CAL PERFORMANCES PRESENTS

Friday, February 3, 2012, 8pm Saturday, February 4, 2012, 8pm First Congregational Church

The Polychoral Splendors of Renaissance Florence Davitt Moroney, conductor

Magnificat Warren Stewart, director

American Bach Soloists Jeffrey Thomas, director

Schola Cantorum San Francisco Paul Flight, director

Chalice Consort Davitt Moroney, director

His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts Steve Escher, Jeremy West cornett Adam Woolf, Abigail Newman, Miguel Tantos Sevillano, Philip Dale tenor sackbutt Andrew Harwood-White, Stephen Saunders bass sackbutt Wim Becu great bass sackbutt

Kate van Orden dulcian John Dornenburg, Farley Pearce violone David Morris lirone Melody Hung, Jonathan Rhodes Lee harpsichord James Apgar, Tiffany Ng organ

These concerts are a co-production of Cal Performances and the UC Berkeley Department of Music, with additional support from the Edmund O’Neill Fund.

Cal Performances’ 2011–2012 season is sponsored by Wells Fargo.

CAL PERFORMANCES 5 CHORAL ROSTER PROGRAM

The following listing of singers relates to the voice parts for the second half of the program, by Striggio. 2 PROGRAM 2 Magnificat Choir IA: (1) Laura Heimes, (2) Andrew Rader, (3) Christopher LeCluyse, (4) Hugh Davies Choir IB: (5) Clara Rottsolk, (6) Clifton Massey, (7) Paul Elliott, (8) Robby Stafford Girolamo Cavazzoni (c.1525–1577) Organ: Intonazione sexti toni (1543)

Chalice Consort (A) Choir IIA: (9) Libbie Landles-Dowling, (10) Celeste Winant, (11) Joshua Lanam, (12) Jeff Phillips Stefano Rossetto (fl.1560–1580) Consolamini, consolamini popule meus Choir IIB: (13) Rebekah Wu, (14) Lindasusan Ulrich, (15) Matthew Oltman, (16) Mark Sumner (c.1565–1570?) A Christmas motet, in 50 parts American Bach Soloists First modern performance Choir IIIA: (17) Rita Lilly, (18) Dan Cromeenes, (19) Edward Betts, (20) Jeffrey Fields Choir IIIB: (21) Ruth Escher, (22) Kevin Fox, (23) Mark Mueller, (24) Thomas Hart Giovanni Gabrieli (c.1555–1612) Instrumental: Canzon Primi Toni, in 8 parts Schola Cantorum San Francisco (Venice 1597) Choir IVA: (25) Kelsey Linnett, (26) Damon English, (27) David Siegel, (28) Raymond Martinez Choir IVB: (29) Caroline Jou Armitage, (30) Alison King, (31) Sam Smith, (32) Jefferson Packer Anonymous Unum cole deum (c.1545) Chalice Consort (B) A setting of the Ten Commandments, in 40 parts (canon 40 parts in 10) Choir VA: (33) Cecilia Jam, (34) Emily Ryan, (35) Clarence Wright, (36) Adam Cole First modern performance Choir VB: (37) Michelle Clair, (38) Richard Yates, (39) Chris Evans, (40) John Kelley

Additional singers in the Striggio Mass, for the Agnus Dei Tiburtio Massaino (c.1550–1609) Instrumental: Beatus Laurentius, in 9 parts Choir IC: (41) Kaneez Munjee, (42) Charles Olson, (43) Clem Cano, (44) Steven Anderson (Venice 1592) Choir IIC: (45) Hongju Jung, (46) Kim Rankin, (47) Carl Boe, (48) Chulki Lee Choir IIIC: (49) Lindsay Mugglestone, (50) Terry Alvord, (51) Nicholas Losorelli, (52) John Shepard Choir IVC: (53) Alana Mailes, (54) Beth Helsley, (55) Owen Smith, (56) David Rowland Stefano Rossetto Consolamini, consolamini popule meus Choir VC: (57) Felicia Chen, (58) Elliot Franks, (59) Casey Glick, (60) Ian McGregor Second modern performance

INTERMISSION

Alessandro Striggio (c.1536/7–1592) Motet Ecce beatam lucem, in 40 parts (1561; rev. 1565/1568?)

Alessandro Striggio Missa sopra “Ecco sì beato giorno” in cinque corri divisa, in 40 & 60 parts (1564–1566) Kyrie Gloria Credo Sanctus Benedictus Agnus Dei 1 Agnus Dei 2 Andy Roberts Andy

6 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 7 TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS

Stefano Rossetto Striggio Consolamini, consolamini popule meus Ecce beatam lucem Text: Isaiah 40:1–2 Text by Paul Melissus

[50 parts: Choirs I, II, III, IV:] Ecce beatam lucem; Behold the blessed light; Consolamini, consolamini popule meus, Be comforted, be comforted, my people, ecce bonum sempiternum. behold eternal goodness. Vos, turba electa, celebrate You, a select assembly, praise [12 parts: Choir II:] Iehovam eiusque Natum, Jehovah as well as his Son, dicit deus vester. saith your God. æqualem Patri deitatis splendorem. equal to the Father in splendor of deity. Virtus alma et maiestas passim cernanda adest. Benign strength and majesty may be seen all around. [24 parts: Choirs III, IV:] Quantum decoris illustra in sole, How wonderfully illuminated by the sun, Loquimini ad cor Jherusalem Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, quam venusta es luna, how beautiful are you, the moon! quam multo clara honore sidera fulgent, With what great clarity the stars are shining! [24 parts: Choirs I, II:] quam pulchra quæque in orbe. How beautiful is everything on the planet! Et advocate eam: and call to her: O quam perrennis esca O, how the everlasting food [50 parts: Choirs I, II, III, IV:] tam sanctas mentes pascit! nourishes such pious minds! Quoniam completa est malicia eius, for her evil is come to an end, Præsto gratia et amor, præsto nec novum; Grace and love are outstanding here, and not new; præsto est fons perpes vitæ. the fountain of perpetual love is present. [12 parts: Choir III:] Hic Patriarchæ cum Prophetis, Here are Patriarchs with Prophets, dimissa est iniquitas illius: her iniquity is forgiven: hic David, Rex David ille Vates, here is David, King David, the prophet himself, cantans sonans adhuc æternum DEUM. singing and making music to the eternal GOD. [6 parts: Choir I; then 9 parts: Choir II:] suscepit she hath received O mel et dulce nectar, O honey and sweet nectar, O fortunatam sedem! O fortunate place! [12 parts: Choir III:] Hæc voluptas, hæc quies, This voluptuousness, this peacefulness, de manu domini duplicia of the hand of the Lord double hæc meta, hic scopus nos hinc this goal, and this target, they draw us attrahunt recta in paradisum. from here directly into paradise. [12 parts: Choir IV:] pro omnibus peccatis suis. for all her sins. Striggio [50 parts: Choirs I, II, III, IV:] Missa sopra “Ecco sì beato giorno” in cinque Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. corri divisa

1. kyrie Anonymous Unum cole deum [8 parts: Choir I:] The Ten Commandments, versified as five hexameters; set Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. to music as a “40-in-4” canon, each of the four melodic lines being a ten-part canon [16 parts: Choirs II, III:] Christe eleison, Christe eleison, Christe eleison. Christ have mercy. Christ have mercy. Christ have mercy. Unum cole deum. Ne iures vana per eum. Love one God. Do not swear in vain by him. Sabbata sanctifices. Venerare quoque parentes. Keep holy the Sabbath. Also honor your parents. [24 parts: Choirs III, IV, V:] Noli mechari. Noli de cede notari. Do not fornicate. Do not commit murder. Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Furta cave fieri. Non sis testis nisi veri. Do not steal. Do not bear witness, unless truthfully. Non cupias nuptas. Neque queras alieni. Do not lust after spouses. Nor after another’s belongings. 2. gloria

[40 parts: Choirs I, II, III, V, V:] Intonation: Gloria in excelsis Deo. Glory to God in the highest. Et in terra pax hominibus bone voluntatis. And on earth peace to people of good will. Laudamus te. We praise you. Benedicimus te. We bless you. Adoramus te. We adore you.

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Glorificamus te. We glorify you. 4. sanctus Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam. We give you thanks for your great glory. Domine deus, rex celestis, deus pater omnipotens. Lord God, heavenly king, God the almighty father. [16 parts: Choirs I, II:] Domine fili unigenite, Jesu Christe. Lord, the only son, Jesus Christ. Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus dominus deus sabaoth. Holy, holy, holy lord God of hosts. Domine deus agnus dei, filius patris. Lord God, lamb of God, son of the father. Qui tollis peccata mundi, You who take away the sins of the world, [24 parts: Choirs III, IV, V:] miserere nobis. have mercy on us. Pleni sunt celi et terra gloria tua, The heavens and earth are full of your glory. Qui tollis peccata mundi, You who take away the sins of the world, suscipe deprecationem nostram. receive our prayer. [40 parts: Choirs I, II, III, V, V:] Qui sedes ad dexteram patris, You who are seated at the right hand of the father, Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest. miserere nobis. have mercy on us. Quoniam tu solus sanctus. For you alone are the holy one. 5. benedictus Tu solus Dominus. You alone are the Lord. Tu solus altissimus, Jesu Christe. You alone are the most high, Jesus Christ. [8 parts: Choir I:] Cum sancto spiritu in gloria dei patris. With the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father. Benedictus qui venit in nomine domini, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord. Amen. Amen. [40 parts: Choirs I, II, III, V, V:] 3. credo Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest.

