«Gloriosa música al...» | Crítica, para Codalario, del último disco de Stilo Antico

Gloriosa música al servicio de emperadores

El fantástico conjunto británico nos propone este viaje por la música que algunos de los más grandes compositores del Renacimiento compusieron estando al servicio de los Habsburgo, firmando uno de los mejores discos vocales del pasado año.

From the Imperial Court. Music for the House of Hapsburg. Música de Josquin des Prez, Heinrich Isaac, Pierre de la Rue, Ludwig Senfl, Nicolas Gombert, Cristóbal de Morales, Thomas Crecquillon, Thomas Tallis, Jacob Clemens Non Papa y Alonso Lobo. Stile Antico. Harmonia Mundi | Production USA, 1 CD [HMU 807595], 2014. T.T.: 71:07.

   

   La música, especialmente la sacra, aunque también la profana, y sobre todo aquella creada antes de que el siglo XIX trajera consigo la emancipación del compositor como asalariado y miembro de la plantilla de una casa real o institución religiosa, nos ha legado una gran parte de obras compuestas con un fin específico, bien fuera de corte real o religioso. En cierto que las instituciones religiosas y las casas reales son las causantes de la práctica totalidad de la creación musical en siglos pretéritos. El Renacimiento es probablemente el caso más paradigmático. Es por ello que resulta bastante habitual encontrar registros discográficos que reparan en la creación amparada al auspicio de una casa real dada o de una institución clerical de este o aquel lugar.

   Dentro de las casas reales, sin duda la de los Habsburgo es uno de las más celebradas, puesto que por su importancia en toda Europa la hizo extenderse de manera impresionante por gran parte del territorio europeo, en el que reinó durante varios siglos –nada menos que desde el siglo XI hasta 1918 dependiendo de los territorios–. Esto la hace especialmente idónea para un registro discográfico de estas características, pues por sus distintas pasaron muchos de los mejores compositores del momento en la Europa del Renacimiento.

   Uno de los grandes exponentes de la Casa de los Habsburgo fue Maximilian I, emperador del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico desde 1486 hasta 1519. Por su corte pasaron algunos de los grandes maestros del momento. Quizá el de mayor importancia fue Heinric Isaac [c. 1450-1517], uno de los grandes maestros franco-flamenco, sin duda a la altura de los grandes como Pierre de la Rue, Alexander Agricola, Jacob Obrecht e incluso en parte a la de Josquin Des Prez. De él se interpreta aquí su hermoso y monumental motete Virgo prudentissima a 6, claro ejemplo de la composición ex profeso para la corte, pues se creó en 1507 para el Reichstag que confirmaba a Maximilian I como emperador del Sacro Imperio.

   Otro de los grandes autores ya mencionados es Pierre de la Rue [1460-1518], quien fuera miembro de la Grande Chapelle de la corte borgoñona, que por aquel entonces mantenía la regencia de Felipe I de Castilla. Absalon fili mi a 4 es una obra sobre cuya autoría se lleva años transitando entre la figura de Des Prez y la de de la Rue. Finalmente parece que este último es el candidato más defendido para ser el autor de este subyugante y emocionante motete, uno de los mejores ejemplos de motetes sobre temas luctuosos y de lamentos de todo el Renacimiento, que parece haberse compuesto en 1506 con la muerte precisamente del propio Felipe I.

   Otro de los grandes compositores franco-flamencos que trabajó para Maximilian I fue Ludwig Senfl [c. 1486-c. 1543], compositor suizo de nacimiento y alumno de Isaac, que ayudó a desarrollar de manera fundamental algunos géneros vocales profanos como el lied. Para la muerte del emperador en 1519 compuso su maravilloso Quis dabit oculis a 4, con gran carga expresiva y una belleza desgarradora.

   Otro de las grandes figuras en la Casa de los Habsburgo es la del emperador Carlos –I de España y V de Alemania, como nos obligaban a repetir en la escuela–. En su afamada Grande Chapelle o Capilla Flamenca –como también se la conocía– trabajaron varios de los mejores talentos musicales. Uno de estos era Nicolas Gombert [c. 1495-c. 1560], que fue cantor de la capilla desde 1526 y maestro de los niños cantores desde 1529. Precisamente por abusar de uno de estos infantes fue condenado a galeras, aunque fue perdonado al componer para el emperador sus cantos del cisne, en probable referencia a sus últimas composiciones sobre el Magnificat. Aquí se interpreta su Magnificat primi toni a 4, magnífica pieza en la contrae y expande la polifonía a su antojo con gran maestría, con secciones a 3 y un esplendoroso final a 6. De él se registra su composición a 6 sobre la célebre chanson Mille regretz a 4, denominada como La canción del emperador por decirse que era la favorita de Carlos V. Gombert amplia de manera realmente hermosa las cuatro partes originales a seis, convirtiendo así la sencilla composición original en una magnífica obra de densa textura y un refinado contrapunto. La chanson original, obra del gran Josquin des Prez [c. 1440-1521], es un dechado de elegancia y delicadeza, en la que muestra su genialidad el construir una de las obras profanas más geniales de toda la historia de la música sobre un material realmente sencillo. Es por eso que demuestra que es probablemente el autor más grande de todos los franco-flamencos, al que sin duda admiraban y que fue inspiración para la gran parte de ellos.

   Un ejemplo excelente que aúna el encargo de una obra a medio camino entre lo real y lo religioso es el motete celebrativo Jubilate Deo omnis terra a 6, que Cristóbal de Morales [c. 1500-1553] compuso en 1538 por encargo de su patrón, el Papa Pablo III para conmemorar la paz firmada ese mismo año por Carlos V y François I. Un excelente motete bipartito, que una interesante mezcla de material exultante con más reflexivo, que utiliza como cantus firmus el incipit del canto Gaudeamus omnes in Domino.

   Otro motete festivo es Andreas Christi famulus a 8, compuesto por Thomas Crecquillon [c. 1505-1557] –gran maestro franco-flamenco que desarrolló buena parte de su carrera en la capilla de Carlos V– en 1546 para una reunión de la Orden del Toisón de Oro, de la que el emperador era miembro. Un motete extraordinario si nos atenemos a su compleja construcción, armónicamente muy rica y con recurrente uso de falsas relaciones.

   Carole magnus eras a 5 fue compuesto por otro de los mejores franco-flamencos, Jacob Clement [c. 1510-c. 1555], conocido como Clemens non Papa a raíz de aparecer mencionado en una edición de Tilman Susato como Clement non Papa, una obra para distinguirlo del Papa Clemente. Motete compuesto probablemente tres años después de la promulgación de la Pragmática Sanción de 1549, la cual determinaba que las 27 provincias de los Países Bajos pasaban a ser propiedad de su hijo Felipe II. Se trata de un texto latino pero con texto profano, aunque su construcción musical se corresponde de manera fiel a la de un motete sacro.

   Aunque lejos de las tierras de dominio Habsburgo, Inglaterra estuvo relacionada de manera directo con la dinastía, entro otras cosas porque Felipe II contrajo matrimonio en 1554 con Mary I. Es por eso que se añade aquí una obra del maestro inglés Thomas Tallis [c. 1505-1585], uno de los grandes compositores británicos de la historia. Su motete Loquebantur variis linguis a 7 no tiene una conexión directa con el monarca, aunque se defiende que es una de las pocas piezas que fueran compuestas para ser interpretadas en conjunto por la Capilla Flamenca y la Chapel Royal de la reina Mary. Pieza inusual por su plantilla, muestra la capacidad de Tallis para condensar una densa textura contrapuntística en una refinada tela polifónica claramente inteligible.

   Alonso Lobo [1555-1617] es sin duda uno de los grandes maestros entre la pléyade geniales polifonistas hispánicos de los siglos XV y XVI. Su delicado y fascinante motete Versa est in luctum a 6 fue compuesto en 1598 para las exequias de Felipe II, suponiendo sin duda su gran legado al monarca, que musicaliza uno de los textos luctuosos más hermosos sobre los que de manera recurrente pusieron música los maestros hispánicos.

