our gaze by throwing in new with newly-composed words and music. burn. ideas. Into this Regis injects the ‘Verbum caro Tenor: Tenor: factum est’ tune, now speeded up; it Ave Regina celorum, Hail, Queen of Heaven. At the centre of many of the panels infiltrates all five voice-parts. Suddenly Ave Domina angelorum. Hail, Mistress of the Angels. there are quotations, both of words and the panel is changed: we are back in Salve radix sancta, Greetings, holy root [of Jesse], music. Listeners in Regis’s day would ‘Magnum nomen Domini’, with its lively Ex qua mundo lux est orta from whence light hath sprung up in the have recognized them instantly, but today triple-metre rhythms. world. those same Gregorian chants and popular Miserere, genitrix Domini, Have pity, mother of the Lord, carols fall on deaf ears: to understand the The third section is more obscure: it Ut pateat porta celi debili. that the gate of heaven may stand open work more fully we have to re-learn them. survives only in a manuscript that is full for the weak one. In the opening bars, for example, the first of errors and omissions. Like a seriously Tenor: Tenor: s o p r a n o — u n u s u a l l y, two of the five damaged canvas it can be restored only by Ex qua mundo lux est orta. From whence light hath sprung up in the voice-parts are for trebles—sings an guesswork, and there are bounds beyond world. Part 2: ornamented version of the plainchant which no conjecture can reach. This part Gaude virgo gloriosa. Rejoice, glorious virgin, antiphon ‘O admirabile commercium’, so of the motet opens with the Christmas Super omnes speciosa. lovely above all women. richly decorated that barely its contours Day introit ‘Puer natus est nobis’, which are recognizable. Soon after, the tenor and Regis slices into segments, inserting Miserere supplicanti Dufay, Pity thy suppliant Dufay, second soprano enter with a slow, stately between them lively duets. That finished, Sitque in conspectu tuo and let his death presentation of another antiphon, he quotes another popular Christmas Mors eius speciosa. be lovely in thy sight. ‘ Verbum caro factum est’. Having song, ‘Universalis ecclesia’, worked as a thoroughly intertwined those two ideas, canon between the tenor and one of the

24 9 Musical works from the past, like old his music has been committed to record. Tenor: Tenor: pictures, confront us with a dilemma. The collected edition is slender, certainly Super omnes speciosa. Lovely above all women. Often their surfaces are instantly alluring: by comparison with that of Regis’s best- none of the motets assembled on this known contemporary, Johannes Vale, valde decora, Hail, most comely one, recording, for instance, makes difficult Ockeghem, yet the music itself is of major Et pro nobis semper Christum exora and for our sakes ever entreat Christ listening even on first acquaintance, since status, and it shows Regis to have been In excelsis ne damnemur, on high, that we be not damned. there is so much pleasure to be gained one of the most startling and original Miserere nobis. Have pity on us from the music’s sonority, vitality, variety voices of his time. It is our loss if we and order. At the same time we recognize overlook him. Tenor: Tenor: that these are works created originally for Vale, valde decora, Hail, most comely one, a society that was very different from our The first thing that strikes the listener own. To fifteenth-century listeners they about the great Christmas-tide motet O Et iuva ut in mortis hora and help us that in the hour of death were rich in meanings that were obvious admirabile commercium is its exuberance and relevant. Today these meanings barely and rhythmic abandon. Rarely in Nostra sint corda decora. our hearts may be comely. register; the modern mind has to re-learn fifteenth-century music is so much Tenor: Tenor: and rediscover them. In the following virtuosity required of the singers; Regis Et pro nobis semper Christum exora. And for our sakes ever entreat Christ. commentaries I have tried to suggest some must have had top-class performers in of the ways in which the composers and mind. At first the motet excites and their immediate audience might have read confuses the ear with its brilliance and its these motets. We can, if we wish, follow wealth of ideas. On closer inspection, it their example. proves to be made up of many discrete panels, each of which is internally N.B: Solid lines indicate texts which are sung simultaneously. Even the most enthusiastic followers coherent. In the 1470s, when the piece of late fifteenth-century music will know was still new, audiences would have read Johannes Regis only by name. A collected those panels in the same way that their edition of his music appeared in the eyes would have scanned the various 1950s, but few performers have converted regions of a stained glass window. True, the scores into sound, and barely a note of the analogy can be taken only so far: one

