Pange Lingua 
01. Pange Lingua 

Missa Pange Lingua
02. I. Kyrie 
03. II. Gloria 
04. III. Credo 
05. IV. Sanctus & Benedictus 
06. V. Agnus Dei I, II & III 

Missa La Sol Fa Re Mi 
07. I. Kyrie 
08. II. Gloria 
09. III. Credo 
10. IV. Sanctus & Benedictus 
11. V. Agnus Dei I, II & III 

The Tallis Scholars
Peter Phillips -  direçtor

Josquin lived nearly a century before Palestrina and Lassus. He is thought to have spent some time in Italy and thus to have contributed to the Flemish influence on Italian polyphony, in which matter he was followed by Lassus himself. These two masses are widely separated by date, and is easy to discern a development in his style from the sectional structure of the Missa La sol fa re mi to the more continuous manner of the Missa Pange Lingua. The stylistic feature of antiphonal responses between the parts is one in which he was conspicuously followed by Lassus and much less by Palestrina, and may be a distinctively Flemish characteristic.

There are three works on this disc, and there is a separate style of recording for each. We are evidently dealing with a very clever recording consultant here. The plainsong Pange Lingua, one of the most marvellous of the plainchants, is given an echoing acoustic suggestive of the standard image of hooded monks as one might encounter that in, say, a Vincent Price film. I buy the effect wholeheartedly, except to say that it certainly does not recall to me the acoustic of the impressive but hardly monastic chapel of Merton College Oxford. Meretricious or not, the effect has at least one out-and-out admirer, and my pleasure was further enhanced on hearing the last two stanzas, the dreaded Tantum Ergo of so many excruciating Victorian settings, sung to its great original melody.

The Missa La sol fa re mi, (the notes A,G,F,D,E in modern parlance and cantance) seems to be regarded as a triumph here by commentators in general. Whether this short canto fermo originated in a parody of the phrase `Lascia faremi' or `Be missing', supposedly associated with some unknown but clearly important personage, is not established. The singing and mastery of style that we have come to associate with so many Oxford and Cambridge groups in recent years are here blessed with a recorded sound that is a masterpiece of clarity and natural resonance. Something changes for the Missa Pange Lingua. I cannot myself perceive here any unsuitable affinity with the style of Palestrina. The vocal line itself is most un-Palestrina-like, and the rendition has a slightly nervy alertness that would not suit Palestrina to my ears. What is conspicuously different is the recorded sound, this time more constricted and slightly more distant. If this was a misjudgment, it was at least a misjudgment in the right direction, as the style of this Mass is less `winning' than that of the other, and more austere. I am reluctant to be judgmental about this, given the obvious virtuosity of the recording engineer. Whether I like the different effect or not, I can't suspect it was unintentional.

A notable issue one way or the other, and heartily recommended. ---David Bryson, amazon.com

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1. Missa de beata virgine - Kyrie (Kyrie 1 - Christe - Kyrie 2)
2. Missa de beata virgine - Gloria
3. Missa de beata virgine - Credo								play
4. Missa de beata virgine - Sanctus (Sanctus 1 - Pleni Sunt - Hosanna 1)
5. Missa de beata virgine - Benedictus (Benedictus - Hosanna 2)
6. Missa de beata virgine - Agnus Dei (Agnus Dei 1 - Agnus Dei 2 - Agnus Dei 3)

Performer - A Sei Voci

Josquin des Prez (1450-1521) is a French composer. His music provides a bridge between the late medieval period and Renaissance. Very little is known, but much is conjectured, about his early life and training. He began as a choral singer and was composing by 1483. He traveled to Rome and Milan and sang in various secular and papal courts.

Josquin returned to France when the French king, Louis XII, invaded Italy in 1498. In fact, there is an anecdote (that even may be true) about Josquin in Louis XII's court: the king had not paid Josquin a promised amount, so Josquin composed a motet using Psalm 117, "Remember your word to your servant." The court was charmed by Josquin's cleverness and Louis XII paid him. The Missa de Beata Virgine is an amalgamation of three medieval mass styles. While the strict cantus-firmus style is found in the last three sections, the plainsong and parody styles appear as well.

The vocal ensemble A Sei Voci is based in the French city of Sablé-sur-Sarthe and was founded in 1977. The name, naturally, is so given as the group uniformly consists of six regular member voices, although other singers and instrumentalists are added as each project they undertake may require. A Sei Voci was founded with the purpose of recovering vocal works from the Baroque and Renaissance periods that were not yet revived or otherwise known to the public.