[40 parts: Choirs I, II, III, V, V:] Intonation: Credo in unum Deum, I believe in one God, 6. agnus dei 1 Patrem omnipotentem, factorem celi et terre, visi- the father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and bilium omnium, et invisibilium. of all things visible and invisible. [40 parts: Choirs I, II, III, V, V:] Et in unum dominum Jesum Christum filium And [I believe] in one Lord Jesus Christ only- Agnus dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world: Dei unigenitum. begotten son of God, miserere nobis. have mercy on us. Et ex patre natum ante omnia secula. And born from his father before all time; Deum de Deo: lumen de lumine: God of God: light of light: 7. agnus dei 2 Deum verum, de Deo vero. true God, of true God; Genitum, non factum: cumsubstantialem patri: Born, not made: one in substance with the father: [60 parts: Choirs I, II, III, V, V, each enlarged by per quem omnia facta sunt. by whom all things were made; four voices:] Qui propter nos homines, et propter nostram salutem Who for us humans, and for our salvation, descended Agnus dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world: descendit de celis. from the heavens. dona nobis pacem. give us peace. Et incarnatus est de spiritu sancto ex Maria virgine, And was incarnate by the Holy Spirit, of the Virgin & homo factus est. Mary, and was made man. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis: sub Pontio Pilato, And he was crucified also for us: under Pontius Pilate, 8. ite missa est (Plainchant) passus, et sepultus est. he suffered, and was buried. Intonation: Ite missa est. Go, the Mass is ended. Et resurrexit tertia die, And he rose again on the third day, Response: Deo gratias. Thanks be to God. secundum scripturas. according to the scriptures. Et ascendit in celum: And he ascended into heaven: sedet ad dexteram patris. he sits at the right hand of the father. Et iterum venturus est cum gloria iudicare vivos, And he will come again with glory to judge the living, et mortuos: and the dead: cuius regni non erit finis. whose kingdom shall have no end. Et in spiritum sanctum dominum, et vivificantem: And [I believe] in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver qui ex patre filioque procedit. of life: who proceeds from the father and the son. Qui cum patre, et filio, simul adoratur, Who with the father, and the son, together is adored, et conglorificatur: and glorified: qui locutus est per prophetas. who spoke through the prophets. Et unam sanctam catholicam, And I believe in one holy Catholic, et apostolicam ecclesiam. and apostolic church. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum. And I look forward to the resurrection of the dead. Et vitam venturi seculi. Amen. And to the life of the world to come. Amen.

10 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 11 Transcription into modern notation of the opening of the 60-part Agnus Dei, showing the wave of sound from voice 1 to voice 60.

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“Never Heard Before For So Many Voices”: that defined the completion of artists’ training Chapel, and Cellini’s bronze statue of Perseus. In he was about 17 years old. Cavazzoni had strong Renaissance Masterpieces Recovered and the start of their work as acknowledged art, such works have their own category, a rec- links with Mantua in the 1560s and 1570s. He masters. The concept was in some ways rela- ognized genre since the 16th century: il gigan- became organist at the cathedral, Santa Barbara, hese two concerts bring together 60 tively humble since a masterpiece defined the tismo. However, unlike most of the literary and and supervised the construction of a new organ Tsingers and 17 instrumentalists for the end of a student’s apprenticeship; the newly ac- visual counterparts, the gigantic musical works there in 1565–1566. He also seems to have had modern equivalent of the musical part of a grand quired mastery was a promise of greater things disappeared into oblivion, partly because their a close relationship with the Mantuan Duke, Renaissance spectacle. The compositions, by na- to come. Yet the concept was also grand, espe- immense size required unique performing forces Guglielmo Gonzaga (who was himself a very ture extravagant and excessive, were written for cially in the case of a highly creative artist, since that inevitably made performances extremely respectable composer). Striggio was born in the 16th-century courts of the Medici family a masterwork affirmed that the particular work expensive events, and therefore of great rarity. Mantua, returned regularly for visits, and re- in Florence, the imperial Habsburg family in had unique originality. (The modern scholarly (Perhaps it is just an extension of the same prin- tired there at the end of his life. The two men Vienna and Innsbruck and the Spanish royal equivalent is, ironically, not a Master’s exam; ciple today, that this program note has grown to must surely have known each other, and given chapel in Madrid. ThThis is is a unique opportuni-opportuni- today, the Ph.D. thesis is the “masterpiece” of a be of similar proportions.) the fact that Cavazzoni was somewhat older ty to hear these extraordinary works live, and student, defining the end of their formal train- Such compositions can also be seen as mu- than Striggio and had a very high reputation as to experience the important spatial dimension ing.) The works heard tonight may be seen in sical expressions of another important concept an organist, he is a composer whose organ music of many choirs that are physically separated, a this light as outstanding artistic creations by from Renaissance art, terribilità. Massive art- Striggio would have known and admired. 16th-century version of “surround sound” that ambitious young musicians anxious to prove works were said to be “terrible.” This allusion to is almost impossible to reproduce effectively their worth and demonstrate their absolute mas- “terror” did not imply fear, but rather stagger- on recordings. tery on a grand scale. ing, awe-inspiring power. The standard Latin li- Stefano Rossetto’s Consolamini, consolamini Alessandro Striggio’s 40-part motet Ecce bea- Almost all these giant works were com- turgical text for the dedication of a large basilica popule meus, in 50 parts tam lucem has been known to scholars for over posed before Thomas Tallis’s famous “song of 40 opened with the phrase Terribilis est locus ista a century, but the other works performed today parts,” Spem in alium, which was thought un- (literally, “this place is terrible,” but perhaps bet- Next, there is the grand festive motet by Stefano are all new additions to the repertoire and are til recently to be a unique manifestation of the ter translated as “this place is magnificent”). The Rossetto, Consolamini, consolamini popule meus the results of my recent research. In 2005 (after Renaissance taste for spectacular musical dis- text derives from the Bible (Genesis 28/17) and (“Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people”). The text looking for it for 18 years), I identified Striggio’s play. The new pieces can now take their places refers to the place where Jacob had his dream was associated liturgically with Christmas Day long-lost Missa sopra “Ecco sì beato giorno,” a in the repertoire beside Spem. They give us a new (“Jacob’s ladder”). The liturgical plainsong for and is, of course, now familiar from the opening substantial work that is certainly the composer’s perspective on Tallis’s composition, showing these words is found in the tenor line of the of Handel’s Messiah. Here there is again a link most important composition. Its rediscovery that it belongs to a larger repertoire and even to famous motet by Guillaume Dufay, Nuper ro- with Striggio. Rossetto and Striggio were col- forces us to change our assessment of Alessandro an established genre. sarum flores, composed for and sung at the con- leagues in Florence for several years in the mid Striggio, largely forgotten today but universally secration of Florence cathedral in 1436, when 1560s, when they were both young and ambi- admired in his lifetime as one of the most bril- Brunelleschi’s vast dome was finished. The 16th- tious. Rossetto was organist at the Duomo. He liant performers and composers in Europe. In Gigantismo and Terribilità century art historian Vasari specifically used the presumably played the organ for Striggio’s Mass 2007, I conducted the first performances since word terribilità when describing the genius of when it was performed in Florence. Since, as dis- the 16th century in London’s Royal Albert Hall, Massive musical compositions such as the ones Brunelleschi. So one of the principal purposes cussed below, Striggio claimed to have been the followed in 2008 by two performances at the unearthed here were tools of state, symbols of of grand art in the 16th century was to inspire first to write such vast works for so many voices, Berkeley Early Music Festival. power for the rulers rich enough to commis- viewers to admire the terrible grandness and we can assume that the 50-part Consolamini was I have also recently reconstructed the sion them and have them performed. They climb the ladder towards heaven—while also composed after Striggio’s 40-part Ecce beatam other two vocal pieces performed today: are the rare surviving musical counterparts to being fully conscious of the extraordinary and lucem (1561) and almost certainly after the Mass Stefano Rossetto’s gigantic motet in 50 parts, the justly famous huge creations of the Italian terrifying powers of the patrons who could com- as well (1564–1566). Consolamini, consolamini popule meus, and Renaissance in literature, architecture, sculp- missioned such art. Rossetto is not as technically skilled a com- the anonymous canonic setting of the Ten ture and painting, such as Ariosto’s epic poem poser as Striggio, yet the work is impressive in Commandments in 40 parts, Unum cole deum. Orlando furioso (38,738 lines), Brunelleschi’s exactly the ways it was meant to be. The first These two pieces are receiving their first modern dome for Florence’s cathedral, the Duomo Girolamo Cavazzoni gesture (probably both “gigantic” and “terrible” performances in these concerts. (still the largest brick dome of its kind in the to listeners in Renaissance Florence) is a massive The overused word “masterpiece” has fallen world), Leonardo’s bronze equestrian statue of Tonight’s concert opens with a brief organ in- wall of sound in F major, over slow and simple out of favor in recent years, especially in schol- Francesco Sforza (standing at over 24 feet high, tonation taken from the Magnificat sexti toni harmonies, with melodic fragments swirl- arly circles. In the 16th century, however, the it was destroyed before it was finished but a full- by the Venetian organist Girolamo Cavazzoni. ing around, intertwining and tumbling over concept was in favor, with its more traditional size modern version of it has now been recon- He was something of a child prodigy since his each other, in brilliantly shimmering textures. meaning. Masterpieces were exceptional works structed), Michelangelo’s frescos for the Sistine first book of organ music was published when This passage sets the tone, stylistically. Here is