8 25 11 FACTOR ORBIS celebrated work, and composers construction, for its foundation is a (Jacob Obrecht) continued to make use of this method of plainchant melody, sung by the baritone deriving a musical theme from the voices. Appropriately, this is the Introit of Part 1 syllables of words until well into the the Missa pro defunctis, “'Requiem Factor orbis Deus, nos famulos God that madest the world, seventeenth century. aeternam”, though its intervals have been Exaudi clamantes ad te tuos, hear us thy servants as we call upon thee, subtly modified to conform to the Et nostra crimina laxa and absolve our sins NB: In this compilation only the Kyrie, plangent phrygian mode. T h i s Die ista lucifera. on that day that shall bring light. Gloria and Sanctus are reproduced. The performance makes use of the reading of full mass can be heard on the originating the work contained in the great Medici Noe, noe! Noe, noe! album Amon Ra CDSAR 24. Codex, an early version that seems to come close to Josquin's original text. Tenor: Tenor: Josquin's Deploration for Johannes Veni, Domine, et noli tardare, relaxa Come, come, O Lord, and tarry not, facinora plebis tuae Israel. absolve the crimes of thy people Israel. O c k e g h e m, “Nymphes des bois”, was John Milsom probably written in or shortly after 1497, Canite tuba in Sion, quia prope est dies Sound the trumpet in Zion, for the day of the year in which this widely respected NOTES ON JOHANNES REGIS, Domini. the Lord is at hand. composer is now known to have died. By ANTOINE BUSNOIS, GUILLAUME the late fifteenth century, laments of this DUFAY, JACOB OBRECHT, Ad te, Domine, levavi animam meam: To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul: kind had become a standard means of ANTOINE BRUMEL Deus meus, in te confido,non erubescam. my God, in thee I trust, I shall not blush for paying homage to the towering figures of shame. music; and it is even possible that all four An old picture is the record of visual Ecce Dominus veniet, noli timere. Behold the Lord shall come, be not afraid. of the composers who are cited towards activity. One has to learn to read it, just as Alleluia. Alleluia. the end of Josquin's piece—Brumel, one has to learn to read a text from a Deus, qui sedes super thronos et judicas God who sittest upon thy throne and Pierre de la Rue, Compere and Josquin different culture, even when one knows, in equitatem, esto refugium pauperum in judgest righteousness, be the refuge of the himself—were especially indebted to a limited sense, the language. tribulatione, quia tu solus laborem poor in tribulation, for thou alone Ockeghem by having once been his pupils et dolorem consideras. Media vita in regardest their toil and sorrow. In the midst or colleagues. Though ostensibly a Michael Baxendall, Painting and morte sumus. Quern queritis adiutorem, of life we are in death. Whom seek ye as an chanson, the Deploration makes use of a Experience in Fifteenth Century Italy nisi te, Domine? helper classic method of motet and mass (Oxford, 1972)

26 7 the six ascending steps of the shortened passage for three voices, during which the Ecce veniet ad salvandum nos. Alleluia. but thee, O Lord? scale were given the names ''ut re mi fa sol baritone remains silent. In the Gloria this Behold he shall come to save us. Alleluia. la". By deleting consonants and same procedure occurs twice, first at the O clavis David et sceptrum domus Israel, O key of David and sceptre of the house of considering only vowels, the eight opening of the movement, then again at qui aperis et nemo claudit: claudis et Israel, who openest and none closeth, syllables of the motto could be converted the section commencing with the words nemo aperit: veni, et educ vinctum de closest and none openeth; come, and lead domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris et him that is bound from the prison-house, into their equivalent solmization degrees; “Qui tollis peccata mundi”. In the Credo umbra mortis. Canite tuba in Sion, quia him that sitteth in darkness and the thus “hEr-cU-lEs dUx fEr-rA-rl-aE” gives there are three statements, the last of prope est dies Domini. shadow of death. Sound the trumpet in rise to “'rE Ut rE Ut rE IA mI rE”—or, in which stands as a further development at Ecce veniet ad salvandum nos. Alleluia. Zion, for the day of the Lord is at hand. terms of modern pitches, D C D C D F E “Et in Spiritum Sanctum” the entire motto Behold he shall come to save us. Alleluia. D. Having calculated this motif, Josquin proceeds first backwards, then forwards repeated it obsessively so as to form a again in diminution. In the Sanctus the Alleluia. Alleluia. s c a ffold around which a large and process of dismembering and elaborate polyphonic mass could be foreshortening the motto continues, Part 2 constructed. Almost always stated in giving way in the Benedictus to three Spiritus Domini super me evangelizare The spirit of the Lord upon me hath notes of extended length and equal exquisite duets, each of which has the pauperibus iussit. bidden me preach the gospel to the poor. duration, the motto naturally stands out motto theme as its basis. The Agnus Dei from the accompanying texture, introduces further variations. In the first Veniet fortior me, cuius non sum dignus One shall come that is stronger than I, the irrespective of the pitch on which it enters invocation, the motto is again turned corrigiam calciamentorum solvere. latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to or the voice that carries it. backwards; in the second. it is dropped unloose. altogether so that Josquin can show off his Hodie scietis quia veniet Dominus, et Today ye shall know that the Lord shall The mass opens with a tidy Kyrie in skills in writing a strict canon for the mane videbitis gloriam eius. come, and tomorrow ye shall see his glory. which the standard procedure for stating remaining three voices; and in the the motto is established: it appears three sumptuous third Agnus, the texture Erunt prava in directa, et aspera in vias The crooked shall be made straight, and times in the baritone part, first at low expands to six real parts, of which two planas. the rough places into level roads. pitch, second in the middle of the range, take it in turn to sing the motto. Not Bethlehem es civitas Dei summi, ex te Bethlehem, thou art the home of God on finally in the upper register, an octave surprisingly in view of its curious exiet dominator Israel. high, from thee shall go forth the ruler of above the first statement, and each time, construction, Josquin's H e rcules Dux Israel. the motto is preceded by an eight-bar F ' e r r a r i a e Mass soon became a