Early on, A Sei Voci established itself as a force to be reckoned with through a series of concerts, held mainly in continental Europe, in which the "visual" show proved of equal interest to that given in the music. A Sei Voci also became known through a number of outstanding recordings made for the French company Erato, where the group was often identified as "Ensemble a sei voci." In 1991, A Sei Voci was reorganized with original member Bernard Fabré-Garrus named as leader, and at that time the shortened form of the name became permanent. Under Fabré-Garrus' leadership, the group flourished and soon found itself in a position to negotiate a new recording contract with Auvidis Astrée. Thankfully, this arrangement managed to survive Astrée's absorption by the French media giant Naïve.

A Sei Voci has recorded works by Gesualdo, Josquin Desprez, Charles d'Helfer, Janequin, Monteverdi, Jommelli, and many others, and its trophy case is filled with multiple awards and citations of distinction, including the Choc de Musique, Diapason d'Or, and the Grand Prix du Disque of the Académie de Charles Cros, to name just a few. A Sei Voci is no longer just limited to Renaissance and Baroque literature, but is now known for its performances in works of Mahler and Brahms. Since the beginning of Fabré-Garrus' directorship, A Sei Voci has likewise reached out to contemporary composers as well and has given premieres of new works by composers such as Thierry Escaich and Jean-François Zygel. --- Uncle Dave Lewis, allmusic.com

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[01] Douleur me bat - 5 voix (Hc, T, T, Ba, B) et violes          2'54
[02] Adieu mes amours - 4 violes                                  2'03
[03] Plusieurs regretz - 2 voix (Hc, Ba) et violes                2'32
[04] Petite camusette - 3 voix (Hc, T, Ba) et 3 violes            1'07
[05] Mille regretz - 4 voix (Hc, T, Ba, B) et luth                1'59
[06] Mille regretz - luth solo                                    2'31
[07] En non saichant - 5 voix (Hc, T, Ba, Ba, B)                  2'23
[08] J'ay bien cause de lamenter - 3 voix (Hc, T, B) et luth      1'24
[09] Nimphes, nappés - tutti: 6 voix, violes, luth                2'36
[10] Ile fantazies - violes                                       1'59
[11] La plus des plus - violes                                    1'20
[12] Plus n'estes ma maistresse - 4 voix (Hc, T, Ba, B) et luth   2'21
[13] Cueurs désolez - cantus (Hc) et violes                       1'41
[14] Plaine de dueil - 5 voix (Hc, T, T, Ba, B) et violes         2'03
[15] Fortuna desperata (Busnois/Josquin) - violes                 1'39
[16] Faulte d'argent - 5 voix (Hc, T, T, Ba, B) et luth           2'05
[17] Cueur langoreulx - 2 voix (Hc, T) et violes                  1'59
[18] Fors seulement - luth                                        1'53
[19] Je me complains - 5 voix (Hc, T, T, Ba, B) et violes         1'44
[20] Si congié prens - 2 voix (T, Ba) et violes                   2'51
[21] Tenez moy en vos bras - tutti                                1'50
[22] EI grillo - 4 voix (Hc, T, Ba, B) et luth                    1'33
[23] Si j'ay perdu mon amy - violes                               2'22
[24] Parfons regretz - 5 voix (Hc, T, T, Ba, B)                   2'33
[25] Vous l'arez s'il vous plaist - 3 voix (Hc, T, Ba) et violes  1'49
[26] Allégez moy - 6 voix (tutti) et luth                         1'05
[27] Déploration sur la mort de Johannes Ockeghem                 5'54
(Nymphes des bois) - 5 voix (Hc, T, Ba, Ba, B)

DURÉE TOTALE                                                     59'54


Ensemble Clément Janequin:

dir. Dominique Visse, haute-contre
Bruno Boterf, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, ténors
Philippe Cantor, Josep Cabré, barytons
Antoine Sicot, basse
Claude Debóves, luth

Ensemble Les Eléments:

Ariane Maurette, Nanneke Schaap, René Stock, Erin Headley, violes

Although I have quite a few Josquin CDs, this one is rather unusual among them: where most look 'back' and see Josquin in the context of his medieval predecessors, this CD looks 'forward' and sees Josquin as predecessor of the madrigalists. Songs are accompanied by a consort of viols or a lute (or both), creating a sound-world that matches the Italian madrigals of a generation (or two) later, or that of Dowland and the English lute/consort songs. And it is quite an eye-opener, because it really works, and thus reminds us that Josquin was in some respects transitional, too.