14 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 15 PROGRAM NOTES PROGRAM NOTES a novel kind of composition, a musical fresco library copy, a reference source, and could not kind. However, caveat emptor: listeners, take Sagbutts & Cornetts in honor of the 400th an- drawn in broad strokes with new, thick textures have been used for performance. The parts were note that one third of what you are hearing is niversary of the composer’s death (1612). But I and an unbridled sense of energy. The central copied in a highly confusing manner into a set not by Rossetto! see its place in this program as also being a sly part is again a wall of sound in 50 voices (also of eight partbooks (containing 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 The 32 surviving parts indicate that Rossetto reference to Gabrieli’s unparalleled fame as a in the F major mode), and the work ends with and 8 voice parts, respectively). The music for basically composed Consolamini, consolamini master of suave “polychoral” music. That repu- an Alleluia in 50 parts (back in F major) which the separate choirs is completely jumbled up and popule meus for four 12-part choirs (each one of tation has lead historians to associate Venice is repeated. only nine of the voices have any text written in which is a double six-voiced choir). He seems to with the development or rich music for multiple Between these passages, Rossetto reduces under the notes. Restoring the text turned out have liked composing for choirs in six or 12 voic- choirs of voices and/or instruments. Venice’s his musical forces to 24 voices, or even to a 12- to be my easiest task during the reconstruction, es—one lost carmina (“song”) by him, a wed- reputation in this area had been established at part choir, a “lighter” texture that is neverthe- since there is almost never any doubt how the ap- ding piece in 24 voices written for a Habsburg St. Mark’s Basilica under Adrian Willaert, al- less two or three times thicker and more solid propriate words of the liturgical text fit the mu- wedding in 1573, was composed for four six-part though he usually wrote for eight voices (two than a standard Renaissance choir; the music sical phrases, confirming that text was intended choirs. In Consolamini, the basic 48-part texture SATB choirs). Giovanni Gabrieli and his uncle of the intermediate passages also tends to be on all these voices. The melodic lines are de- is achieved by the four 12-part choirs. To this Andrea Gabrieli also worked at St. Mark’s, and in the minor, for contrast. What is lost in in- signed precisely and accurately for the syllables. Rossetto added an extra bass voice to the fourth they were both fond of writing in up to 12, 16 or, timate polyphonic intrigue and linear complex- Much less easy was the fact that, unfor- choir (voice 49), as well as a slow harmonic bas- even on occasion, 24 parts. (Giovanni Gabrieli’s ity is gained in harmonic clarity. The main aim tunately, three of the eight partbooks are lost, sus ad organum (the proto continuo line) for the most extravagant work of this sort is a Gloria for is to create a sense of overwhelming grandeur; meaning that a total of 18 voices are now com- accompaniment. These additions to the texture 33 separate voices. It survives incomplete—an- there is no room for individual melodic focus, pletely missing. I spent much of the summer of seem to have been made simply to bring the total other challenge in waiting....) and little space for subtlety. (The one exception 2010 recomposing these missing voices in a style number of parts to the satisfying round figure Gabrieli has traditionally been so deeply is a nice gesture, a humble texture used with tell- that is as close as I could manage to Rossetto’s of 50 without unduly upsetting the basic sym- associated with the idea of the polychoral style ing simplicity for the single word suscepit.) To style, as seen in the surviving portion. The task metry of the four 12-part choirs. that most histories of music, accepting the tra- use modern jargon, the music is very “in your of recomposition was daunting, but mainly be- Was the number 50 a response to a chal- ditional Venetian propaganda, view the grand face.” By comparison with the clear fountain cause of the size of the project rather than the ac- lenge? Since Striggio had written works in 40 use of multiple choirs as a specifically Venetian springs of many Renaissance works, this is the tual nature of the work that needed to be done. parts and his Mass ends in 60 parts, the inter- feature, even when they acknowledge works by Niagara Falls. Careful analysis of the surviving voices mediate number 50 must have beckoned like certain lesser composers (written for double cho- showed that the 18 missing parts in the lost a beacon. Curiously, these massive Florentine rus, in eight parts) as modest harbingers of the books were six second sopranos, six altos and works were referred to in the second edition style. The myth even has it that in Venice the six tenors; in other words, they were all middle of the book Fronimo Dialogo (1584) by the multiple choirs sang from the different galleries parts in the texture of each subchoir, whereas Florentine musician Vincenzo Galilei, the father in St. Mark’s, but scholars have now shown this the top and bottom lines (the high sopranos and of Galileo Galilei. At one point the character idea to be unfounded, or at best greatly exagger- the basses in each choir) all survive. Although Fronimo refers to “the author of this Dialogue” ated. The rediscovery of the works by Striggio the challenge of composing the 18 missing “filler [Galilei] and states: “I have also seen him many and Rossetto confirms that a massive polychoral parts” was real, it was comforting to be able to times intabulate [that is, arrange for lute] and style flourished in Florence on a vastly grander rely on the presence of 32 surviving parts. They play several times music for 40, 50 and 60 parts.” scale than anything by Willaert, and a genera- constitute a huge torso of a piece. Once I had Consolamini, consolamini popule meus is the only tion before Gabrieli was writing his works. perceived how the incomplete jigsaw puzzle known work in 50 parts and is presumably the Nevertheless, it remains incontrovertible should fit together, there was no room for doubt work referred to. We do not know for sure when that Giovanni Gabrieli’s mastery of polychoral- about the pitch or range of each missing voice, it was composed but we can conclude that it was ity and his easy handling of it in either vocal or no doubt about where each missing voice was probably during Rossetto’s Florentine years in instrumental terms have an appealing elegance supposed to be singing or be silent, no doubt the mid- to late 1560s, and at any rate certainly as well as an apparent simplicity in which great about the harmonic structure or the length of before 1583 (the date on the Munich manu- artistry is hidden. He also had a knack for in- Stefano Rossetto, Consolamini, consolamini popule meus, showing each musical phrase, no doubt about the har- script) and before Galilei’s 1584 reference. venting charming melodies that are highly six of the soprano parts. Munich Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Mus. Ms. 1536, no. 104. mony on any given beat, and no doubt about the memorable in a way that seems not to have inter- words. That was an immense help and meant ested the Florentine composers of Striggio’s and Giovanni Gabrieli Only one source for Rossetto’s piece is that the intellectual underpinning of the recon- Rossetto’s generation. From these melodic tags, known, a manuscript now in Munich (dated struction was essentially in place. The remain- The eight-part canzona by the Venetian compos- Gabrieli builds refined musical structures that 1583, although much of the music may have ing effort was just a stimulating counterpoint er Giovanni Gabrieli is played by His Majestys are entirely typical of the early baroque. been copied before that). It was conceived as a exercise, albeit one of an unusually elaborate

16 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 17 PROGRAM NOTES

Unum cole deum: The Ten Commandments of something was wrong with this uncritical view the Law, in 40-part canon of the work, as printed by Henestrosa. Unum cole deum is printed in the middle of The anonymous setting of the Ten the third section of Henestrosa’s book, among Commandments, Unum cole deum is a bril- a group of other pieces each of which is called liantly composed but introspective and hypnotic canzon. These surrounding works are all now canon in 40 parts. This is the oldest surviving known to be intabulations (arrangements) of vo- such gigantic piece. It was published in Spain by cal works. The presence on the page in the origi- Luys Venegas de Henestrosa, near the end of his nal edition, in small italic print, of the Latin Libro de cifra nueva para tecla, harpa y vihuela words unum colle [sic] deum ne iures vana per eum (Alcalá de Henares: Juan Brocar, 1557). This vol- suggested to me that these words were probably ume is a collection of instrumental music to be a Latin incipit, identifying the opening words played, as the title says, on the keyboard, harp of the text of the vocal piece from which the and vihuela (an instrument related to the early arrangement was made. The original does not guitar). Henestrosa explains in his preface that seem to have survived, but the syllables of these all the music was ready ten years before publica- eight words can be fitted easily and convincingly tion, meaning that Unum cole deum was com- under the opening phrases, in all parts. posed no later than about 1545 and possibly even Once I realized that these Latin words made in the 1530s. Certainly, its style confirms that it up a Latin hexameter verse—a versification of was written at least a generation before Striggio’s the first two of the Ten Commandments—it ventures into musical gigantismo. became clear that the next words ought to be Unum cole deum is notated in one of the Sabbata sanctifices (“Keep the Sabbath holy”), as more bizarre forms of music notation ever used in almost all version of the Commandments in in Western music, now known as “Spanish Latin; and, sure enough, the seven syllables of number tablature.” It is a rare system of notation these two Latin words again fit the music per- that was used only for three published volumes fectly in all voices and correspond exactly to the of 16th-century keyboard music and then aban- musical rhythms. Encouraged by this, I started doned for lack of more general interest. This no- a hunt for a Latin hexameter version of all ten tation now seems especially cryptic and is all but Commandments. Over the next three years, to impossible to read for modern musicians. The my delight and dismay, I found many slightly fact that the piece appeared in such rare nota- different versions, all dating from the 16th cen- tion has meant that it has been almost entirely tury, but most of them would not fit the music ignored by scholars (although it was published convincingly or even comfortably. in Spain in 1944). Moreover, the few people who It was the 36th such version that I found, have been aware of it have unthinkingly taken from an early Benedictine prayer book printed Henestrosa’s version at face value, assuming the in Barcelona, that finally fitted like a glove. It piece to be just a rather odd instrumental work turned out to be in what are known as Leonine for keyboard, harp, or vihuela—or rather for ten hexameters (apart from the last line), where there keyboards, harps, or vihuelas, since each instru- is also an internal rhyme in the middle of the ment plays the four-part texture notated in the line. This version had three points strongly in its source, but it is a ten-fold canon, requiring nine favor: (a) it came from a book printed in Spain other instruments to play the same four-part some years before Unum cole deum must have music, starting at regular intervals after the first been composed; (b) all the syllables fit the musi- one. So from the four parts that are notated, the cal notes perfectly in all the voices; and (c) the result is 40 parts when all ten players are play- rests (the silences in the music) fell perfectly ing. But the idea of a 16th-century piece for between the Commandments, either at the line ten players is highly unusual. That very curious ends or precisely at the classical caesura (the fact should have alerted people to the fact that break in the middle of each of the five hexameter The only surviving source of the 40-part canon, in Spanish number tablature: Luis Venegas de Henestrosa, Libro de cifra nueva (Henares de Alcalá, 1557), 59v–60.