   Se trata, pues, de un registro que aglutina algunas de las composiciones más hermosas de los siglos XV y XVI, lo que per se es ya razón suficiente para adquirirlo y escucharlo en momentos de reflexión, calma y sosiego. Pero es que además está interpretado por Stile Antico, ensemble británico que desde hace años se encuentra entre lo más granado de la interpretación de polifonía renacentista en el mundo. Su calidad vocal fuera de toda duda, su capacidad para acometer lecturas repletas de rigor, con una afinación, sonoridad y equilibrio dignos del mejor British sound, del que son garantes desde hace diez años, sin duda les coloca, por méritos propios, a la altura de los mejores conjuntos especializados a nivel mundial. Destaca especialmente su capacidad de conjunto, puesto que llevan prácticamente desde su fundación con la misma plantilla, lo que les convierte en un excelso ejemplo del feedback anhelado por cualquier conjunto de estas características. Además, lejos de esa visión estática y fría que algunos achacan a ciertos conjuntos británicos, estos jóvenes resultan tremendamente expresivos, vehementes, elocuentes y evocadores. Han sabido conseguir la alquimia perfecta para hacernos llegar composiciones de tan exquisita belleza y tan imponente hondura, como son estas, de la mejor manera imaginable.

   Por lo demás, el compacto es un ejemplo del savoir faire de Harmonia Mundi, que de manera realmente inteligente apostó por este joven conjunto hace ya diez años, y que ha ido editando todos sus discos desde entonces –su discografía actual consta de nueve álbumes, a cada cual mejor–. El álbum presenta un diseño maravilloso, elegante y vistoso, repleto de imágenes en color de algunos de los monarcas y cuadros relacionados con estos, obras de grandes artistas del Renacimiento europeo. Las notas al programa, obra del cantor Matthew O’Donovan, son realmente ilustrativas e interesantes. Además, la toma de sonido resulta absolutamente límpida, nítida y consigue un equilibrio admirable. Gran trabajo el de Brad Michel en este sentido, y por supuesto el de Robina G. Young como productora habitual de los discos bajo el subsello Production USA de la casa francesa.

   Estamos, a todas las luces, ante un disco esplendoroso. Cualquier apasionado de la polifonía renacentista debe tenerlo en sus anaqueles, porque encontrar tanta belleza compositiva y calidad interpretativa en un espacio tan pequeño es difícil actualmente. Un lujo 100%.

Publicado en Codalario el 05-VI-2015.

«Caron, una joya...» | Crítica, para Codalario, del triple álbum dedicado del conjunto masculino en Fra Bernardo

Caron, una joya franco-flamenca

El sello Fra Bernardo edita este triple álbum en el que el conjunto anglo-alemán interpreta la integral de las misas y algunas chansons de un compositor tan desconocido como talentoso.

Masses & Chansons. Música de Firminus Caron. The Sound and the Fury. Fra Bernardo, 3 CDs [FB 1207302], 2012. T.T.: 190:00.

   Resulta complejo situar a un autor como el que aquí se nos presenta cuando ha permanecido tanto tiempo oculto de los oídos del público general –por supuesto–, pero incluso del ya avezado o de los propios estudiosos e intérpretes. Sabemos hoy que Firminus Caron [c. 1440-c. 1475] fue un compositor admirado en su tiempo, un maestro que llegó a ser elogiado incluso por el gran Johannes Tinctoris. En las adscripciones de sus obras se le menciona únicamente como Caron o F. Caron y no se ha encontrado documentación directa de la vida del compositor, lo que dificulta notablemente su estudio. En una copia de siglo XVIII de los documentos anteriores se presenta a un Firmino le Caron como primus huius ecclesie musicus en la catedral de Amiens en el año de 1422, lo que es indudablemente muy pronto para él, pero que quizá se refiriera a su padre. Es bastante razonable pensar que él fuera de Amiens, ya que Firmin es un apellido bastante común en la zona. Nuevo documentos encontrados recientemente parecen situarle en Amiens alrededor de 1459 como maitre d’ecole. Algunos documentos de la catedral de Cambrai indican que algunas de sus misas polifónicas fueron incluidas en los libros de coro de la institución en 1472, lo que complica la teoría defendida por algunos de que Caron desarrolló la mayor parte de su carrera en Italia al albergarse allí los únicos ejemplos manuscritos de todas sus misas y de la mayoría de sus chansons. El nombre de Caron se puede encontrar además en el texto del motete Omnium bonorum plenum de Loyset Compere, en el que se mencionan los nombres de algunos compositores, alabando sobremanera a Guillaume Du Fay –compositor que influyó de manera evidente en su obra–, pero poniendo a Caron en un nivel muy cercano al de este. Tinctoris le menciona como un compositor muy notable, de hecho le coloca junto a Johannes Ockeghem, Antoine Busnoys y Johannes Regis como «uno de los compositores más destacados que he escuchado», aunque también menciona que se encontraba entre los minime litteratos, esto es, lo menos educados. Posteriormente se le menciona en algunos de los textos de autores de gran importancia, como Franchinus Gaffurius, Adrianus Petit Coclico o Hermann Finck, entro otros.

   De las obras que se le han atribuido únicamente cuatro de sus chansons se han conservado en fuentes franceses, y es muy probable que gran parte de su legado musical fuera destruido durante la Revolución Francesa. Afortunadamente varios de sus manuscritos han quedado en fuentes italianas, aunque varias de sus misas se encuentren en condiciones realmente lamentables debido a la corrosión de la tinta ferrogálica. Otras de sus chansons más populares, por el contrario, llegan a encontrarse hasta en 22 fuentes distintas, como el caso de Helas que pourra devenir, o las 15 fuentes de Cent mille escus quant je vouldroye, las 11 de Le despourveu infortuné o las 9 de Accueilly m'a la belle au gent atour. Parece que sus chansons pudieron haber ayudado a establecer, junto a las de Hayne Van Ghizeghem y Pihilippe Basiron, un nuevo y más florido estilo dentro del género. Todas sus piezas profanas son a tres partes a excepción de Corps contre corps sans penser convoitise/Ramboure luy rataquon, un quodlibet a 4, y únicamente tres de ellas utilizan tempus perfectum –ternario–, siendo la mayoría de compás binario, lo que trató con gran maestría. Es además uno de los primeros en utilizar la voz de bassus para las canciones a tres partes y sus patrones de imitación a distancia de tan solo una minima parecen haber iniciado una tradición en el género.

   En cuanto a sus misas, únicamente se han conservado cinco, todas a cuatro partes, basadas en elementos preexistentes. En tres de ellas [Missa Clamens et benigna, Missa Jesus autem y Missa Sanguis sanctorum] el cantus firmus está tomado de la melodía gregoriana y colocado en la línea del tenor, fácilmente reconocible y elaborado posteriormente de diversas maneras para aparecer en varios pasajes durante todas las misas. En su Missa Accueilly m’a la belle utiliza una de sus propias chansons, colocándolas en el superius y el tenor, pero modificándolas de manera muy notable en el aspecto melódico-armónico-rítmico. Lo mismo sucede con la Missa L’home armé, basada en la célebre chanson, convirtiéndola es una de sus obras más impresionantes.

   The Sound and the Fury, conjunto formado por las voces de David Erler [contratenor], John Potter y Christian Wegmann [tenores], y Colin Mason y Michael Mantaj [bajos] es un excelente conjunto, aunque no es tan conocido como debiera por el público, quizá porque no se ha prodigado mucho fuera de Austria y Alemania, centro de su actividad musical. Sin embargo, la aportación que el conjunto anglo-alemán está realizando al campo de la polifonía renacentista, especialmente la franco-flamenca, se nos antoja poco menos que impagable. Y es que a través de sus diversas grabaciones realizadas y editadas en un comienzo por la ORF, en la serie que muy acertadamente han venido a denominar Paradise regained –algo así como «paraíso recobrado»–, ya son varios los maestros que están viendo sus obras recuperadas del olvido. Se han centrado en autores algo más conocidos, como Nicolas Gombert, Jacob Obrecht, Pierre de la Rue o Johannes Ockeghem, pero también en aquellos a los que no se suele prestar demasiada atención, y es aquí donde reside la principal valía del conjunto: Guillaume Faugues, Marbrianus de Orto, Matthæus Pipelare o el propio Caron.