I would, though, recommend the Hilliards' disc of songs and religious pieces as a still better introduction to Josquin, and for their livelier performances of several of the chansons too. (And, as a minor complaint, I personally would have preferred vocal versions of some of Josquin's best songs which are only offered in lute/viol transcriptions here - Fortuna desperata, Fors seulement for instance.) ---D. Wyatt, amazon.com

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    Josquin Desprez:
  1.  Deus in nomine tuo salvum me fac (instrumental)

    Johannes Martini
  2. Perfunde coeli rore

    Josquin Desprez: Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae
  3.  Introït
  4.  Kyrie, Christe, Kyrie
  5.  Gloria				play
  6.  Credo					
  7.  Sanctus, Benedictus
  8.  Agnus Dei

    Josquin Desprez:
  9.  Inviolata, integra et casta es, Maria		play
  10.  Miserere mei, Deus

    Eneas Dupré
  11.  Chi à martello dio gl'il toglia (instrumental)

A Sei Voci:
 [Raoul Le Chenadec (countertenor), Thierry Bréhu (tenor), Éric Gruchet (tenor),
 James Gowings (baritone), Didier Bolay (bass)],

Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris:
 [William Anger (treble), Ambroise Audoin-Rouseau (treble), Raphaël Audoin-Rouseau (treble),
 Benjamin Limonet (treble), Raphaël Mas (treble), François-Xavier Casadavant (treble),
 Aïno Lund (soprano), Marie-Pierre Wattiez (soprano), Valérie Rio (soprano), Cyprile Meier (soprano),
 Mathilde Ambrois (soprano), Andrès Rojas Urrego (alto), Cécile Pilorger (alto), Hélène Bordes (alto)
 Pascal Lefebvre (tenor), Christophe Poncet (tenor), Marc Manodritta (tenor), Nicolas Maire (tenor),
 Éric Lavoipierre (bass), Robert Labrosse (bass), Emmanuel Bouquey (bass),
 Emmanuel Vistorky (bass), Serge Schoonbroodt (bass)],

Les Saqueboutiers de Toulouse:
 [Jean-Pierre Canihac (cornett), Daniel Lassalle (sackbut), Stefan Legée (sackbut),
 Thierry Durant (bass sackbut), Gisèle David (percussions)], Ensemble Labyrinthes
 [Sabine Weil (alto bombarde), Pierre-Marie Chemla (alto & tenor bombarde),
 Philippe Canguilhem (tenor bombarde), Alain Sobczak (bass bombarde)], Yasuko Bouvard (organ)]

Bernard Fabre-Garrus – director

Recordings: Église du Saint Sépulchre, Abbeville, France [09/1996]

Josquin des Prez (c.1450 to 1455 – 27 August 1521), often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He is also known as Josquin Desprez and Latinized as Josquinus Pratensis, alternatively Jodocus Pratensis, although he himself expressed his preferred spelling of his name, Josquin des Prez, in an acrostic in his motet Illibata Dei virgo nutrix.[2][3] He was the most famous European composer between Guillaume Dufay and Palestrina, and is usually considered to be the central figure of the Franco-Flemish School. Josquin is widely considered by music scholars to be the first master of the high Renaissance style of polyphonic vocal music that was emerging during his lifetime.

Josquin wrote both sacred and secular music, and in all of the significant vocal forms of the age, including masses, motets, chansons and frottole. During the 16th century, he was praised for both his supreme melodic gift and his use of ingenious technical devices. In modern times, scholars have attempted to ascertain the basic details of his biography, and have tried to define the key characteristics of his style to correct misattributions, a task that has proved difficult.

The music on the CD is associated with the Duke Ercole I d’Este and his marriage in 1473, a sumptuous, extrovert and highly spectacular occasion. Indeed Josquin derived melodic material from the vowels of the Duke’s name. This surely accounts for the greater, more opulent forces. At first there is a thrill to the fuller sound picture. But repeated performances may convince the listener that the less outgoing, more ‘private’ approach of the rival recordings has just as much – if not more – to recommend it. Perhaps the perceptible touch of rhetoric on this occasion is superfluous. As a whole, then, here is a collection to be treasured. It’s vigorous yet thoughtful; easy on the ear and on the soul. The CDs’ booklets are informative and the recordings, acoustic and quantities generous. --- Mark Sealey, MusicWeb International

Josquin des Prés (Desprez, Jodocus Pratensis) (ur. 1450-1455, zm. 27 sierpnia 1521) – kompozytor i śpiewak flamandzki, dyrygent chórów kościelnych w Mediolanie, Rzymie, Ferrarze i Modenie. Urodził się najprawdopodobniej na terenie ówczesnej Francji. Informacje dotyczące życia kompozytora oparte są głównie na nielicznych źródłach pośrednich i hipotezach. Przypuszcza się, że był uczniem Johannesa Ockeghema. Do roku 1479 przebywał jako śpiewak na dworze mediolańskim. Następnie śpiewał i dyrygował chórami kościelnymi w Rzymie, Cambrai, Modenie, Ferrarze, a po podboju królestwa mediolańskiego przez Francję służył na dworze króla Ludwika XII.