6 27 Crastina die erit vobis salus, dicit Tomorrow shall be your salvation, saith music, la Rue in turn created a succession contrast to the Tract's duple metre, the Dominus exercitum. Crastina die the Lord of hosts. Tomorrow shall the of movements that might at first glance O ffertory (“Domine Jesu Christe”) delebitur iniquitas terre, et regnabit wickedness of the earth be wiped out, and seem to be scored for entirely different proceeds in a broad triple measure. Again, super nos salvator mundi. Alleluia. Noe. the saviour of the world shall reign over choirs, some of high voices, others of low, it breaks into five parts during its course, noe! De celo veniet dominator Dominus, us. Alleluia. Noe, noe! The Lord shall and indeed most modern performers have and this texture is maintained in the et in manu eius honoret imperium. come in power down from heaven, and in taken his notation literally and exploited ensuing Sanctus, with its contrasted his hand honour and command. these unusual contrasts; but it is now Benedictus for four lower voices. The Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord be with almost certain that la Rue would have Requiem closes with the threefold Agnus tecum, benedicta tu in mulieribus, et thee, blessed art thou among women, and expected his singers to transpose the Dei, preceded in this concert version by benedictus fructus ventris tui. blessed the fruit of thy womb. movements at sight, and an 'equalized' the Communion, “Lux aeterna”. version of the kind recorded here is likely O virgo virginum, quomodo fiet istud, O maiden of maidens, how shall that be, to be authentic. Josquin's Mass H e rcules Dux quia nec primam sim ilem visa est nec for she hath not been seen to have one Ferrariae is probably the very earliest habere sequentem. Filie Jerusalem, like unto her before her nor after her. The Requiem opens with the four-part setting to be strictly based not on a quid me admiramini? Divinum est Daughters of Jerusalem, why do ye Introit (“Requiem aeternam”) in which plainchant melody, a popular song or an mysterium hoc quod cemitis. wonder at me? This that ye behold is a divine mystery. the chant melody is first taken up by all existing polyphonic work but rather on an voices in turn and made the substance of entirely original motto theme. The little Beata es Maria, que credidisti, que Blessed art thou, Mary, because thou the entire polyphonic web, then becomes eight-note tune that gives the work its title perficientur in te, que dicta sunt tibi. believedst the things that shall be the sole property of the baritone during is in fact nothing less than a musical accomplished in thee, that were told the verse “Te decet hymnus”. (These two transliteration of the dedicatee's name, for unto thee. methods of construction variously remain it derives directly from the eight syllables Veni Domine, et noli tardare. Alleluia. Come, O Lord, and tarry not. Alleluia the basis of all the succeeding “Her-cu-les Dux Fer-ra-ri-ae”: “'Hercules, Ecce Dominus veniet et omnes sancti Behold the Lord shall come and all his movements.) The Kyrie follows; and for Duke of Ferrara”. To convert these words eius cum eo. Et erit die illa lux magna. saints with him. And in that day shall its third invocation, la Rue introduces a into musical sounds, Josquin availed Alleluia there be a great light. Alleluia. fifth voice to enrich the sonority. Next himself of the centuries-old system of Noe. noe! Noe, noe! comes the Tract (“Sicut cervus”), a setting solmization (the ancestor of the more for contrasted groups of voices of the recent solfege and Tonic Sol-fa methods), opening three verses of Psalm 42. In known to all singers of the time, in which