   Se trata de versiones grabadas entre mayo y septiembre de 2011 en Kartause Mauerbach, un monasterio de la Orden de los Cartujos situado en Mauerbach, en los alrededores de Wien. El buen conocedor de las interpretaciones de polifonía renacentista encontrará aquí una interesante mixtura entre la sonoridad británica –especialmente los tenores– y la belga/holandesa –sobre todo en los bajos–, unas lecturas que pueden recordarles en cierta manera a la Capilla Flamenca, pero también en un punto a The Hilliard Ensemble. Fantástico trabajo de todos los cantores, que son auténticos especialistas en el repertorio a interpretar, con el que se mimetizan desde el primer momento. Hay equilibrio, afinación, un buen diálogo entre las voces que favorece la comprensión de la escritura horizontal, pero también un gusto por remarcar la horizontalidad de la escritura, sin regodearse en exceso en la disonancia, dándole el espacio que requiere y sin privilegiarla en búsqueda de una tensión desmedida. Una interpretación que no ceja en el empeña de remarcar lo mucho que hay detrás de una música como esta, que es capaz de llegar de manera tan compleja a la mente pero también a la entraña del que la escucha.

   El trabajo de Fra Bernardo es realmente bueno, y lo encontramos en todos los procesos: grabación, producción, edición, maquetación y diseño. En todos menos en el de la recuperación y transcripción de las partituras, trabajo este último llevado a cabo de manera absolutamente encomiable por Jaap van Benthem, al que le dedican en la primera página del libreto un efusivo agradecimiento –da gusto ver cómo se valora el trabajo del estudioso en otros países–.

   Estamos sin duda ante un triple álbum absolutamente imprescindible para todos aquellos que gustan de la polifonía del Renacimiento, de los franco-flamencos, de la sonoridad cuidada y del trabajo profundo, de aquellos que valoran la recuperación patrimonial. Una presentación sencilla pero muy cuidada, con un libreto que incluye unas interesantísimas notas del autor de las partituras, y que aporta en formato digital todos los textos de las obras, además de, ojo, una digitalización de todas las partituras editadas –en este caso la edición es puramente manuscrita– para la ocasión. Un registro que más allá de todo esto pone en su lugar a un conjunto y un sello que deben comenzar a situarse entre lo mejor de la producción musical de los últimos años, creando proyectos que combinan el gusto por las cosas cuidadas y absolutamente bien hechas. Así, sí.

Publicado en Codalario el 28-II-2015.

The Choir Project al día | 18-IV-2015

Pedro de Escobar [b Oporto, c1465; d ?Évora, after 1535]: Offertorium | Missa Pro defunctis à 4.
Ensemble Gilles Binchois | Dominique Vellard.
Ephemeris of Renaissance composers [III] | Between Portugal and Spain.

    Robert Stevenson wrote about Escobar:
«Portuguese composer, active in Spain. He was a singer in the chapel choir at the court of Isabella I from 1489 to 1499, and was the only member described as ‘Portuguese’. He composed a Lady Mass in collaboration with Juan de Anchieta, also a member of Isabella’s choir, and one with Peñalosa, Hernández and Alva. Escobar returned to Portugal, perhaps among the musicians accompanying the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella [see Knighton], but on 19 May 1507 he was invited back to Spain as master of the choirboys of Seville Cathedral; the chapter sent a courier to Portugal at the cathedral’s expense ‘calling Escobar to come and take charge of the choirboys’. Peñalosa, since 1505 a canon at Seville, may have taken part in this decision. As magister puerorum Escobar was obliged to teach polyphonic music to the choirboys and also to feed, clothe and board them. Unsuccessful attempts in 1510 to augment his salary through the addition of two cathedral chaplaincies led to his resignation in 1514 [his successor, Pedro Fernández, was appointed on 13 August 1514].

   Assuming that Pedro do Porto [mentioned by Sousa Viterbo and Barbosa Machado] and Escobar were the same person, Escobar was mestre da capela to Cardinal Dom Affonso, son of Manuel I, in 1521. In August of that year Gil Vicente described Pedro do Porto in his Côrtes de Jupiter, performed to celebrate the imminent wedding of King Manuel’s daughter, as the leader of a band of «tiples», «contras altas», «tenores» and «contrabaxas». Escobar's four-part wedding tribute may well be Ninha era la infanta, copied anonymously in P-Ln CIC 60 [see Rees, 1994–5]. In 1535 Escobar still survived precariously in Évora.

    Escobar’s masses and motets show him to have been a composer of uncommon contrapuntal skill and sensitivity to text. Vicente’s Auto da Cananea of 1534 claims Escobar’s fine four-voice motet Clamabat autem mulier Cananea as its inspiration; the piece was to be sung at the end of the auto. It was intabulated by Gonzalo de Baena in his Arte nouamente inuentada pera aprender a tanger [Lisbon, 1540], again by Mudarra [ed. in MME, vii, 1949] in 1546 and praised by João de Barros in his Libro das antiguidades [P-Ln 216]. The enormous vogue that it enjoyed is further attested to by its transmission in two manuscripts copied by indigenous scribes in north-east Guatemala [in US-BLl]. So individual are its characteristics that the anonymous four-voice Fatigatus Jesus, which shares all its individualities, must also be by him [see Rees, 1995]. Escobar’s 18 secular songs in the Cancionero Musical de Palacio have a marked popular flavour. Three of them are in the Cancionero Musical e Poético da Biblioteca Públia Hôrtensia [P-Em 11793], which together with P-Ln CIC 60, ranks among Portugal’s earliest collections of secular polyphonic music.»

   Probably this is the first Iberian polyphonic Requiem ever composed. Escobar is a composer of great talent, but has been somewhat forgotten, in the shadow of the great Spaniards and Portuguese composers. Dominique Vellard has a keen interest in his work, who performs really well. This is a delicate, elegant and very Iberian colored version.

The Choir Project al día | 14-III-2015

Robert Wylkynson [b c. 1475/80-d 1515 or later]: Jesus autem transiens/Credo in Deum à 13.

Huelgas Ensemble | Paul Van Nevel.
Ephemeris of Renaissance composers [II] | Beginning without end.

    Andrew Wathey wrote about this composer:
«English composer. He was appointed parish clerk at Eton College in 1496, and may possibly have been a scholar there [one of probably two Wylkynsons who were Eton scholars in the early 1490s]; he was a singing clerk in 1499 and informator choristarum c1500–15, serving as Constable of Eton in 1502 and witnessing the will of the College's Purser, William Tawnton, in 1506. He may have died c1515; alternatively, he may have left the College to seek ordination. A Dominus Robert Wilkinson [d 1538] was instituted rector of Haddenham in June 1519 by the Prior and Chapter of Rochester. Nine pieces by Wilkinson were included in the Eton Choirbook [GB-WRec 178; ed. in MB, x–xii, 1956–61], of which one is incomplete, three survive only as fragments and two are lost. Seven of these appear in the main layer of the manuscript; two were added later, possibly by Wilkinson himself.

    Wilkinson's five-voice Salve regina and incomplete four-voice Gaude virgo may be among his earlier surviving works. His massive nine-voice Salve regina, based on the plainsong cantus firmus Assumpta est Maria in celum, is an important example of the large-scale sonorous style cultivated by English composers during the early 16th century. Also in this tradition is the 13-voice canon Jesu autem transiens/Credo in deum, a setting of the Apostles' Creed prefaced by a fragment of plainsong. Both works incorporate verbal canons: these may offer some insight into the composer's learning or perhaps reveal a predilection for intricate devices and puzzles, as may the elaborate depiction of the nine orders of angels in the initial letters of the nine-voice Salve in the Eton manuscript. Wilkinson's Credo was copied, c1580–1606, by John Baldwin into his commonplace book [GB-Lbl R.M.24.d.2] as a curiosity. In O virgo prudentissima Wilkinson set a poem written by Angelo Poliziano in 1493, taken perhaps from the latter's Opera omnia [Venice, 1498]. His Salve decus castitatis was included in a choirbook recorded in an inventory of books at King's College, Cambridge, in 1529.»

    John Milson wrote about this piece:
«In Robert Wylkynson’s Jesus autem transiens, the most bizarre work in the Eton Choirbook, the central tenets of Christian belief are rehearsedthrough the words of the Apostles’ Creed: ‘I believein God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven andearth’. But this is no ordinary setting of the Creed.The text is divided into twelve segments, preceded bya thirteenth line, ‘Jesus autem transiens’ [‘Jesus thenpassing through (their midst)’]. This is notated as asingle melodic line. To perform the piece, thirteenmale voices sing the music in canon: first a solo voice intones the opening segment; then asecond voice enters, while the first voice moves on tothe second segment; and so on, until thirteen voicesare in play and all thirteen segments soundsimultaneously. The net effect is a harmonious chaos;but the sound is subservient to the work’s symbolicrepresentation of Christ surrounded by his twelve apostles. Through it the medieval listenercould more vividly imagine part of the divine orderthat rested on those pillars of eternity.»