18 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 19 PROGRAM NOTES PROGRAM NOTES lines). This left little room for doubt, and finally the Lutheran chorale Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Guglielmo Gonzaga of Mantua and his bride, (1541–1587). Like everyone, Striggio’s principal allowed me to reconstruct the lost vocal original Gebot’ (“These are the Ten Commandments”): the Habsburg Archduchess Eleonora of Austria. allegiance would have been to the ruling duke, of the work published by Henestrosa in an in- the first bwv( 678) is a strict canon and the This was presumably the same work as the can- Cosimo; but he is also referred to as “musician strumental arrangement. second (bwv 679) is a fugue with ten entries of zona, from which Striggio was getting double of Prince Francesco,” and his letters show that he The fact that the Latin versification of the the theme. mileage. We do not know what the text was in had a close relationship with the young prince, Commandments occurs in so many slightly dif- The canonic treatment inUnum cole deum either case, but it is generally assumed that both who was about three years younger than he was. ferent versions in the 16th century is a testimony means that the words are entirely inaudible in these references concern the same piece, and to the way such easily memorized verses were a jumbled confusion that is absolute, except at that it was an early version of the work we now used to teach children the tenets of the Christian the very opening (the First Commandment) know as Ecce beatam lucem, heard at the start of faith. Even after the Reformation, Latin versions and the very end (the Tenth Commandment). the second half of this program. continued to be used pedagogically in Protestant This aural confusion would not have bothered Striggio noted in his accompanying letter to communities, but vernacular versifications were many Renaissance thinkers in the same way that Duke Guglielmo that it was “cosa non mai sen- also developed in German by the Lutherans, in it bothers some modern minds, for the simple tita in si gran numero” (something “never heard English by the Anglicans and in French by the reason that behind such apparent verbal confu- before for so great a number”). In this, he was Calvinists and Huguenots. Their purpose was sion (which would have been anathema to 16th- mistaken since Unum cole deum, for the same identical, to help children memorize these im- century religious reformers) there is no intel- number of voices, had been published in Spain portant ideas. The research of my colleague Kate lectual confusion. Rather, a symbolic and intel- in 1557 and must have been composed by about van Orden (who is playing the dulcian in these lectual point of a different kind is being made. 1545. That a Florentine composer might not concerts) has shown how musical canons were At the center of the work, when the tenth choir have known this obscure Madrilenian publica- specifically used in the 16th century to teach starts and all 40 voices are singing, the words of tion (with its even more obscure notation) is children, and her work suggests that the original all of the Ten Commandments are being sung understandable, but his statement also means he vocal version of Unum cole deum may have had simultaneously. In several of the hexameter ver- had not heard the vocal original of Unum cole some such pedagogical purpose. sions I came across in my search for the one that deum. This also confirms that his canzona (and Unfortunately, I have not (so far) been able fits the music correctly, there is an additional wedding gift) was his own first venture into the to identify the composer. He was no doubt as- instruction at the end: hoc fac et vives (“Do this 40-voiced medium. (Striggio’s 40-part Mass was sociated with the Spanish royal chapel, but and live”). The composer’s choice of the canonic therefore composed after 1561.) this does not necessarily mean he was Spanish. form implies that the Ten Commandments are a In any case, even if Striggio was guilty of Portrait of Cosimo de’ Medici by Bronzino (1503–1572). Many musicians from different countries were unity and are all to be taken together, as a single lacking what one of my own teachers used to employed by Philip of Spain and by his father Rule for Life. call “CBC” (Complete Bibliographic Control), At some point after 1561 Striggio seems Charles V. Henestrosa’s volume includes ar- we can be sure he was not in any way influenced to have revised the canzona. As it survives in rangements of vocal music be several of them, by Unum cole deum. Assuming Ecce beatam lu- a German manuscript dated 1587 (now in including Spaniards and Flemings, as well as Alessandro Striggio’s Ecce beatam lucem, in cem is essentially the same music as the 1561 Zwickau) and with a Latin text, Ecce beatam Italians and Frenchmen. This leaves the field 40 parts canzona, it is certainly a new kind of piece for lucem is clearly a revision. The German prov- frustratingly wide open. that date. The originality of its musical language enance of this source shows that it is several The canonic setting is symbolic. Each of Striggio was in his early twenties when he would stand even if he had written it for 20 or stages removed from Striggio himself. the four notated vocal parts (soprano, alto tenor was appointed to his important post at the 30 voices. It is not simply the si gran numero that The copy (if not the musical revision) is and bass) is sung as a tenfold canon: the other Florentine court. On the evening of July 13, is original, but also the method of composition. usually assumed to have been derived from nine sopranos, nine altos, nine tenors and nine 1561, a couple of years after moving there from This work was in a sense his “masterpiece” in the the royal wedding in Munich in 1568 of Renée basses follow systematically, coming in one by his home city-state of Mantua, “a canzona in 40 traditional meaning of the word, the product of of Lorraine and Prince Wilhelm of Bavaria. one, each one after an interval of four breves. parts was sung, composed by messer Alexandro a young composer anxious to assert not only his Wilhelm was a Habsburg prince since his The duration of the notated music is therefore Strigio” was performed in Florence in honor of skill but his originality. mother was Archduchess Anna of Austria. She 40 breves, the same number as the number of the visit of Cardinal Ippolito d’Este, who was Striggio’s unusual 40-part composition had had married Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria and voices that result from the canon. Since the word on his way to France as papal legate, to defend also underlined his naked ambition. It was to was the sister of Archduchess Eleonora (now “canon” means a rule or law, the use of a tenfold Catholic orthodoxy against the Huguenots. It bring him considerable notoriety at an interna- Duchess of Mantua). At a banquet following the canon to represent the Ten Commandments was judged to be a “most beautiful thing” (“cosa tional level, including job offers at several other 1568 Munich wedding, an unidentified 40-part from the Law of Moses is a musical in-joke, but bellissima”). Just a month later, on August 21, courts. It caught the eye and ear of his Florentine work by Striggio was performed three times in a serious one. Bach would have appreciated the 1561, Striggio sent a ceremonial piece in 40 parts patrons, Duke Cosimo de’ Medici (1519–1574) the composer’s presence. The Habsburg link is gesture. In 1739, he published two versions of back to Mantua as a wedding present for Duke and his son and heir, Francesco de’ Medici important, suggesting that the Habsburg sisters

20 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 21 PROGRAM NOTES PROGRAM NOTES may have had a role in Striggio’s involvement in personal control on all foreign policy. He im- their own links with Europe’s leading families. both weddings. mediately stepped up his complex international All these families knew that a good aristocratic This Munich negotiations for Francesco to make a useful dy- marriage was a lot less expensive than a war and, work is usually nastic marriage that would help expand the sta- through the bicultural children issued from such taken to have tus and power of the Florentine state. marriages, much more effective at preserving in- been Ecce beatam A month later, on July 25, 1564, the Holy ternational peace and maintaining alliances. lucem. However, Roman Emperor Ferdinand II died and his son The Florentine marriage was an impor- a detailed descrip- became emperor, as Maximilian II. Politically, tant step in Cosimo’s geopolitical plans. When tion of the event this was excellent news for many of the rul- Johanna of Austria became Francesco’s wife, was published in ing families of Europe, the result of long-term in 1565, she in effect became the new princess 1569 by the pro- strategic planning through their own dynas- of Florence. Cosimo’s own wife (Eleonora of fessional musician tic marriages into the Habsburg family. The Toledo) had died in 1562, so as an archduch- Massimo Troiano. Wittelsbachs in Munich (the ruling fam- ess in her own right Johanna (known in Italy The lack of agree- ily of Bavaria) had forged their link nearly 20 as Giovanna) was the new ranking royalty at ment between his years earlier, in 1546 with Duke Albrecht’s the Florentine court. Her brother was the em- description and marriage to Maximilian’s sister, Anna. The peror, in Vienna; her older sisters were duch- Ecce beatam lucem Gonzagas in Mantua had first done so in 1549 esses of Bavaria, of Mantua and of Ferrara. The is problematic. with a marriage between the previous duke, Habsburgs were rather disdainful of the up- Troiano specifi- Francesco Gonazaga, and Maximilian’s older start Medici family, and the fact that Johanna/ cally describes the sister, Katharina Archduchess of Austria. When Giovanna was the very youngest of the family 40-part Munich Francesco died the next duke, Guglielmo was a clear message. Johanna herself seems to work as being Gonzaga, renewed the dynastic link by his have felt she had been forced to “marry down” grouped into four marriage in 1561 to one of the still available and was not happy in Florence. (She rapidly choirs, containing sisters, Eleonora. found consolation in conservative religion, 8, 10, 16 and 6 As soon as Maximilian became emperor, while Francesco soon found it with his mistress, Anonymous Italian portrait of Francesco I de’ Medici. voices, respective- the two leading Italian families rushed in to Bianca Capello.) Court portrait of Johanna, Archduchess of Austria. ly, whereas Ecce secure two of the last remaining sisters. On Within all this dynastic coupling, Striggio’s beatam lucem (like the Mass) has five choirs of December 9, 1565, the ancient and powerful Ecce beatam lucem appears to have played a sig- Here I part company with other leading 8 voices. It seems a disturbing mistake for a pro- Este family in Ferrara (Cosimo’s great rivals for nificant diplomatic role. In 1561, it was sent as Striggio scholars such as Iain Fenlon and Hugh fessional musician who actually participated in a power within the Italian peninsula) managed to a wedding present to the Gonzagas in Mantua; Keyte, who have written that the text of Ecce work performed three times. It is therefore pos- secure the imperial sister Barbara Archduchess it was written by a leading musician at the beatam lucem “is unsuitable as a wedding com- sible that the 1568 piece was an entirely differ- of Austria. And the Medici family was the last Medici court in Florence; and in 1568, it (or position,” further mentioning its “doubtful suit- ent 40-part work, now lost, and that the revision to join the select interrelated group, when, another comparable piece) was performed at the ability” for a wedding. They see it as the origi- of Ecce beatam lucem that survives in the later just two weeks after the Ferrara wedding, on Wittelsbach court in Munich, Bavaria. The link, nal laudatory Latin text in honor of Cardinal Zwickau source was made for another occasion. December 18, 1565, Cosimo’s dynastic plans the glue that holds these circumstances together Ippolito d’Este’s 1561 visit to Florence, as if the I believe that there are good candidates for this came to fruition and Francesco de’ Medici is not the men, the dukes, but the women since mere fact of a Latin text made the work some- “other occasion,” and one in particular that has married Maximilian’s last and youngest sister, the wives were all members of the ruling family how sacred, or “churchy,” and therefore more the strongest of Florentine and Habsburg links. Johanna Archduchess of Austria. (Barbara and of the Holy Roman Empire. appropriate for a Catholic cardinal. They assert The year 1564–1565 had seen important Johanna traveled together from Vienna, chaper- Ecce beatam lucem is an appropriately mag- that “certainly the words are appropriate to the changes in both the Medici and Habsburg oned by the Cardinal of Trent, the great music- nificent wedding piece for imperial Habsburg reception of a luminary of the church entrusted families. At a great celebratory Mass sung in the loving patron Christoph Madruzzo.) weddings. Through the interconnection of all with the task of defending Catholic orthodoxy,” Florentine cathedral on Sunday, June 11, 1564 The international politics of this period these families (that is, through the women), it referring to Ippolito d’Este’s imminent mission (his 45th birthday), Cosimo de’ Medici formally owes a lot to the fact that Maximilian and his helped Striggio’s career immensely. At all these in France as papal legate, to defend Catholicism handed over domestic power to the 25-year-old sisters were among the 15 children of their par- weddings the presence of so many members of against the Huguenots. Francesco, who became Regent, and thus in ef- ents. There were plenty of potential brides to go the leading international royal families would I cannot agree. The words ofEcce beatam lu- fect had equal power to Cosimo in Florence. round. The boys were also married off in just have made a Latin text more appropriate than an cem are highly appropriate for a wedding. Recent Cosimo held on to the title “Duke of Florence” the same way to powerfully connected women. Italian one since many guests—not to mention research has, moreover, shown that the Latin for himself and continued to maintain tight The Habsburgs, on their side, were also making the brides—were not fluent in Italian or German. text itself has a strong Habsburg connection and