28 5 NOTES ON PIERRE DE LA RUE in the Ferrarese chapel in 1503-4.) One 12 NATO CANUNT OMNIA AND JOSQUIN DES PREZ fact is certain however, each work was (Antoine Brumel) conceived as being something out of the Part 1 Like so many of the greatest religious ordinary by the standards of the day, and Nato canunt Omnia, Domino pie agmina, To the Son all congregations piously sing, works of the fifteenth century, Josquin's both masses must have attracted the sillabatim neupmata, perstringendo passing syllable by syllable Mass Hercules Dux Ferrariae and Pierre attention of contemporary audiences no organica. through the neumes of the organum de la Rue's Requiem seem to have been less than they have come to be celebrated Hec dies sacrata, in qua nova sunt gaudia This is the hallowed day on which new composed not at the whims of their in our own time. mundo plena dedita. joys were given in full to the world. composers but rather for some more Hac nocte precelsa intonuit et gloria On this night, exalted glory thundered specific use. Admittedly, in neither case Like other Requiem masses of the in voce angelica. in the angel’s voice do we know the occasion at which the Renaissance, Pierre de la Rue's unusually work was first performed, and there is elaborate setting is deeply indebted to the Fulserunt et immania nocte media and immense lights shone forth even some doubt about the identity of the plainchant melodies that were pastoribus lumina. at midnight to the shepherds. person for whose funeral la Rue's inextricably linked with the words of the Dum fovent sua pecora, subito diva While they tended their sheep, suddenly Requiem was written—perhaps most Missa pro defunctis. La Rue's method of percipiunt monita. they heard the divine command. likely is Ermes Sforza, brother-in-law to procedure is thus a simple one: for each Tenor: Joseph fili David, noli timere Tenor: Joseph son of David, do not fear the emperor Maximilian, whose portion of text, the chant itself becomes accipere Mariam coniugem to take Mary as thy wife; for that which is obsequies took place in 1503. Josquin's the foundation for his music and each tuam: quod enim in ea natum est, de bom in her, is of the Holy Ghost,... Spiritu Sancto,... mass is more obviously personalised, for movement of his setting therefore draws the name of Ercole I d'Este, Duke of upon an entirely different melodic source. Magnificatus est Rex paci Ficus super The King that maketh peace is magnified Ferrara, is actually made an integral (In this respect the Requiem diff e r s omnes reges universe terre. above all the kings of the whole earth. component of the music; but even here we fundamentally from Josquin's mass, in The angel said to the shepherds: ‘1 Angelus ad pastores ait: Annuntio vobis announce to you a great joy; for today is cannot be sure of the precise date at which which each successive movement might gaudium magnum: quia natus est hodie born the Saviour of the world. Josquin composed the piece, though it is be viewed as a variation of the preceding Salvator mundi. Alleluia. Alleluia.’ obviously a product of the years he spent music.) So unrelated to one another are Natus alma virgine, qui extat ante secula. Born of a kindly maid is he, that hath in Ercole's service. (Josquin appears to the chant melodies of the Requiem that Noel. existed from before the ages. Noel. have been associated with the Duke from they explore different modes and the early 1480s and he served as a singer compasses. By absorbing them into his Tenor: de Spiritu Sancto. Alleluia. Noel. Tenor:of the Holy Ghost. Alleluia. Noel.

4 29 Part 2 Missa pro defunctis Pierre de la Rue 1 Introit [4’48”] Puer natus est nobis, et filius datus est Unto us a boy is born, unto us a son is nobis: cuius imperium super humerum given; and the government shall be upon 2 Kyrie [2’40”] eius: et vocabitur nomen eius, Magni his shoulders, and his name shall be 3 Sicut cervus: Tract [4’01”] Consilii Angelus. called Angel of Great Counsel. 4 Offertory [5’08”] Tenor: Puer natus est nobis, et filius Tenor: Unto us a boy is born, unto us a 5 Sanctus [4’12”] datus est nobis. son is given. 6 Lux aeterna [2’53”] Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in The word hath been made flesh, and hath 7 Agnus Dei [3’50”] nobis. Et vidimus gloriam eius, quasi dwelt among us. And we have seen his unigeniti a Patre, plenum gratie et glory, as of the only-begotten of the 8 O admirabile commercium: Johannes Regis [06'31"] veritatis. Father, full of grace and truth. 9 Anthoni usque limina: Antoine Busnois [06'38"] Magnum nomen Domini Emmanuel, Great is the name of our Lord Emmanuel, 10 Ave regina celorum: Guillaume Dufay [07'16"] Quod annunciatum est per Gabriel. which was announced through Gabriel. 11 Factor orbis: Jacob Obrecht [07'30"] Hodie apparuit in Israel. He hath appeared today in Israel. 12 Nato canunt omnia: Antoine Brumel [06'47"] Per Mariam virginem et per Joseph. Of Mary the maiden and of Joseph. Eia! Eia! Virgo Deum genuit Eia! Eia! The Virgin hath borne God Mass: Hercules Dux Ferrariae Josquin des Prez Sicut divina voluit dementia. as Divine Mercy willed. 13 Kyrie [2’27”] Pax in terra reddita nunc letentur omnia Peace hath been restored on earth; now 14 Gloria [3’20”] nati per exordia. let all things rejoice at the infancy of the 15 Sanctus [5’10”] Ipse sua pietate solvat omnia Son. peccata nostra. May he of his pity cancel all our sins. 16 La Deploration de Johannes Ockeghem. Alleluia. Noel. Alleluia. Noel. "Nymphes des bois" Josquin des Prez [6’13”] Tenor: Tenor: There hath arisen in the darkness the light Total duration: 79'38" Exortum est in tenebris lumen rectis to them that are righteous in their heart: corde: misericors et miserator et iustus piteous and merciful and just is the Lord. Dominus.