    Enjoy it this wonderful music without end in the amazing performance of Paul Van Nevel and his Huelgas Esemble, in an extraordinary mixture between English and north-continental voices.

The Choir Project al día | 21-II-2015

Matthæus Pipelare [c. 1450-c. 1515]: Memorare mater Christi à 7.
Huelgas Ensemble | Paul Van Nevel.
Ephemeris of Renaissance composers [I].

     Donal Cross wrote about:
«South Netherlandish composer. He was active in Antwerp but left there to become Master of the Choristers for the Confraternity of Our Lady at 's-Hertogenbosch, remaining there from the spring of 1498 until about 1 May 1500. His name indicates that either he or a forebear played woodwind instruments, perhaps as a town piper. In the words of Ornithoparchus, as translated by John Dowland in 1609, Pipelare was one of several composers whose works ‘flow from the very fountaine of Art’.

    Pipelare wrote in almost all the forms of his day, and his style is characterized by its wide diversity, ranging from a dense polyphony, as in the first section of the St John Credo, to a homophonic style, as in Vray dieu d'amours. He approached the style of Pierre de La Rue in the sombre melancholy of some of his works, such as parts of the Missa Mi mi, but such other compositions as the chanson Morkin ic hebbe are gay and light. Two characteristics of his style are the frequent use of syncopation and sequence.

     The Missa Floruit egregius infans Livinus is in an early style. The cantus firmus, which migrates freely from voice to voice, employs altogether 20 chants for St Livinus. All movements except the Kyrie conclude with the same musical section in triple metre to produce a final ‘refrain’ reminiscent of Faugues. The third Agnus Dei of the second Missa sine nomine is noteworthy for an altus part consisting only of the note A, which is symbolically notated. The Missa L'homme armé contains some of his most exciting writing, building up to the grandiose final Agnus Dei. The Missa Dicit Dominus is a study in the complexity of rhythmic structure: the cantus firmus appears in various mensurations conflicting with those of the other parts.

     The Missa Fors seulement, with its rich sonorities, is primarily a cantus firmus mass with the famous melody from Pipelare’s own chanson (second setting) rhythmically differentiated from the other parts. On the other hand, all the parts of the first Missa sine nomine are so permeated with the pre-existing material that it can be called an example of ‘saturation’ technique. Sequence and unpretentious singable lines characterize the Missa Johannes Christe care/Ecce puer meus; the texture of this mass is a 3 since the cantus firmus is absent much of the time. This work and the St John Credo were probably written in 1498 or 1499. Pipelare was a master of large complex structures, but that he did not need complicated organization to bring out his finest writing is nowhere more obvious than in his Missa de feria, which though simple in style contains some of his most memorable music.

      Pipelare's motets show the same diversity of style as his masses. The Salve regina and Ave Maria… virgo serena display an early style in their use of short notes in syncopated rhythms. There is a more careful declamation of the text in Memorare mater Christi (closely modelled on Josquin's Stabat mater) and the Magnificat, in which the composer allowed the voices to move within carefully considered vertical sonorities. Here, especially in the Magnificat, he looked to the future, not only in his careful treatment of dissonance but also in his sense of balance both among the voice parts and in the phrase structures.

     Among his Flemish chansons, Een vrolic wesen seems intended as a solo with instrumental accompaniment, as was an earlier setting by Barbireau. Of the three or possibly four French chansons, there are two settings of Fors seulement, one version based on Ockeghem's famous chanson and a second on a new tenor melody. The second version was extremely popular, to judge both by the many manuscripts and prints that contain it and by the many compositions that in turn were based on it.»

     Nobody like Huelgas Ensemble | Paul Van Nevel to perform this complexity and depth put in music. Is really wonderful. The sonority is precisely the necessary, no less no more; incredible balance, wonderful pitch and impressive declamation of the text. Absolutely thrilling. Marvellous music in a perfect perform.

«Larga vida a...» | Crítica, para Doce Notas, del libro sobre el Thomas Morley editor e impresor

Larga vida a la musicología

Fantástico estudio sobre la vida de uno de los compositores ingleses menos transitados por la musicología, que muestra además una extraordinaria perspectiva del mundo de la edición e impresión musical en las islas británicas.

Thomas Morley. Elizabethan Music Publisher. Tessa Murray. Woodbridge, Boydell Press, 2014. 285 pp. ISBN: 978-1-84383-960-6.

    Los avances que han tenido lugar en la musicología en las últimas décadas son realmente fascinantes. Echar una vista atrás –sin desmerecer en absoluto el trabajo que muchos estudiosos llevan realizando desde bien entrado el siglo XX en esta disciplina– para comprobar cuál era la visión de un musicólogo al acercarse al estudio de una figura compositiva y su contexto, y pasar a continuación a compararlo con la praxis actual en el mismo caso supone todo un ejercicio de clarividencia. El grado de contextualización y la forma en que los autores de los textos son capaces de sumergirse en el mundo humano y profesional de aquel al que estudian supone todo un lujo para los lectores y otros estudiosos. El libro que presentamos aquí es un claro ejemplo de ello, pues resulta, a todo punto, una referencia imprescindible para el estudio de Thomas Morley [c. 1557-1602], uno de los autores ingleses más importantes del Renacimiento, que sin embargo pasa por ser uno de los menos estudiados por los expertos, al igual que de los que menos se interpretan –la ausencia casi total en su catálogo compositivo de piezas sacras le ha afectado notablemente en este aspecto–.

     Encuadrado dentro de la colección Music in Britain, 1600-2000 –un poco justa su presencia aquí en lo temporal, hay que decir–, que coeditan Byron Adams, Rachel Cowgill y Peter Holman, este Thomas Morley. Elizabethan Music Publisher supone un fascinante viaje a la Inglaterra de la segunda mitad del siglo XVI, ahondando con absoluto rigor y una fluidez textual considerable en los aspectos biográficos del autor, uniéndolos de manera muy natural con su desarrollo profesional, cediendo especialmente el protagonismo, como no podía ser de otra forma aquí, a su faceta de editor e impresor.

     Estructurado en torno a once capítulos el texto comienza con los habituales apartados previos al estudio. Un prefacio breve, los correspondientes agradecimientos, lista de ilustraciones aparecidas, así como de las tablas de datos que se adjuntan en el texto, un apartado dedicado a las abreviaturas usadas, y el que me parece de mayor interés, un apartado dedicado a las convenciones editoriales, en el que la autora apunta los aspectos a tener en cuenta en relación con la transcripción de los textos originales, los nombres, los títulos de las obras, la conversión de las monedas en los datos originales, las fechas –por el tema de la adopción del calendario Juliano– y el uso para las referencias de página y folio. Breves subapartados que facilitan en mucho la lectura y la comprensión de los datos.

     Los dos primeros capítulos están dedicados a la etapa formativa de Morley, el primero de ellos a su infancia como cantor en Norwich –su ciudad natal–, así como su posterior nombramiento como maestro de los niños cantores en la catedral de dicha localidad; mientras que el segundo se centra más en su etapa juvenil, cuando fue admitido para estudiar música en la Oxford University, aunque parece que nunca llegaría a asistir como alumno presencial, y especialmente su salto de músico de iglesia al de empresario, sin duda el más sustancial de su carrera. Dos capítulos que sirven para aclarar algunas dudas que estaban pendientes en cuanto a su fecha de nacimiento, su infancia en Norwich y su desempeño profesional en la iglesia, además de su formación o no en Oxford y su relación alumno/maestro con William Byrd –quien le influyó de manera muy notable–.