22 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 23 PROGRAM NOTES PROGRAM NOTES no connection with the papacy or the Este fam- nuncio, was present at the Florentine wedding. honored by the pope a few years later, when he most impressive choral creations in Western ily. The text has been identified by Hugh Keyte The cardinal archbishop of Venice is officially sent her a special golden rose as a rare mark of es- music, a musical tour de force of extraordinary as being from an Ode by a humanist poet who the “Patriarch of Venice.”) The words “David, teem for her piety. Francesco, on the other hand, proportions. Striggio adapted and expanded was a specialist of New Latin secular poetry: King David himself” could allude to any su- was not known to be particularly pious. Finally, the music of his earlier 40-part piece, making a Paul Melissus (1539–1602), who was Striggio’s preme ruler who combined power and a taste for the phrases “Grace and love are outstanding much larger work lasting nearly 30 minutes. It is almost exact contemporary. Moreover, Melissus music; this would apply to either Maximilian II here…the fountain of perpetual love is pres- a full setting of the Ordinary of the Mass in sev- was a Protestant, hardly an appropriate choice or Cosimo de’ Medici. A phrase near the begin- ent” are self explanatory in a wedding context en movements: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, for a text celebrating a Catholic cardinal on his ning may even refer metaphorically to a deified but odd if supposed to relate to the 60-year-old Benedictus and (as was not unusual at the time) way to defeat Protestantism. Melissus was edu- Cosimo and Francesco: “Jehovah as well as his Cardinal Ippolito d’Este in 1561. two Agnus Dei settings. cated in Zwickau (the place the manuscript of Son, equal to the Father in splendor of deity.” It remains a possibility that Melissus’s Some sections of the music of the Mass con- Ecce beatam lucem is now preserved). He was liv- This looks suspiciously like a piece of courtly Latin text was written for the 1568 Munich tain direct citations from Ecce beatam lucem. ing in Vienna from 1560 to 1564 and was from flattery verging on blasphemy, yet in Florence, wedding of Wilhelm of Bavaria and Renée Although the Italian title refers to the original 1561 the Poet Laureate of the court. He later Duke Cosimo was certainly the local “Jehovah” of Lorraine. But given the poet’s professional work in a way that suggests its text might have worked as an ambassador for Maximilian II and and Prince Francesco had indeed been recently links with Maximilian II’s court, a bias now ex- been in Italian (Ecco sì beato giorno), the two titles certainly knew his sisters, especially the younger elevated to “equal” power and splendor with his ists in favor of the text being for the wedding really mean the same thing. The Italian can be Austrian Archduchesses. father by being made Regent. of Maximilian’s sister Johanna (who lived at translated as “Behold such a blessed daybreak,” Some scholars believe that the Latin text fits If my reading is correct, it follows that the the Viennese court until her marriage), rather and the Latin, “Behold the blessed light,” is just the music so well that it must be the original reference to the brilliance of the sun indicates than that of the Bavarian prince (who was only a metaphorical way of saying the same thing. one for which the music was composed. But the bridegroom, Francesco himself, and that Maximilian’s nephew and lived in Munich, Apart from the opening four words, the rest of Melissus could easily have made the Latin ver- the apostrophizing of the moon (“how beauti- not at the Viennese court). Incidentally, Prince the Italian text is not known to survive. sion to fit exactly the same rhythms of an ear- ful are you, the moon!”) is a direct compliment Wilhelm was present at the Florentine wedding Since the Mass borrows music from the ear- lier Italian text; in that way there would have to the bride, Johanna/Giovanna. The anti- in 1565; he could have heard the work and asked lier work, it is clearly the later of the two compo- been absolutely no difficulty in fitting it to exist- thesis between sun and moon implies the poem to have it performed again for his own wedding sitions. Here Striggio was following a standard ing music. This would explain why something is in honor of a couple (not a single cardinal). three years later. This is speculation, of course, practice of the period, and the result is what is published as a Latin “ode” should have such ir- These were standard tropes for royal couples at but circumstantial speculation. sometimes referred to today as a “parody mass.” regular—and sometimes indefinable—metric the time: the light of the moon/queen, whose I am therefore convinced that the surviv- Almost all his main continental contemporaries qualities. The practice of substituting another realm was the night, was seen as a reflection of ing Latin text of Ecce beatam lucem text was did the same thing, notably Morales, Guerrero, text was common in music in the 16th century, the brilliance of the sun/king, whose realm was written by the Protestant Poet Laureate of the Palestrina, Lassus, Monte and Victoria. In the the second set of words being known as a contra- the day. (Louis XIV was by no means the first Habsburg Court as a celebratory wedding piece shared passages, there are occasionally slight factum. Contrafacta normally worked the other monarch to present himself as a Sun King; and for the dynastic wedding one of the young musical differences between Ecce beatam lucem way round, with a Latin text being replaced by many queens were willing to refer to themselves Archduchesses, and not to honor the Florentine and the Mass. We do not yet know whether a vernacular one; but there are plenty of cases as the moon, reflecting the glorious light of their visit of Cardinal Ippolito d’Este to Florence in these are the result of Striggio basing the Mass of it going from the vernacular to Latin. Several husbands....) In the case of a royal bride, such 1561. The fact that the music is by Alessandro on the earlier, unrevised version of Ecce beatam of Striggio secular madrigals dealing with a reference to the moon also powerfully evoked Striggio points strongly to the Florentine Court, lucem (when it still had the Italian words Ecco sì love survive with Latin words, adapted for the the Roman goddess Diana, virgin goddess of the and as a consequence to the wedding of Johanna beato giorno) or whether he revised the music as Catholic liturgy. moon, twin sister to Apollo (god of the sun), and and Francesco in December 1565. he adapted it for the Mass. The latter procedure Reading the text of Ecce beatam lucem spe- protectress of childbirth. is more probable, supported by the way other cifically as a wedding piece clarifies many other- As for the “everlasting food” mentioned in composers often adjusted and adapted their wise obscure phrases. The reference to the “select the text, the phrase would refer to the fact that Alessandro Striggio’s Missa sopra “Ecco sì motets as they transformed and expanded them assembly” is self-explanatory as a compliment to a couple received Communion at their wedding beato giorno,” in 40 & 60 parts into Masses. the guests at a royal and imperial wedding, as (a rare occasion in those days when it was nor- It is possible, I suppose, that the Mass is the statement that “benign strength and maj- mal to take Communion only once a year). The The Missa sopra “Ecco sì beato giorno” is an ex- could have been associated with the events on esty may be seen all around.” The reference to plural used for the phrase “such pious minds” ample of the most magnificent Renaissance art Cosimo’s 45th birthday, Sunday, June 24, 1564, the presence of “Patriarchs with prophets” is a again confirms that the poem relates to a couple of the 16th century. It should come as no sur- when Francesco was granted the Regency; we plausible trope for the cardinals and bishops (not a single cardinal); it would be a standard prise to anyone that Florentine music at that know that for that ceremony a mass was sung who were not only present at the wedding, but enough compliment to two leading aristocrats time was as spectacular as Florentine painting, with great pomp and ceremony in Florence officiated. (The pope has always been Patriarch receiving Communion. Johanna was specifically sculpture, literature, and architecture. ��������In con- Cathedral, but know nothing more about the of Rome and his official representative, the papal known for her rigorous, stiff piety. She was even trapuntal complexity, the Mass is one of the music or the composer. Yet if Ecce beatam lucem