30 3 Pierre de la Rue and Josquin des Prez The Amon Ra compilations Recorded at St. Barnabas Church, Finchley, Nov 1985 CDSAR 62 A Golden Treasury of Elizabethan Music Performing edition by John Milsom CDSAR 63 A Golden Treasury of Medieval Music ©1986, Saydisc Records, England CDSAR 64 A Golden Treasury of Historic Pianos Cover picture Funérailles Chrétiennes, Heures à l'usage de Troyes, 15th C. French CDSAR 65 A Golden Treasury of Renaissance Music CDSAR 66 A Golden Treasury of Georgian Music Regis, Busnois, Dufay, Obrecht, Brumel CDSAR 67 The Romantic Piano - Richard Burnett (historic pianos) Editions by John Milsom, Jaap van Benthem (Busnois), CDSAR 68 A Golden Treasury of Baroque Music Recorded at S. Silas the Martyr, Kentish Town, London, November 1991 ©1992, Saydisc Records, England CDSAR 69 A Golden Treasury of Ancient Instruments CDSAR 70 A Golden Treasury of Flute Music Recorded and Produced by: CDSAR 71* Tranquillo - calm & tranquil music on orginal instruments Gef Lucena (Amon Ra) and David Wilkins (Valley Recordings) CDSAR 72 La Virtuossima Cantatrice - Virtuoso and bel canto masterpieces Choir Photograph: © Paul M.R. Maeyaert The Saydisc compilations Design: Genny Lucena CDSDL 436* Pleasures & Treasures - Saydisc 50th Anniversary sampler all tracks © Matchbox Music CDSDL 437* Christmas Music Through the Ages CDSDL 438* Percussion Around the World AMON RA RECORDS, THE BARTON, INGLESTONE COMMON, CDSDL 440 World’s Away -world music from 33 communities BADMINTON, S.GLOS. GL9 1BX, ENGLAND CDSDL 442 Awake & Join the Cheerful Choir - 18th/19thC gallery hymns E-mail: [email protected] CDSDL 444 The Funny Side Of Saydisc www.saydisc.com CDSDL 445* Victoriana - music, verse and recollections of VR This compilation is taken from Amon Ra albums: CDSDL 446 Harps, Dulcimers and Hurdy Gurdies CDSAR 24 Pierre de la Rue, Josquin des Prez CDSDL 447 Exotica - exotic and strange music from many lands (omitted from this compilation are: Hercules Mass: Credo, Agnus Dei) CDSDL 448 The Beauty of Bells - church bells, handbells & carillons CDSAR 56 The Brightest Heaven of Invention (omitted from this compilation are: CDSDL 449* Traditional Dance Music of Britain & Ireland Preter rerum serium (Josquin des Prez), Salve crux (Jacob Obrecht), CDSDL 450* Traditional Songs of Britain & Ireland In hydraulis (Antoine Busnois) Both albums performed by: CDSDL 451 Jazz & Ragtime on pianola rolls and from old 78 rpm recordings The New London Chamber Choir (James Wood: Conductor) CDSDL 452 Brass Band Spectacular - prize winning band performances * = Double CD - Single CD price

2 31 CDSAR 73 High Renaissance Choral Polyphony from the Low Countries New London Chamber Choir James Wood: conductor

Pierre de la Rue, Josquin des Prez, Johannes Regis, Antoine Busnois, Guillaume Dufay, Jacob Obrecht, Antoine Brumel