    Los capítulos tres y cuatro se detienen en el aspecto del contexto musical, especialmente el editorial, el primero de ellos en lo referente al mercado de la música que la autora denomina recreativa –entendiendo el concepto en su contexto–, dedicando apartados muy esclarecedores en cuanto a la impresión musical en Inglaterra antes de 1590 –recordemos que en Inglaterra la primera publicación real completa data de 1575, con las Cantione Sacræ de Tallis y Byrd, cuando en Europa ya se estaba editando e imprimiendo desde comienzos del siglo XVI–, además del tipo de consumidores musicales que encontramos en la Inglaterra en este siglo, la manera en que la música circulaba por el país, el cambio de gustos y manera de consumir por el nuevo público; mientras, el siguiente capítulo se centra en la organización de la imprenta musical centrada en la capital británica, como se controlaba y gestionaba la impresión musical, así como el monopolio establecido por la reina Elizabeth I en manos de Byrd y el final de este.

     Los capítulos cinco, seis y siete se dedican íntegramente a la carrera desarrollada por Morley en lo referente al mundo editorial e impresor. El primero de ellos narra la consecución del monopolio de Morley por parte de la reina, no sin antes hacer alusión al sistema establecido para la consecución de un monopolio, para terminar con un apartado dedicado al monopolio tras la etapa de Morley. El sexto lo dedica al negocio editorial del autor, la economía de la editorial y lo ingresos de sus publicaciones. El séptimo capítulo se centra en el negocio como impresor –es necesario diferenciar entre el del editor y este–, refiriéndose al proceso a seguir a la hora de imprimir, el establecimiento de la imprenta, la rentabilidad económica de la misma y haciendo alusión a algunos casos particulares que supusieron un punto de inflexión en su desarrollo profesional.

    Los capítulos 8 y 9 analizan en que forma Morley responde a las necesidades del mercado a través de la elección de obras para sus clientes. Primeramente en relación al madrigal, dedicando apartados a la propagación del género y otras formas relacionadas, así como su acercamiento como compositor a dicho género profano –sus diversas publicaciones, las transcripciones que realizó y las antologías que editó e imprimió–. El noveno se centra en otros géneros, pues tras haber copado y establecido por completo el mercado de los madrigales ingleses se centró en otros géneros, especialmente dedicados a la música para consort y los ayres para laúd, aquello que se consumía de manera recreativa. Además se nos habla de la publicación de su A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke, un manual musical de autoinstrucción que supuso la culminación de su proyecto editorial más ambicioso y que concluyó en 1597.

     Los dos capítulos finales [diez y once] sirven como fabuloso epílogo a toda la carrera de Morley, pues en ellos se nos da cuenta de su la importancia real que tuvo su labor en el mundo de la impresión, el impacto que tuvieron sus publicaciones, en definitiva, cuál fue su legado –su modelo sirvió como patrón editorial en los siguientes veinte años a su desaparición–.

     Se cierra el libro con una serie de cinco apéndices inteligentemente introducidos por la autora, que sirven de guía en el camino para la mejor comprensión de diversos aspectos: una tabla con las dedicatorias de Morley en sus publicaciones; la transcripción de la patente musical del autor en 1588; una tabla con los ingresos percibidos de por vida por sus publicaciones; una relación con las publicaciones llevadas a cabo por Morley y William Barley como impresores en Little Saint Helnes; las publicaciones de Morley como compositor. Los detalles de las colecciones son excelentes, con el título completo y todos los detalles de las piezas contenidas.

     Este es, pues, un libro de absoluta referencia ya no solo en el tratamiento de la figura de Thomas Morley y su labor como editor e impresor –más que la de compositor–, sino que lo es también en cuanto a la situación de la edición e impresión musical en la Inglaterra de finales del XVI. Un trabajo excelente el llevado a cabo por Tessa Murray, que Boydell Press ha sabido publicar para el solaz de los apasionados estudiosos, intérpretes y lectores de este período tan fascinante.

Publicado en Doce Notas el 06-II-2015.

The Choir Project al día | 14-II-2015

William Cornysh [c. 1465-1523]: Woefully arrayed à 4.  
Stile Antico.
Secular with sacred inspiration.

     David Greer wrote about Cornysh:
«Composer, poet, dramatist and actor, who may have been the son of William Cornysh. This relationship has not been proved, nor is there complete certainty of identity in some of the references to ‘Cornysh’ in the royal accounts and elsewhere. Only the compiler of the Fayrfax Manuscript [GB-Lbl Add.5465] took care to avoid confusion by ascribing three pieces there to ‘William Cornyssh Junior’.

     It was probably this Cornysh who received several payments for his part in court entertainments from 1493 onwards. The first was on 12 November 1493 ‘for a prophecy’, followed by payment for playing the part of St George in the Twelfth Night revels of 1494. In 1501 a Cornysh devised pageants and ‘disguysings’ for the wedding festivities of Arthur, Prince of Wales, and Catherine of Aragon, and it was probably the same man who received payment ‘for setting of a Carrall’ on Christmas Day 1502.

     In 1504 he was imprisoned in the Fleet, and while in prison he wrote a poem entitled A Treatise bitwene Trouth and Enformacion [GB-Lbl Roy.18.D.11; ed. E. Flügel, Anglia, xiv, 1892, 466–71] which is superscribed ‘In the Fleete made by me William Cornysshe otherwyse called Nysshewhete, chapelman with the moost famost kyng Henry the vijth’. His alias is clearly made up of the last syllable of his name and ‘whete’ for ‘corn’. The treatise, written in seven-line stanzas of rhyme royal, consists of four introductory verses which complain how a man may be convicted by false information, followed by A Parable betwene Enformacion and Musike, which argues that the author had been wrongfully accused. The poem makes elaborate use of musical terms. It is not known for what offence he was sent to the Fleet; the common assertion that it was for a satire against the unpopular Sir William Empson is based on a misreading of a passage in Stow's Annales.

     As a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal Cornysh was present at the interment of Henry VII, the coronation of Henry VIII [both in 1509] and the burial of Prince Henry in 1511. On 29 September 1509 he became Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal in succession to William Newark, for whom he had deputized earlier; he held this post until his death. In this capacity he was responsible for the music performed in the chapel, and on two occasions in April 1515 he administered payments to visiting musicians who performed during the services there. He was also responsible for the education and general welfare of the choristers. Between 1509 and 1517 several royal choristers [including William Saunders and Robert Philips] boarded with Cornysh, and it appears from the monthly payments that from June 1517 all the choristers boarded with him. He is mentioned in an exchange of letters dating from 1518 between Richard Pace, the king's secretary, and Cardinal Wolsey concerning a chorister that the king had borrowed from the cardinal's chapel for his own; Cornysh was told that he must treat the boy well, ‘otherwise than he doth his own’ [Brewer, nos.4024–5, 4043–4, 4053–6]. At the same time he maintained connections with Westminster Abbey, as William Cornysh (i) had done: from 1517 to 1520 he leased accommodation from the Abbey, and for the feast of St Edward in 1522 he instructed the choristers of the Lady Chapel.

      From 1509 Cornysh was the leading light in the plays and entertainments that enlivened court life. It is unfortunate that none of his dramatic writings survives [the ‘fantastic attributions’ of Wallace were commented on by Chambers], but some of the plays in which he took part are known, among them The Golden Arbour [1511], The Dangerous Fortress [1514] and the [Triumph of Love and Beauty [1514]. Two of the main actors besides Cornysh were William Crane and John Kite, and these three are mentioned in a poem by Alexander Barclay [quoted by Stevens]:

All this may courtiers in court ofte times heare,
And also songes oftimes swete and cleare.
The birde of Cornwalle, the Crane and the Kite
And mo other like to heare is great delite,
Warbling their tunes at pleasour and at will,
Though some be busy that therin have no skill.

      Cornysh and Kite were also listed as visiting musicians at St Mary-at-Hill in 1510–11 [see Baillie, 1962].

     In September 1513 Cornysh took the Chapel Royal to France in the retinue of Henry VIII, and their performances won great favour. In June 1520 he was again across the Channel, to supervise the Chapel Royal's ceremonies at the field of the Cloth of Gold: he was in charge of the pageants on the Sunday night, and received payment for the maintenance of ten choristers from 29 May to 22 July. In 1522 the Emperor Charles V visited England to cement an alliance with Henry VIII against the French, and on 15 June the court was entertained with a play by Cornysh which outlined in simple allegory the progress of the negotiations and the expected outcome. The play is described in a letter written on 21 June 1522 by Martin de Salinas, ambassador of the Archduke Ferdinand.