24 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 25 PROGRAM NOTES PROGRAM NOTES now looks like a wedding piece, its adaptation five eight-part choirs expand into five 12-part and paintings. His surviving letters show that by in 1569, with a unilateral papal bull (that is, a as a Mass draws the resulting work into a “wed- choirs, resulting in 60 separate voice parts. For 1564 he had gone out of his way to acquire cop- document issuing a formal papal edict) that dis- ding orbit” as well. I therefore believe, for the his part, Striggio’s ambitions probably matched, ies of two such 40-part works. pensed with the emperor’s authority, granting moment, that a link is more likely with the 1565 on his own level, those of his patrons, and the Striggio was therefore dispatched to Vienna Cosimo and his heirs the newly minted royal wedding of Francesco and Johanna. Their nup- idea may well have been his own. He may have to present the emperor personally with a pres- title of Grand Duke of Tuscany. This move was tial mass was also celebrated with great pomp wanted once again to out-do his musical con- entation copy of the Mass. (Coincidentally, the in itself part of a power-play between pope and in the Duomo (where Stefano Rossetto was or- temporaries, despite the stakes now being so gift was made in the year of the emperor’s 40th emperor. The wording of the bull is withering ganist). It was at any rate certainly composed contrapuntally high. Just as he had written to birthday.) It was a clever move, full of typically in its thunderous declaration that popes derive before November 1566 when we know Striggio Guglielmo Gonzaga in 1561, a few years later Florentine subtlety. The pointed gift of a grandi- their power from heaven, not from earthly kings left Florence with three copies of the Mass in his the Mass would have provided him with the ose setting of the Mass implicitly made two points or emperors, and that popes make—and can baggage, setting off for Vienna with instructions opportunity to say once again, but this time that were important for Cosimo’s advancement unmake—princes, kings and even emperors. from Cosimo and Francesco to present a copy to to his employers Francesco and Cosimo, that to a higher title. The setting of the Catholic Mass The pope therefore granted Cosimo his royal the emperor. this was “cosa non mai sentita in si gran numero” confirmed not only that the Medici family was crown, putting the emperor in his place. The When composing the Mass, Striggio may (something “never heard before for so great staunchly Catholic, at that time of Reformation document depicts the exact design; and the gold already have known that other composers a number”). and Counter-Reformation, but also demonstrat- crown itself, encrusted with diamonds and other were following his lead in writing pieces in 40 Cosimo seems to have understood that ed that Cosimo was wealthy enough as a patron precious stones, was promptly dispatched from parts. We know that by 1564 Lassus in Munich Striggio’s music provided him with an opportu- of the arts to play the public royal game on the Rome to Florence. had written a 40-part gesang (song) for Duke nity to play some powerful moves on the geopo- world’s stage. In other words, the gift said “You Maximilian refused to acknowledge the ti- Albrecht and his wife Anna, and also that litical chessboard, to shore up his political ambi- see, I already have music fit only for kings and tle, for various personal and political reasons. Cardinal Christoph Madruzzo in Rome had an- tions. Being Duke of Florence was not enough emperors.” And this implicit allusion to wealth Cosimo’s personal behavior did not help mat- other such piece. (Could this perhaps have been for him since that title was not a royal one; he served as a reminder that if the Habsburgs ever ters. Johanna/Giovanna perhaps told her brother the original version of Unum cole deum?) wanted a royal title and a crown over his coat needed money, they should know where to turn. that Cosimo had taken as a mistress a common- Cosimo spared no expense for the wedding of arms. What he really wanted more than any- (At the time, many members of the ruling fami- er who had been given higher rank at court that and everything associated with it. Florence thing was to be granted the title of Archduke of lies in Spain, Austria, Germany and France had she, a Habsburg Archduchess! But once Cosimo would be playing host for several weeks to many Tuscany or, even better, King of Tuscany. That borrowed large sums from Cosimo, who seemed was dead, Francesco, shortly after succeeding members of the leading families, and it was way, he would have precedence over all other to have bottomless reserves of cash. He was be- to the title, used the traditional Medici method important that they should be impressed. The Italian princes (especially his rivals, the Este coming the private banker to kings and queens. of diplomacy. Since he knew Maximilian was interior of Florence cathedral was entirely re- family of Ferrara). They needed him, even if they found it slightly at that point very short of cash, he made a very painted pure white for the occasion. Elaborate For such a titular upgrade he needed the distasteful to refer to the fact directly.) generous donation to the imperial coffers. The banquets were organized, as were theatrical en- support of the pope and the emperor. Pope So Striggio left Florence in November 1566 title was rapidly acknowledged and made official tertainments (for which we know Striggio wrote Pius IV (a Medici, from a different branch of the and crossed the Alps in the middle of winter on throughout the Holy Roman Empire. music). Cosimo may have reasoned that if the family) was favorable to Cosimo’s political am- horseback, with a servant and a baggage mule. After Striggio gave his presentation copy Habsburg emperors, archdukes, and archduch- bitions but the Habsburg Emperor was less so, (The mule died on the way.) However, things to the emperor in January 1567, he went on to esses could have 40-part music, then he could for political reasons. However on December 9, did not work out as hoped. The emperor was Munich. In early February 1567, the Mass was have some as well, especially since it was his 1565, just nine days before the Florentine wed- out of town. Striggio eventually caught up with performed liturgically in front of the Duke of own composer who had started the trend. He ding that joined the Habsburg and Medici him in Brno in mid January 1567, but the court Bavaria, Albrecht V, and his Habsburg wife, therefore used music as one of the ways he could families, the pope most inconsiderately died musicians were not present and the Mass, being Anna. The duke’s musicians were directed by the demonstrate that he could play in the same royal suddenly. The new pope, Pius V, was something so gigantic, could not be performed. (The copy, composer Lassus. Striggio wrote enthusiastically league, with gigantismo and terribilità. of an unknown quantity, so Cosimo turned the presumably a rather special presentation copy, is back to Francesco de’ Medici that the perfor- In this not very subtle game of musical one- full force of his diplomatic efforts of charm on now lost.) Not only did Striggio’s music, victim of mance was very good. Striggio also wrote rather upmanship, Cosimo seems to have wanted his Maximilian II. its own size, fail to produce the desired magic, but grumpily that he had been obliged by the duke, 40-part music to be even grander and more Maximilian had a genuine taste for mu- the emperor also declined to listen to Cosimo’s whom he could not refuse, to leave behind one extensive than that of the Wittelsbachs and sic and a particular fascination for music in siren song, refusing to grant the royal title. of his own personal copies of the Mass. (He was Habsburgs. Striggio obliged in two ways with 40 parts. His private chapel employed about Cosimo was infuriated. He wrote angrily later paid handsomely the equivalent of about the Mass. It is both much longer than any other 40 singers and 40 instrumentalists. ����������He was ac- to the emperor after a short delay, saying that one year’s salary.) In Munich, as in Vienna, there such work and also more complex musically, tively looking for more such musical rarities to he had run out of patience and would “seek jus- seem to have been nearly 80 musicians working with an even greater number of voices in the make them part of his collection in the same tice from the Holy See” by appealing directly at court (about 40 singers and about 40 instru- last movement. In the second Agnus Dei, the way he collected rare fossils, jewels, sculptures to the new pope. Pius V finally rewarded him mentalists). They would have performed the

26 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 27 PROGRAM NOTES PROGRAM NOTES

Mass from Striggio’s own performing parts, and met in London in 1567, as surely they must have as being for “4 voices” instead of 40; and it is errone- he probably had a double set: one for the singers done, Striggio was about 30, whereas Tallis was ously ascribed (with the name morphing yet again) and one for the instrumentalists. The “personal over 60. Tallis’s masterpiece shows the strengths to yet another nonexistent composer, “Strusco.” copy” he left behind would have been one of of his great maturity and is rightly considered With these three strikes against it, Striggio’s mag- these two sets of performing parts. (This copy one of the highest points of English music of the num opus became completely invisible. is also now lost.) late Renaissance. Unum cole deum, no doubt the I first found a trace of it in 1987, without Exactly one year later Lassus would conduct product of a composer of Tallis’s generation, is understanding that it was by Striggio. I became three performances of the unnamed 40-part mo- not in the same creative category, despite its con- convinced by something I found when doing tet by Striggio that may have been Ecce beatam trapuntal mastery; the canon, though hypnotic, other research that a 40-part Mass by the un- lucem. Lassus was a few years older than Striggio makes the result repetitive. Striggio’s quite dif- known “Struseo” must be lurking incognito but the two composers had probably known ferent works, on the other hand, show forcefully somewhere in the Bibliothèque nationale de each other since they were young. At the age of the strengths of his ambitious and energetic France. Over the years I regularly tried to find 12, Lassus had been in the service of Ferrante youth, and should be see as one of the first mani- it, but to no avail. It was only in 2005, while I Gonzaga of Mantua and had visited the city in festations of the Italian baroque era. Striggio has was in Paris undertaking research on a sabbati- the summer of 1545. Since Striggio came from a usually been dismissed by music historians as a cal leave (supported by a Humanities Research noble family, raised at court, the two boys may rather unexceptional musical conservative, but Fellowship from UC Berkeley), that I was at last have met then. musicologists don’t always get things right. able for the first time to hold the manuscript of After Munich, Striggio traveled on to To close the Mass, I have added the short what turned out to be Alessandro Striggio’s lost Paris, where on May 11, 1567, the Mass was plainsong Ite Missa est/Deo gratias (taken from masterpiece. It had indeed been hiding in the performed nonliturgically (in a concert per- a Roman Missal printed in 1563). It is not, of Bibliothèque nationale, in a small red box con- formance) in front of King Charles IX and his course, by Striggio. It provides the closing words taining 42 separate little partbooks: one for each mother, Catherine de’ Medici (a distant cousin of the Roman Mass, signifying that the Mass voice, and two for the organ accompaniment. of Cosimo’s). The Medici family connections is ended. This text was traditionally considered During spring of 2007, a generous President’s Elizabeth I: The Rainbow Portrait, c.1600, by Isaac Oliver were again in play. A private sponsor paid for the [Hatfield House]. part of the Ordinary of the Mass, but was al- Research Fellowship in the Humanities from concert, the Duc de Nevers Louis de Gonzague. most never set to polyphony in Striggio’s time. the Office of the President of the University of He turns out to be Ludovico Gonzaga, the had been sung and had made “heavenly har- California made it possible for me to return to younger brother of Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga monie,” leading a Duke who was present (almost Paris for a further research leave. This allowed of Mantua. He also paid for dinner for all the certainly the Duke of Norfolk) to ask whether Striggio/Struseo/Strusco me to continue the necessary work on several musicians, a nice gesture, given the number in- no Englishman could do as well. Happily, Tallis fronts: a full-dress scholarly article (“Alessandro volved. It must have been quite a party. Once took up the challenge. This implies that Striggio If at least four known copies of Striggio’s Mass Striggio’s Mass in 40 and 60 Parts,” Journal of again Striggio seems to have left behind a copy still had a personal set of parts with him of ei- have been lost, it follows that the surviving source the American Musicological Society, vol. 60/1, of the Mass, no doubt a different set of parts ther the Mass or Ecce beatam lucem—or both is at least the fifth. The unique source known to- 2007, 1–70), as well as an edition of the highly made in Paris to replace the set he had had to works—when he reached London. (This per- day is a set of manuscript parts now in Paris. It complex music, assembled from the 42 separate leave in Munich. (Again, it is now lost). sonal copy is also now lost.) was written by French copyists on French paper partbooks of the source into an enormous mod- While in Paris Striggio wrote to Francesco Striggio’s closing Agnus Dei, in 60 parts, a that was made in the town of Troyes, near Paris, ern score. This lead naturally to the first modern de’ Medici asking for an extension to his leave remarkable appeal for peace, dona nobis pacem, in around 1620–1625. This means it must be a performances in 2007 and 2008. of absence, for personal reasons, in order to visit begins much like Tallis’s Spem in alium, with the later copy of a manuscript set left behind in Paris England “and the virtuosos in the profession voices coming in one by one (heard tonight as a by Striggio in May 1567. We know nothing of of music in that country.” It seems impossible giant wave of sound, from left to right). Whether its history until 1726, when it was donated to Instruments and Sonorities that during his two-week trip to London in June Tallis borrowed this idea from Striggio or not is Louis XV by its then owner, the French musi- 1567 he did not meet the composer who was un- hardly important. A similar idea occurs at the cian and priest Sébastien de Brossard. From the For tonight’s performance, I have decided to questionably the leading “virtuoso” in England: start of Unum cole deum. and is there a result royal music library it passed into the present-day include a variety of instruments. A full double- Thomas Tallis (c.1505–1585). There is evidence of the canon. (Tonight it is heard in reverse, for Bibliothèque nationale de France. choir of wind instruments, played in eight parts that Tallis wrote his own 40-part work, Spem in reasons of rhetorical varietas, as a wave from The work escaped identification for so long by His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts, adds im- alium, one of the most iconic compositions of right to left. See the score on pages 14–15.) partly because Brossard incorrectly ascribed it to measurably to the sonorities, like gold leaf scin- the late English Renaissance, as a direct result of What the composers of these works have in a nonexistent composer “Struseo.” Then in the li- tillating on a fine picture frame. But unlike the the younger man’s visit. One later report (dating common is less significant than what makes each brary’s printed catalogue of 1914 it is listed with way a frame surrounds a picture, I chose for the from 1611) mentions a great Italian work that one of them unique. When Tallis and Striggio three important errors: it has no title; it is described first performance in 2007 and for the Berkeley

