1. Oeil esgaré [2'45]
2. Missa Mort m'a privé
3. Movement 1: Kyrie [4'29]
4. Movement 2: Gloria [5'22]
5. Movement 3: Credo [8'32]
6. Movement 4: Sanctus [7'35]
7. Movement 5: Agnus Dei [6'43]
8. Mort m'a privé a 5 [2'11]
9. Caesaris auspiciis [4'36]
10. Mort m'a privé a 4 [2'36]
11. Cur Fernande pater [5'08]
12. Le monde est tel [1'58]
13. Praemia pro validis [7'37]
14. Congratulamini mihi [6'18]

The Brabant Ensemble
Stephen Rice (conductor)

When Isabella of Portugal died in childbirth in 1539, her husband, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, went into deepest mourning; in his profound grief, he commissioned posthumous portraits of Isabella from the Italian artist Titian, as well as several musical memorials from Flemish composer Thomas Crecquillon. Little is known of Crecquillon's career apart from his decade of service to Charles, but his body of works written at court was substantial, consisting of numerous motets, chansons, and masses. The pieces directly associated with Isabella's demise -- the Missa Mort m'a privé, two motets of the same title, and the chansons Oeil esgaré and Le monde est tel -- are prominently featured on this 2006 release from Hyperion; three other funeral motets, composed for other members of the royal family, are included, as well as a choral meditation on the Resurrection of Christ as the concluding track. Crecquillon's mannered style is smooth in line and translucent in texture, and surprisingly bright in tone for music commemorating the dead; except for his subtle use of modes and some plangent cross-relations, these works seem spiritually uplifting and quite soothing to modern ears, not at all gloomy or brooding. Crecquillon's music, like that of his near-contemporaries Josquin Desprez and Orlande de Lassus, has a serenity that only a practiced ensemble in this literature can deliver with satisfactory results, and the Brabant Ensemble, directed by Stephen Rice, does just that. Specialists in Renaissance music of the regions of Brabant, Burgundy, and the Netherlands, this British chamber choir is remarkably pure in tone and evenly blended, and its expressive performances offer a glimpse into the work of an unduly neglected composer (though greatly admired by Claudio Monteverdi as a master of counterpoint), as well as rare insights into the emotional life of one of Europe's most powerful monarchs. This album affords a sublime listening experience with exceptional sound quality and is highly recommended as one of the year's best. ---Blair Sanderson, Rovi

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1.Fortune, Helas
2.Mon povre coeur, chansons for 4 voices
3.Quand me souvient de ma triste / Ung triste cueur (Response)
4.Or sus a cop, chanson for 4 voices
5.L'ardant Amour / Taire et souffir (response)
6.Prestés moy l'ung de ces yeulx 2:55
7.Amour et moy avons faict accointance, chanson for 4 voices
8.Si pour aimans, chanson for 4 voices
9.Pour ung plaisir / Si de present peine j'endure (response by Susato)      play
10.D'ung seul regart mort (ii) / Cerchant plaisir (reponse)
11.Pour une hellas j'endure, chanson for 4 voices
12.Plus je ne sçay que dire / La mort bien je desire (reponse)
13.Puisque malheur
14.La mort bien je desire, response for 4 voices (for Plus je ne sçay que dire)
15.Mi levay pour ung matin, chanson for 4 voices
16.Alix avoit aux dens, chanson for 4 voices
17.Ung gay bergier, chanson for 4 voices
18.Prenez pitié du mal, chanson for 4 voices
19.Puis que j'ay mis, chanson for 4 voices                                play
20.A vous en est
21.Petite Fleur
22.Resveillés vous, chanson for 4 voices

Egidius Kwartet

Peter de Groot, altus
Marco van de Klundert, tenor
Hans Wijers, baritone
Donald Bentvelsen, bass
with
Maria Luz Alvarez, soprano

Egidius Consort

Saskia Coolen, recorder & viol
Erik Beijer, viol
Johannes Boer, viol
Susanne Braumann, descant viol (track 3)
Antoinette Lohmann, descant viol (track 9, 13)

At a conference of musicologists in Utrecht, the Egidius Kwartet met Dr.Laura Youens, Professor of Music at George Washington University, Washington DC. She and her team not only published the music in an excellent edition, but also paid careful attention to the poetry used by Crecquillon for his songs, just as the Egidius Kwartet do. This meeting resulted in the first CD recording ever of all Crecquillon’s chansons.

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