     Various import and export licences that Cornysh was formerly thought to have received [see Pine] were in fact awarded to his successor William Crane. On 20 August 1523 Cornysh was granted the manor of Hylden in Kent. All that is known of his domestic life is that his wife's name was Jane and that he had a son called Henry. His will, made in January 1512, was executed on 14 October 1523. He was buried in the ‘Roode’ church of East Greenwich.

    William Cornysh made a notable contribution to the repertory of the secular partsong, which flourished in the reign of Henry VIII. Many of these show the influence of the medieval carol, with its verses and burdens. Woffully araid has three verses with a burden that is given in full at the beginning and end but is shortened between the verses. Yow and I and Amyas is simple and chordal. A robyn is a three-part canon, and My love sche morneth is canonic in its two lower parts. These two pieces, like some other partsongs in this repertory, seem to incorporate elements of pre-existing melodies. Of the instrumental pieces, Fa la sol is long and intricate, and the untitled piece seems to be a catholicon, that is, designed to be perfomed in different modes. Its bass part is constructed like a palindrome, pivoting at bars 15 and 25.

     A number of impressive sacred works are ascribed in other sources to a composer named Cornysh. In addition, there are works now lost that are attributed to someone of this name: an antiphon Altissimi potentia [NOHM, iii, 1960, p.318, n.2]; a Magnificat, a Stabat mater and a five-part antiphon Ad te purissima virgo [formerly in the Eton Choirbook, GB-WRec 178] and some masses listed in a 1529 inventory of King's College, Cambridge [HarrisonMMB, appx iv]. The name ‘Cornysh’ was entered in small writing at the end of several works, including three masses, in the Lambeth Choirbook [GB-Llp 1], but the significance of this is not known. In the extant Eton Choirbook pieces the style ranges from the flamboyance of the surviving Stabat mater to the simple eloquence of the Ave Maria mater Dei. The surviving Magnificat is also extremely florid in places and encompasses an unusually wide range, from C to g''. It has been suggested that the sacred works are the work of William Cornysh (i) rather than the younger man [see Skinner, 1997]. If indeed they are by William Cornysh (ii), however, then he was a composer of great emotional and technical range; whichever the case, the younger Cornysh's versatility as poet, dramatist, ‘player’ and composer reveals him to be a true man of the Renaissance.»

     Matthew O'Donovan said:
«One of the leading English composers around the turn of the sixteenth century was William Cornysh, some of whose chucruch music is preserved in the Eton Choirbook. Woefully arrayed, however, is not church music, but rather a devotional 'carol' intended for domestic performance, and as such is more economical in word-setting, simpler in texture and less ornate than Cornysh's large-scale antiphons. What is striking, however, is the care shown in conveying the text; although textual engagement has by no means reached baroque levels of sophistication, this piece is laden with affective gestures to convey the meaning, while occasional phrases receive particularly vivid word-painting [such as the alternating back and forth between two chord on the words 'tugged to and fro'.]»

For me, this piece has one of the most unique and interesting beginings of the English Renaissance, with the incredible amazing and ornament tenor phrase and the impressive duet with the bass. This piece is absolutely evocative. Stile Antico perform here with stunning sonority, pitch and balance. For me this probably the best version has been recorded. Passion & Resurrection is one of the best albums in the discography, one of the best discographies for one of the best vocal ensembles in the world.

The Choir Project al día | 01-II-2015

Tomás Luis de Victoria [b Avila, 1548-d Madrid, 20 Aug 1611]: Missa Pro defunctis à 4 | Thomae Ludovico / A Victoria Abulensis / Missarum Libri Duo / Quae Partim Quaternis. Partim Quinis. / Partim Senis. / Concinuntur Vocibus / Ad Philippum secundum Hispaniarum Regem Catholicum.
Romae / Ex Typografia Dominici Basae. / MDLXXXIII / Cum Licentia superiorum. / Romae / Apud Alexandrum Gardanum MDLXXXIII.
Ensemble Plus Ultra | Michael Noone.
Not only the six-parts Requiem.

     Robert Stevensosn wrote about Victoria:
«I. Life.

     Victoria was the seventh of 11 children born to Francisco Luis de Victoria and Francisca Suárez de la Concha, who were married in 1540. There were important relatives on both sides of the family. For example, three of his Suárez de la Concha cousins achieved success, Cristóbal as a naval commander, Hernando as a Jesuit pioneer in Mexico and Baltasar as a merchant in Florence, where he married Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici’s sister-in-law and was ennobled. The uncle on his father’s side after whom Victoria was named was a lawyer who pleaded cases before the royal chancery at Valladolid; he entered the priesthood after his wife’s death and in 1577 was installed as a canon of Avila Cathedral. Victoria’s father died on 29 August 1557, and another uncle, Juan Luis, who was also a priest, took charge of the orphaned family.

    Victoria learnt the rudiments of music as a choirboy at Avila Cathedral under the maestros de capilla Gerónimo de Espinar (1550–58) and Bernardino de Ribera (1559–63); Ribera and his successor, Juan Navarro (i), were among the leading Spanish composers of their time. The cathedral organists during this period were Damián de Bolea and Bernabé del Aguila. Victoria may also have known Cabezón, who played at the cathedral in November 1552 and again in June 1556; Cabezón’s wife came from Avila, and their family residence from about 1538 to 1560 was not far from Victoria’s. Victoria’s classical education probably began at S Gil, a school for boys founded at Avila by the Jesuits in 1554. The school enjoyed a good reputation from the beginning, and St Teresa of Avila insisted that her nephews attend it; in April 1557 St Francisco de Borja visited Avila to inspect it and to encourage other Jesuit establishments in the town.

     After his voice had broken, Victoria was sent to the Jesuit Collegio Germanico, Rome, which had been founded in 1552. He may have been enrolled by 25 June 1563, though 1565 is a more probable date (see Casimiri). The 200 students at the college were of two kinds, a small group of young men in training for the German missionary priesthood and a much larger number of English, Spanish and Italian boarders, whose fees helped maintain the college; Victoria was among the latter group and was specifically enrolled as a singer. Here, if not already at S Gil, he achieved fluency in Latin. In the dedication of his first collection of motets (1572) he acknowledged his debt to Otto Truchsess von Waldburg, Cardinal-Archbishop of Augsburg, who with King Philip II had been a chief benefactor of the college. Victoria surely knew Palestrina, who at the time was maestro di cappella of the nearby Seminario Romano, and may even have been taught by him. He was the only peninsular composer before Manuel Cardoso to master the subtleties of Palestrina’s style, as is evident in even his earliest publications.

    For at least five years from January 1569 Victoria was singer and organist at S Maria di Monserrato, the Aragonese church at Rome in which the two Spanish popes are buried; his monthly salary was one scudo. From 1568 to 1571 he may also have been maestro of Truchsess’s private chapel (Jacobus de Kerle had left the post by 18 August 1568). In September or October 1571 the rector of the Collegio Germanico engaged him to teach music to interested boarders at a monthly salary of 15 julios paid out of students’ fees. In 1573 the college authorities decided to separate the Italian boarders from the German seminarians, and on 17 October a parting ceremony was held, during which Victoria’s pupils and others sang his specially composed eight-part psalm Super flumina Babylonis. After the reorganization he was retained to teach the German seminarians, with whom he was able to converse in Latin, and was appointed maestro di cappella. The new rector, Michele Lauretano, paid him two scudi a month, increased to three in April 1574. On 9 January 1574 Pope Gregory XIII gave the Collegio Germanico the Palazzo di S Apollinare as their new home and on 15 April 1576 the adjoining church. A bull of the latter date prescribed that the student body sing the entire Office on at least 20 days of the church year. Victoria continued as maestro di cappella of the Collegio Germanico until 26 December 1576 or possibly a few months longer – his successor was in office by 20 September 1577. In 1575 he graduated from minor orders to the priesthood: Bishop Thomas Goldwell, the last surviving member of the pre-Reformation English hierarchy, ordained him deacon on 25 August and priest three days later. The ceremonies took place at the English church on the Via di Monserrato.