28 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 29 PROGRAM NOTES PROGRAM NOTES

viols) are mentioned as forming the accompany- the rich brocades, fine furniture and other rich ing group playing the bassus ad organum line. The ornaments that were considered appropriate for result heard at this concert is only one of many royal or imperial chapels. In this sense the Mass instrumental possibilities that would be appropri- was regal aural furniture. ate. Our use of instruments tonight is certainly If the professional link between Striggio and conservative, not at all extravagant. A perfor- Rossetto in the 1560s perhaps helps explain the mance paid for by the Medici or Habsburg fami- existence of Rossetto’s Consolamini, consolami- lies would have had access to richer instrumental ni popule meus, the special sonorities found in resources, although I note with satisfaction that Striggio’s Ecce beatam lucem, and even more so the number of musicians performing here (78 in- in his Mass, make it tempting to consider an- cluding me) is about the same as the full comple- other link, some 20 years later, between the el- ment of musicians known to have worked at the derly Striggio and the young Claudio Monteverdi Habsburg chapel in Vienna, the Bavarian chapel (1567–1643). In 1587, Striggio retired in his old in Munich, and also in the Spanish royal chapel age to his home town of Mantua. There he had in Madrid. So our forces are about right. as a young colleague Monteverdi, who from Finally, it is perhaps worthy noting that 40 1590 onwards was then in his first professional (or even 60) singers is not in itself an exceptional post. Some striking examples of the early ba- number today. Many popular performances of roque choral styles can be found in the choruses Handel’s Messiah or Bach’s B minor Mass use in Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, written on a far more singers and therefore make much more smaller (more economical) scale than the grand sound. The effect of Striggio’s and Rossetto’s Florentine works of 50 years earlier. The rediscov- 40- and 50-part writing (at least for modern au- ery of Striggio’s Mass and Rossetto’s Consolamini diences) is not really one of astonishing volume, now enables us to identify specifically Striggian especially since for many sections of the works sonorities that abound in the bigger choruses of only one or two choirs are singing at a time. Monteverdi’s Vespers. (Striggio’s listeners might well have reacted dif- The full title of Striggio’s Mass is “Mass on Alessandro Striggio, Missa sopra “Ecco sì beato giorno,” in 40 parts. Opening page of first part, showing the first Kyrie (a8), the Christe (tacet), ferently, being less used to massed forces.) Rather Ecco sì beato giorno, divided into five choirs.” For the second Kyrie (tacet), and the opening of the Gloria (a40). Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Rés. Vmd. ms 52 (olim Vm1 947). than sheer volume, the most striking character- these Berkeley performances, I decided to take istic here may be the richly woven nature of the Striggio’s title literally and call upon several of performances in 2008, to have these instru- a bass dulcian. Finally, to hold the whole sonor- musical texture, and the contrast between the the best choirs in the Bay Area, who here main- ments right in the center, doubling the third of ity together I have included four keyboard in- different group sizes used in the various sections. tain their personal identities. I am particularly Striggio’s five choirs; it is an excellent arrange- struments to provide a chordal accompaniment. Striggio carefully saves the first moment in full grateful to the musical directors of these groups ment for many reasons, and is again used in It would be anachronistic to call all these in- 40-part sonority for the seventh phrase of the who have consented to give up their place these concerts. I also chose to use a substantial struments collectively a “continuo” group since Gloria: “we give you thanks for your great glo- on the podium, in the name of this unusual group of instruments to support the bassus ad such terminology did not emerge until 40 years ry.” The 40 voices and the way they intertwine musical collaboration. organum line, the general bass line that accom- after Striggio wrote his Mass; yet that is neverthe- with each other do not so much create loud noise panies the whole work. Evidence from Striggio’s less what it really is. Florence was well in advance as luscious, luxuriant sonorities, comparable to Davitt Moroney, January 2012 time implies that this line was performed by a of other cities in this respect as well. Already in double-bass sackbut (or Renaissance trombone), the 1550s Florentine musicians were regularly us- and we are very fortunate to have been able to ing such fundamental instruments to accompany include such a rare instrument tonight. This re- chordally, anticipating traditional baroque sonori- inforcement of the bass line also suggested the ties. I have chosen to combine two organs (whose use of two violones (bass stringed instruments suave sustained sonorities help bind the sounds to- that can play at double-bass pitch in the full gether) with two harpsichords (whose more inci- passages or up at normal pitch in the reduced sive rhythmic precision, by contrast, help hold the sections). In addition, tonight we hear a delicate choirs together rhythmically). On the Zwickau lirone—a multi-stringed instrument on which manuscript source of Ecce beatam lucem all these Striggio himself was a virtuoso performer—and instruments (and several others such as lutes and

30 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 31 ABOUT THE ARTISTS ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Byrd’s complete keyboard works (127 pieces, record the complete works of Chiara Margarita Schola Cantorum San Francisco has caught the on seven CDs, using six instruments) and Cozzolani, devoting entire programs to the mu- attention of audiences and critics in and beyond the complete harpsichord and organ music sic of Francesca Caccini, Barbara Strozzi and the Bay Area for its stunning artistry, fine blend of Louis Couperin (seven CDs, using four in- Isabella Leonarda, and hosting a conference of voices, and beautiful choral sound. Under the struments). His recordings have been awarded on Women and Music in Seventeenth Century direction of Paul Flight, the group, especially the French Grand Prix du Disque (1996), the Italy. Magnificat’s 20th Anniversary Season will known for its interpretations of Renaissance po- German Preis der Deutschen Schallplatenkritik conclude on the weekend of February 17–19, lyphony, is at home in a broad range of musical (2000), and three British Gramophone Awards 2012, with a program featuring selections from styles, from Gregorian chant to contemporary (1986, 1991, 2000). For his services to music Monteverdi’s Madrigals of War & Love. works. The choir’s first two CDs, Pilgrimage he was named Chevalier dans l’Ordre du mérite In addition to their annual series, Magnificat and This Christmas Night, have been critically culturel by Prince Rainier of Monaco (1987) has appeared five times on the Berkeley Festival acclaimed, garnering praise for a sound “equal and Officier des arts et des lettres by the French & Exhibition and has been presented numerous to the best of the mixed voice choirs in Great government (2000). times on the San Francisco Early Music Society Britain.” As guest artists, they have appeared In 2000, he published Bach, An Extraordinary concert series. In September 2011 they were pre- with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and the New Life, a monograph that has since been translated sented at the Bloomington Early Music Festival. Century Chamber Orchestra performing music into five languages. His recently published re- Magnificat has also been presented by Music by Dietrich Buxtehude and Clarice Assad, and search articles have been studies of the music of Before 1800, the Seattle Early Music Guild, with Alasdair Neale and the Marin Symphony Alessandro Striggio, of François Couperin, and the Tropical Baroque Festival, the Carmel Bach Orchestra. They have been featured artists on the of Parisian women composers under the Ancien Festival, the Sonoma County Bach Society and concert series of the San Francisco Early Music Scott Hewitt Régime. In spring 2009, he was visiting director the Society for Seventeenth Century Music. Society in performances of Victoria’s Missa O Davitt Moroney was born in England in 1950. of a research seminar in Paris at the Sorbonne’s Magnificat has recorded for Koch International magnum mysterium and Spanish and New World He studied organ, clavichord and harpsichord École pratique des hautes études. and Musica Omnia. Villancicos, and also at the 2010 Santa Cruz with Susi Jeans, Kenneth Gilbert and Gustav In 2005, after tracking it down for 18 years, Baroque Festival. Most recently, the group gave a Leonhardt. After studies in musicology with he identified one of the lost masterpieces of the The American Bach Soloists (ABS) engage and concert at Mission Santa Clara as guest artists of Thurston Dart and Howard M. Brown at King’s Italian Renaissance, Alessandro Striggio’s Missa inspire audiences through historically informed the Santa Clara Chorale, performing Domenico College London, he entered the doctoral pro- sopra “Ecco sì beato giorno,” in 40 & 60 parts, performances, recordings, and educational pro- Scarlatti’s ten-part Stabat Mater and Antonio gram at Berkeley in 1975. Five years later, he dating from 1565–1566, the source for which grams that emphasize the music of the baroque, Caldara’s 16‑part Crucifixus. They were a fea- completed his Ph.D. with a thesis under the had been lost since 1724. He conducted the first Classical and early Romantic eras. tured choir in the performances of Alessandro guidance of Joseph Kerman and Philip Brett modern performance of this massive work at Founded in 1989 with the mission of intro- Striggio’s Missa “Ecco sì beato giorno” given at the on the music of Thomas Tallis and William London’s Royal Albert Hall in July 2007 (to an ducing contemporary audiences to the cantatas 2008 Berkeley Festival & Exhibition. Byrd for the Anglican Reformation. In August audience of 7,500 people, and a live radio audi- of Johann Sebastian Bach through historically 2001, he returned to Berkeley as a faculty ence of many millions of listeners) and conduct- informed performances, under the leadership of Chalice Consort, under the direction of Davitt member and is a Professor of Music as well as ed two performances at the Berkeley Festival & co-founder and Music Director Jeffrey Thomas Moroney, collaborates with early music scholars University Organist. Exhibition in June 2008. the ensemble has achieved its vision of assem- around the world in reviving little-known sa- For 21 years he was based in Paris, working bling the world’s finest vocalists and period- cred music from the Renaissance and baroque primarily as a freelance recitalist in many coun- For 20 years Magnificat has explored the emo- instrument performers to bring this brilliant eras. The choir aims to pay particular attention tries. He has made nearly 60 CDs, especially tionally charged music of the 17th century, each music to life. to the rhetorical force of the words sung. In of music by Bach, Byrd and Couperin. Many season bringing together an assembly of interna- For more than two decades, Mr. Thomas has 2011 Chalice was named Artist-in-Residence at of these recordings feature historic 17th- and tionally recognized musicians to present unique brought thoughtful, meaningful and informed the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. 18th-century harpsichords and organs. They and innovative programs that engage the senses perspectives to his performances as Artistic and Chalice’s signature piece, Tomàs Luis da include Bach’s French Suites (two CDs, for and inspire the imagination. Magnificat has Music Director of the American Bach Soloists. Victoria’s famous set of 18 Tenebræ Responsories Virgin Classics, shortlisted for the Gramophone offered audiences the chance to hear many sig- Recognized worldwide as one of the foremost in- (1585), will be next presented by St. Mary’s Award), The Well-Tempered Clavier (four CDs), nificant works by well-known figures of the 17th terpreters of the music of Bach and the baroque, Cathedral on April 4, 2012. In 2010, the choir the Musical Offering, the complete sonatas for century while also uncovering forgotten master- he continues to inspire audiences and perform- produced the first Chalice Consort Early Music flute and harpsichord, and for violin and harp- pieces, including many modern premieres. ers alike through his keen insights into the pas- Conference, a conference/competition that sichord, as well as The Art of Fugue (a work he Over the past decade, Magnificat has tak- sions behind musical expression. brought together performers, scholars and lis- has recorded twice; the first recording received en a special interest in promoting the works of teners for a daylong experience of unknown li- a Gramophone Award). He has also recorded women composers, undertaking a project to turgical compositions from the Renaissance that