     Victoria next joined the Congregazione dell’Oratorio, a newly formed community of lay priests led by Filippo Neri, and on 8 June 1578 he received a chaplaincy at S Girolamo della Carità, which he held until 7 May 1585. During these years he published five sumptuous volumes in folio, one each of hymns, Magnificat settings and masses, an Office for Holy Week and an anthology of motets; the last-named contained two motets by Francisco Guerrero, who was a personal friend, and one by Francesco Soriano. From 1579 to 1585 he derived his personal income largely from five Spanish benefices conferred by Gregory XIII (S Miguel at Villalbarba, S Francisco and S Salvador at Béjar, S Andrés at Valdescapa and another rent in the diocese of Osma), which produced a total of 307 ducats a year. While a chaplain at S Girolamo della Carità, and even earlier, he further increased his income by occasionally serving at S Giacomo degli Spagnoli. Each year from 1573 to 1577 this church paid him four scudi for Corpus Christi services; in 1579 he received six scudi and 60 baiocchi and in 1580 nine scudi and 60 baiocchi; on 18 November 1582 he and a number of choristers received nine scudi for celebrating the victory by Spanish naval forces at the Battle of Terceira, in the Azores. In 1583 he was elected to the office of visitor to the sick and Spanish destitute in Rome, who were under the charitable care of the Confraternity of the Resurrection. Founded in 1579, this confraternity, attached to the church of S Giacomo, subsidized the celebration of the twice-yearly Forty Hours Devotion, and paid for Easter services. Victoria's disbursements to the sick and needy were reimbursed 23 times during the time that he was visitor to the sick (19 April 1583–3 April 1584). On two occasions, 31 October 1583 and 8 March 1584, he also received 50 julios to pay the eight singers of polyphony who sang the Salve Regina in the Forty Hours Devotion. The 25 signed receipts in the archive of S Giacomo degli Spagnoli constitute the largest single collection of documents in Victoria's handwriting.

     In the dedication of Missarum libri duo (1583) to Philip II, Victoria expressed his desire to return to Spain and to lead a quiet life as a priest. The king, as a reward for his homage, named him chaplain to his sister, the Dowager Empress María, daughter of Charles V, wife of Maximilian II and mother of two other emperors, who from 1581 lived in retirement with her daughter Princess Margarita at the Monasterio de las Descalzas de S Clara at Madrid. The convent was established in 1564 by Juana de la Cruz, sister of St Francisco de Borja, and liberally endowed by Charles V’s daughter Juana, who married João III of Portugal; it housed 33 strictly cloistered nuns, who heard Mass daily in an exquisite small chapel attended by priests who were required to be accomplished singers of plainchant and polyphony. Victoria served the dowager empress from 1587 at the latest until her death in 1603, with an annual salary of 120 ducats, and he was maestro of the convent choir until 1604. From then until his death he held the less arduous post of organist, earning 40,000 maravedís in each of his first two years in it and 75,000 a year thereafter. The chaplains enjoyed a number of benefits, including a personal servant, meals served in their private quarters adjacent to the convent and a month’s holiday each year. Until 1601 they were all required to participate in the daily singing of two masses, one a votive mass with deacon and sub-deacon. At the time of Victoria’s arrival the choir comprised 12 priests (three to a part) and four boys. Instrumentalists were engaged for Easter and for Corpus Christi and its octave. In 1601 a royal decree provided for a bassoonist, who was to play in all musical services, and for two clergymen chosen for their excellent voices to replace three of the foundation’s 12 chaplains. At the same time the number of choirboys was increased to six; they were required to practise daily and to learn plainchant, polyphony and counterpoint from the maestro.

     Life at the convent held such advantages for Victoria that no cathedral post could tempt him – in 1587, for example, he turned down invitations from Seville and Zaragoza to become maestro de capilla there. The élite of Madrid often went to services at the convent, where his works were regularly sung. It is doubtful whether any cathedral would have allowed him the extended leave that the convent gave him in 1592 to enable him to supervise the printing at Rome of his Missae … liber secundus, which he dedicated to María’s son Cardinal Alberto. On 18 July 1593 his motet Surge Debora et loquere canticum was performed in his presence by the Collegio Germanico during Mass and Vespers at S Apollinare to celebrate the defeat of the Turks at Sisak. On 2 February 1594 he joined the cortège at Palestrina’s funeral. A royal warrant of 21 January 1594 authorized the Spanish ambassador at Rome to pay him 150 ducats owing to him from a benefice at Córdoba. He returned to Madrid in 1595.

     María bequeathed three chaplaincies to the convent, one of which went to Victoria, who thereby continued to receive his salary of 120 ducats after her death. Most of his income, however, derived from his numerous simple benefices, whose yearly revenue had grown by 1605 to 1227 ducats through the addition of pensions from the dioceses of Córdoba, Segovia, Sigüenza, Toledo and Zamora. On 1 October 1598 he engaged Julio Junti de Modesti of Madrid to produce 200 copies of a collection of polychoral masses, Magnificat settings, motets and psalms in partbooks, which eventually appeared in 1600. The printer, who was paid 2500 reales in three instalments, was himself allowed an additional 100 copies to sell, beginning 12 months after publication. The masses of this collection were extremely popular at the time, but are not frequently performed today. The nine-part Missa pro victoria was a favourite work of Philip III; the eight-part Missa Ave regina coelorum and Missa Alma Redemptoris mater were so popular in Mexico City that in 1640 they had to be recopied by hand because the original partbooks were worn out. Victoria or his agents sent sets to such distant places as Graz, Urbino and Bogotá, Colombia. In accompanying letters he asked for contributions to cover printing costs and in at least one instance solicited money to secure the release of a younger brother from prison. His strong family ties were especially evident during the last years of his life, when two of his brothers and two of his sisters lived in Madrid; one of the brothers, Agustín, was also a chaplain of the Descalzas Reales convent. Victoria died near the convent in the chaplains’ residence. He was buried at the convent, but his tomb has not been identified.

II. Works: general characteristics.

     Victoria not only left far less music than either Palestrina or Lassus but also limited himself to setting Latin sacred texts. He had a habit of reissuing works that he had already published: more than half the contents of five of his 11 prints had appeared in earlier prints, and of prints subsequent to his first only the first consists almost entirely of newly published music. Moreover, unlike Palestrina, he succeeded in publishing, usually in a luxurious format, nearly the whole of what is now recognized as his authentic oeuvre. Thus the first seven volumes of the eight-volume complete edition of 1902–13 consist wholly of music published during his lifetime; some of that in the eighth is spurious.

    Victoria’s posthumous reputation has largely rested on some plangent motets in his first publication (1572) and on the Officium defunctorum of 1605, composed on the death of the Empress María. Such memorable motets as O vos omnes and Vere languores nostros and a passage such as the setting of the words ‘nihil enim sunt dies mei’ in Versa est in luctum from the Office of the Dead do indeed have a poignancy rarely encountered in other music of the period. Poignancy and mystical fervour are, however, not the only emotions in Victoria’s music, nor indeed the predominant ones. His contemporaries and immediate successors certainly saw a different side of his artistic nature. One astute critic who knew his whole oeuvre as few do today was João IV of Portugal, who, noting in his Defensa de la música moderna (1649) that he instinctively leant more towards the joyful than to the sad, observed that ‘although there is much in his Holy Week volume [1585] that exactly suits the text, nonetheless his disposition being naturally sunny he never stays downcast for long’. João IV also gave the lie to another misconception about Victoria still prevalent in the 20th century when he endorsed the liberal use of instruments to double the vocal lines, and there is other contemporary evidence confirming that doubling was widely practised in his works circulating in Spain.

III. Masses.

     Confirmation of Victoria’s generally cheerful disposition can be found in his own motets that he chose as the basis of his parody masses. He based seven of his masses on his own motets – Ascendens Christus, Dum complerentur, O magnum mysterium, O quam gloriosum, Quam pulchri sunt, Trahe me post te and Vidi speciosam; the masses are parodies of motets for Ascension, Pentecost, the Circumcision, All Saints, the Conception, any Lady feast and the Assumption respectively. Five of these motets end with exultant ‘Alleluias’. His three masses based on his own Marian antiphons Salve regina, Alma Redemptoris and Ave regina, as well as the Missa Laetatus sum, based on his own psalm, display similarly positive qualities. Three other parody masses are based on works by Guerrero, Morales and Palestrina respectively. The Missa pro victoria is one of several Spanish battle masses based on Janequin’s La guerre.

     There are 20 authentic masses by Victoria, all published during his lifetime. 15 are parodies, four are paraphrases (Ave maris stella, De Beata Maria Virgine, Pro defunctis of 1583 and the mass sections of the Officium defunctorum), and one, Missa quarti toni, is mostly a free mass, which does, however, at the close of both Gloria and Credo (‘Amen’) quote verbatim the music of the last appearance of ‘ipsum quem genuit adoravit’ in his Purification motet Senex puerum portabat. The four masses published in the 1600 miscellany, all of which are provided with organ scores paralleling Chorus I, contrast in a number of ways with those published earlier: they are for two choirs, one for three (Laetatus), and the three new masses are in an undeviating F major. There are subtle structural differences too, such as the greater use of free episodic material, and the repetition of polyphonic blocks. These are sometimes from movement to movement: for instance, in the Missa pro victoria, first Kyrie, bars 1–8 = Agnus Dei, bars 1–8; second Kyrie, 36–42 = Agnus Dei, 16–22; Gloria, 1–3 = Credo, 83–5; Gloria, 28–34 = Agnus Dei, 8 (beat 3) – 15 (beat 3); and Gloria, 59–76 = Credo, 133–50. But there are also repetitions within the same movement: in the Missa pro victoria, Gloria, bars 59–64 = bars 67–72; Credo, 133–8 = 141–6; and Sanctus, 21–5 (beat 1) = 25–9 (beat 1) = 47–51 (beat 1) = 51–5 (beat 1). Another feature of Victoria’s late masses is his frequent recourse to triple metre: whereas Ave maris stella and Dum complerentur (both 1576) do not contain a single bar of triple time, the 1600 masses are full of them, the Missa pro victoria composed to celebrate the Treaty of Vervins (1598) alone containing 134.

     A prominent stylistic trait in masses from all periods of Victoria’s career, and in other works, too, is the kind of tonal fluctuation represented by melodic progressions such as F–G–F#, F#–G–F and E–F–E, which are not found in, for example, the works of Palestrina or Guerrero. He anticipated both composers when in 1576 he chose to base a mass on one of his own motets (Dum complerentur). In his middle-period masses, however, he shared with Guerrero a fondness for paired imitation. His masses are on the whole much more concise than those of Palestrina or Guerrero; this is particularly true of those in the 1592 and 1600 volumes. Unlike Palestrina, he broke up his masses with frequent emphatic cadences. He often wrote functional rather than modal harmony, even in the Missa quarti toni. The modes that he used in his parody masses have been tabulated by Rive (1969), who drew attention to the high incidence of the Dorian and Ionian modes (six and five masses respectively) compared with the Mixolydian (three masses), a tendency also found in his other music. His chromatic alterations in his parodies, especially the later ones, make the Dorian mode sound increasingly like a minor key and the Ionian more and more like a major key.»

     This is wonderful performance. Very «British», with extraordinary sonority –in my opinion this sound is absolutely amazing for Victoria's music– but really expressive too.
I reccomend this album, especially for the fantastic critical notes prepared by Alfonso de Vicente, an specialist of this composer.

     Music for reflection and introspection. An absolutely masterwork in the Western History of Music.

The Choir Project al día | 17-I-2015

Jean Maillard [fl. 1538-70]: In pace à 6.
The Marian Consort.
Unknown french master.

      Marie-Alexis Colin and FRank Dobbins wrote about Maillard:
«French composer. Most of his works were published in Paris, probably indicating that he was resident there for at least part of his life. His name is mentioned in the Prologue to Rabelais’ Quart livre [de] Pantagruel [1548], and by Ronsard, in the Preface to Le Roy & Ballard’s Livre de meslanges (1560). These citations, taken with the evidence of a portrait of a middle-aged composer printed in 1565, as well as the content and pattern of his publications, suggest that he was born in about 1515. His publication of the coronation motet Domine salvum fac regem in 1553 and the dedication of his two motet collections of 1565 to King Charles IX and the Queen Mother, Catherine de’ Medici, respectively, suggests a link with the French court; the few surviving records of the royal chapel and household do not mention his name. Several men named Jean Maillard are traceable in Paris between the 1540s and 60s, among them Jehan Maillard, poet and scrivener to François I and then Henry VIII; he published Le premier recueil de la muse cosmopolitique, which contains a polyphonic paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer. Another Jean Maillard, mentioned by Bèze and Henri Estienne as Dean of the Faculty of Theology in the University of Paris, died in about 1567. However, none of these men is definitely identifiable with the composer; nor can he be positively associated with the later musicians Gilles Maillard of Thérouanne, who was living in Lyons in 1584, or Pierre Maillart of Valenciennes.

     The absence of his name in Le Roy & Ballard’s new collections after 1571, together with the appeal to Catherine de’ Medici in the preface to the Modulorum … secundum librum [1565] for ‘the return of the most refined graces, hidden or banished from your France … during these stormy times’ may signify that Maillard harboured Protestant sympathies that caused him to be excluded from the Catholic court and capital. Even though his output of predominantly Latin sacred music, including a collection of 25 motets, two masses and two Magnificats copied in ultra-Catholic Spain (E-Bc 682), suggests an ecclesiastical career, more than a hint of protest can be gleaned from his setting of three chansons spirituelles – including Hélas mon Dieu ton ire by the Huguenot poet Guillaume Guéroult – and of a paraphrase of Psalm xv [Qui est-ce qui conversera] by Marot [RISM 155318].

     Maillard’s six surviving masses include a requiem for four voices, a Missa Virginis Mariae» paraphrasing the plainchant melodies of the Mass of the Virgin, three four-voice parody masses on chansons by Cadéac or Lupi Second [Je suis déshéritée], Certon [M’amie un jour], Sermisy [Missa pro vivis, based on O combien est malheureux] and one based on a motet by Richafort [Ego sum qui sum]. Of his 86 motets, 44 are for four voices, 32 for five, nine for six and one for seven voices; more than half of the motets are freely composed and the others based on plainchant melodies, presented usually in long note values in the superius, but occasionally in the tenor, or paraphrased with successive motifs treated in imitation. His five-voice Exaudi Domine uses an ostinato from Josquin’s Faulte d’argent, while one of his two four-voice settings of Inviolata integra combines the chant for the sequence with those of three different antiphons. Like other French composers, Maillard generally used short melodic motifs of limited range in close imitation; he also occasionally employed canonic devices, most effectively in the six-voice motet Fratres mei elongaverunt and the four-voice Congregati sunt inimici nostri. He fairly frequently employed techniques of word-painting, as in the Cecilian responsory Cantantibus organis and the Easter sequence Victimae paschali laudes.

     Most of his chansons set either courtly epigrams of four or eight lines by poets such as Marot, Saint-Gelais, Scève and Sainte-Marthe, or anonymous anecdotal narratives; these works are very much in the style of the 1540s established by Sermisy, Sandrin, Janequin and Certon. Occasionally he turned to older forms [as in the rondeaux Du mal que j’ay and Ceste belle petite bouche]. His earliest works were printed simultaneously by Moderne in Lyons and Attaingnant in Paris; his later pieces appeared in Le Roy’s collections, including two five-voice pieces in the retrospective Meslanges of 1560.

     Three of the motets appeared in the lute intabulation by Adrian Le Roy [155124] before their partbook publication in 15537. Many of the chansons were also arranged for lute, guitar, cittern and vihuela in publications by Gerle, Le Roy, Phalèse and others between 1546 and 1578; Goudimel based a mass on the chanson Tant plus je mets, Palestrina a mass on Eripe me, while Lassus parodied other motets and chansons.»

      Eric Rice wrote about this piece:
«Maillard’s impressive In pace for six voices was likely composed for use at Compline. The name “Compline” is from the Latin completus [“completed”], a reference to the end of the day; the service seems to have grown out of collective prayers said before going to bed. Many of the prayers and other texts recited during compline are supplications for God’s protection during sleep, and four psalms deemed particularly pertinent are chanted in Compline services: 4, 90, 30, and 133 [Vulgate numbering]. The texts of In pace are not drawn from these psalms, but they from others that refer to sleep. The brevity and grammatical incompleteness of the texts suggests that chant — perhaps that of a Paris tradition — may have been performed between sections of this motet.»

      Wonderful piece –pieces based on the the «In pace» are really beautiful, very expressive, calm and deep–. This performance is wonderful –pure British–, with an ethereal sonority. The plain chant is very «operistic», but ther poliphonic parts are fantastic. The young The Marian Consort is a fantastic vocal ensemble. Pay attention to them.

Enjoy it!