32 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 33 ABOUT THE ARTISTS ABOUT THE ARTISTS were not available in any modern edition. The new label was the complete instrumental works Sex Chordæ Consort of Viols, and is a founding Melody Hung (harpsichord) graduated from winning composition was by Genoese composer of Giovanni Battista Grillo; The Twelve Days of member of Music’s Re-creation and Magnificat. UC Berkeley with dual majors in Music and Simone Molinaro (c.1570–1636); in November Christmas, Buccaneer, an Anglo-Spanish cel- He can also be heard on occasion with the English this past May. She began studying the 2010 it formed the basis for Chalice’s all-Molin- ebration, and Canzone per sonare, a collection Carmel and Oregon Bach Festivals, American harpsichord her second year at UC Berkeley, aro program, Music for Meditation and Devotion. of music by Giovanni Gabrieli and his contem- Bach Soloists, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra under Professor Davitt Moroney’s instruction Visit www.chaliceconsort.org. poraries followed. and many other musical organizations. in the University Baroque Ensemble, and also Recent highlights in the group’s 25-year studied with Charlene Brendler and Katherine career have included two performances in Farley Pearce (violone) is a versatile musician Heater. As an undergraduate, she wrote an London’s Royal Albert Hall at the BBC Proms. who performs on violone/double bass, violas Honor’s paper tracing the dissemination of the Here the group joined The Tallis Scholars and da gamba, and baroque and modern cellos. stylus phantasticus, an improvisatory style, in The BBC Singers in Striggio’s newly rediscov- He freelances with Bay Area ensembles such keyboard works of the 17th and 18th centuries, ered Mass in 60 parts; and, for the BBC’s unique as Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Voices of specifically focusing on the style’s progression and inspired “brass day,” HMSC appeared on Music, the Sex Chordæ Consort of Viols, the from Italy to North Germany and France. One stage with the Black Dyke and Grimethorpe Jubilate Baroque Orchestra and the Albany of five students selected by the Music faculty to Colliery brass bands. This year His Majestys Consort. Recent concerts have music ranging receive the Eisner Prize, a distinguished award Sagbutts & Cornetts will play in Girton, from that of 17th-century Germany and France for outstanding creative achievement, she has St. John’s and Kings colleges, Cambridge, at to music of Alec Wilder. He has specialized in performed solo concerts at Hertz Hall and the Wadham College, Oxford, the Royal Albert seldom heard solo bass repertoire of the 18th Women’s Faculty Club. She plans to further her

Tyrone Chan 2008 Hall at the BBC Proms, St. Paul’s Cathedral, century and can be heard frequently on the music studies in graduate school. Having celebrated its first quarter century in Versailles, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Noontime concert series in San Francisco. 2007, His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts Pisa Cathedral, Würzburg and Regensburg in Jonathan Rhodes Lee (harpsichord) regularly (HMSC) continues in the same spirit as always: Germany, and Washington DC and New York, David Morris (lirone) performs with The King’s performs as soloist, chamber musician, and in aiming to bring the sound of its noble instru- among other locations. Noyse, the Galax Quartet, Quicksilver, the Sex orchestras in the United States and abroad. He is ments, through pan-European repertoire from Chordæ Consort of Viols and NYS Baroque. He also a founding member of the baroque ensem- the 16th and 17th centuries, to new audiences Kate van Orden (dulcian) studied mod- has performed with Musica Pacifica, the Boston ble Les grâces (www.lesgraces.com), which has via recordings, radio, television and—best of the ern bassoon at Sweelinck Conservatorium Early Music Festival Orchestra, Tragicomedia, recently released its first full-length CD on the lot!—live performance. in Amsterdam and baroque bassoon at the Tafelmusik, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, MSR label. Mr. Lee holds degrees from Colgate The group’s illustrious-sounding name is Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague, be- Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, American University, the San Francisco Conservatory and taken from Matthew Locke’s “five-part tth- ginning her performing and recording career on Bach Soloists, Musica Angelica, Seattle Baroque UC Berkeley, and was a Fulbright scholar at the ings for His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts” period instruments with European ensembles Orchestra, the Mark Morris Dance Company Royal Conservatory in The Hague. He currently that were probably played during the corona- including Les Arts Florissants, La Petite Bande and Seattle’s Pacific Musicworks. He was the holds the Dolores Zohrab Liebmann fellowship, tion celebrations for King Charles II in 1661. and La Chapelle Royale. Since returning to founder and musical director of the Bay Area writing a Ph.D. on Handel’s oratorios and 18th- Essentially a recital group comprising two America in 1990, she has performed regularly baroque opera ensemble Teatro Bacchino, and century sensibility. When he is not onstage per- cornetts, three sackbutts and chamber organ/ with American Bach Soloists, Tafelmusik and has produced operas for the Berkeley Early forming, he is generally there tuning and main- harpsichord, HMSC often joins with singers Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and has made Music Festival and the San Francisco Early taining harpsichords, organs and fortepianos. and string players, and is frequently asked to over 50 recordings. She also studies the French Music Society series. Mr. Morris received his take part in projects with choirs: Sir John Eliot and Italian Renaissance and is a professor in the B.A. and M.A. in music from UC Berkeley, James Apgar (organ) is a student in the M.A./ Gardiner’s Monteverdi Choir, the BBC Singers, Music Department at UC Berkeley. and has been a guest instructor in performance Ph.D. program in the history and literature of Ex Cathedra, the choirs of Trinity, King’s and practice at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, the SF music at UC Berkeley, where he will write a dis- St. John’s colleges, Cambridge, as well as those of John Dornenburg (violone) is a Bay Area per- Conservatory of Music, Mills College, Oberlin sertation on Elizabethan England under Davitt Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s and Westminster former, recording artist and educator. As a viola College, the Madison Early Music Festival Moroney. In 2008, he was commissioned to cathedrals, London. da gamba soloist, he has made over 30 compact and Cornell University. He has recorded for compose a Grace for the Choir of Magdalen His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts has more discs and performed widely in Europe, Australia, Harmonia Mundi, New Albion, Dorian, New College, Oxford. His other works and arrange- than 20 recordings to its credit, among them New Zealand, Turkey and across the United World Records, Drag City Records and New ments have been performed by professional A Bach Album (Hyperion), which was honored States. He teaches the viola da gamba at Stanford Line Cinema. choirs on both U.S. coasts. Mr. Apgar is also as 2002 “recording of the year” in Gramophone. University, and is Emeritus Faculty in music his- In 2007, the group launched its own recording tory at CSU Sacramento. He is co-director of label, sfzmusic. HMSC’s first recording on the Archetti Baroque String Ensemble, director of

34 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 35 ABOUT THE ARTISTS an organist, having held church posts in New Haven and Washington, and currently serving as Interim Organist of St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Berkeley. He has extensive continuo experience on both organ and harpsichord, playing with the Yale Collegium Musicum, Yale Baroque Opera Project, UCB Baroque Ensemble and UCB Chamber Chorus. Finally, Mr. Apgar is an active countertenor, currently singing with American Bach Soloists, Artists’ Vocal Ensemble and Pacific Collegium.

San Francisco native Tiffany Ng (organ) never expected the organ and carillon to take over her life at Yale University, but after earning a bach- elor’s degree in music and English, spearhead- ing the organization of a national carillon con- vention, and curating a bell exhibit at the Yale University Collection of Musical Instruments, her path became clear. She pursued a licentiate in carillon performance from the Royal Carillon School “Jef Denyn” in Belgium, graduating magna cum laude. She then earned a master’s degree in organ performance at the Eastman School of Music studying historical perfor- mance practice with William Porter. Ms. Ng is now a doctoral candidate in musicology at UC Berkeley, where she serves as Associate Carillonist of Sather Tower. She has performed over 80 recitals throughout North America and Europe, and as an energetic proponent of new music, has premiered a dozen acoustic and elec- troacoustic pieces for organ and carillon.

36 CAL PERFORMANCES