Josquin des Prés komponował prawie wyłącznie muzykę wokalną. Twórczość jego obejmuje podstawowe gatunki muzyki religijnej tego okresu, czyli msze i motety, oraz świecką chanson. Twórczość mszalna obejmuje 18 cykli ordinarium, opartych na cantus firmus zaczerpniętym z chorału. W jego motetach cantus firmus, pochodzący z chorału lub muzyki świeckiej, wprowadzany jest często w trakcie utworu. Chansons wykazują ogromną różnorodność ukształtowań formalnych, kompozytor opracowywał wiersze prawie wszystkich form i typów tematycznych tych czasów. Wiele motetów utrzymanych jest też w technice przeimitowanej. Utwory Josquina des Prés, mimo stosowania licznych imitacji, są bardzo czytelne i przejrzyste. Uważany jest za najwybitniejszego kompozytora drugiej połowy XV w. oraz pierwszej ćwierci XVI w. Był zwany princeps omnium (książę wszystkich).

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01 - Inviolata, Integra, Et Casta Es Maria 
02 - Ut Phoebi Radiis 
03 - De Profundis Clamavi 
04 - Christe Fili Dei - J'ay Pris Amours 
05 - O Virgo Virginum 
06 - Vultum Tuum Deprecabuntur - Vultum Tuum Deprecabuntur 
07 - Vultum Tuum Deprecabuntur - Ave Maria, Gratia Plena 
08 - Vultum Tuum Deprecabuntur - Sancta Dei Genitrix 
09 - Vultum Tuum Deprecabuntur - O Intemerata Virgo 
10 - Vultum Tuum Deprecabuntur - O Maria, Nullam Tam Gravem 
11 - Vultum Tuum Deprecabuntur - Mente Tota Tibi Supplicamus 
12 - Vultum Tuum Deprecabuntur - Ora Pro Nobis 
13 - La Déploration De Johannes Ockeghem Nymphes Des Boys 
14 - O Bone Et Dulcis Domine Jesus - Pater Noster - Ave Maria 
15 - Huc Me Sydereo - Plangent Eum 
16 - O Virgo Prudentissima - Beata Mater 

Orlando Consort

Josquin des Prez (d1521) was the supreme master of late medieval music. Only recently, however, have scholars been able to disentangle his biography from those of other minor figures with similar names (see Composer of the Month in the November 1998 issue of BBCMusic Magazine). In fact, not all of the pieces attributed to Josquin on these two discs are certainly by him. But this does not matter: both recordings, in contrasting ways, present a wealth of splendid music. The Obsidienne disc is extremely enjoyable but tends towards the ‘musical toyshop’ approach with tinkling instruments and percussion (in ‘Adieu mes amours’) and ‘folksong’ renderings of some of the chanson melodies. The ‘L’homme armé’ Mass is briskly but nicely done by a choir of 16 singers – but the confused bustle of voices in the Sanctus causes the music to dissolve from lack of direction (this perhaps accounts for the misprint ‘Josquib’ at the top of the contents list). By contrast the Orlando Consort, singing one-to-a-part, renders Josquin’s complex motets with precise tuning (very necessary in ‘Nymphes des boys’), a medieval French pronunciation of the Latin texts, and, above all, a terrific sense of the architecture of these pieces – especially in the massive ‘O virgo virginum’. Delicious. ---Anthony Pryer, classical-music.com

Recorded for Deutsche Grammophon in 1999 and not particularly well engineered, this album was reissued late in the 2000s decade by the Dutch budget label Brilliant. The original release dated from just before Britain's Orlando Consort, a male quartet here augmented with a couple of other singers, went on to wide popularity with a series of themed albums, both sacred and secular, that brought together varied strands of Renaissance music in highly listenable ways. Here the group plays it straight, plowing through 16 Josquin motets and hitting several of the greatest hits in the process. There's no real reason to sing these motets with one voice per part as is done here; Josquin was involved for most of life with choirs of boys and men, including the Sistine Chapel Choir, that clearly had more than one singer on each line. A group like the Tallis Scholars offers a better choice for a basic Josquin motet album. But the Orlando's high level of musicianship, combining both technical accuracy and expression, is everywhere in evidence here. Josquin's uncanny way of extracting distinctive polyphonic structures from the simplest of materials at the beginning of a piece is traced with perfect clarity, while the expressive dimension of a piece like De profundis clamavi (track 3), with the first-person "voice" gaining power as it climbs out of the depths all the while staying within the confines of a strict canon, is beautifully done. An alternative way of performing Josquin, but one that will be appreciated by those who favor a subjective approach to his motets.---James Manheim, AllMusic Review

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1 Ave Maria 4'38
2 Stabat mater dolorosa 7'56 
3 Salve Regina 3'54
4 Ave nobilissima creatura 8'34 
5 O bone et dulcissime Jesu 5'33
6 Usquequo, Domine, oblivisceris me 7'11 
7 Miserere mei, Deus 15'19

La Chapelle Royale
Philippe Herreweghe – conductor

"Josquin fans must be wondering why their luck has so suddenly turned. It is not just that new and good records of his music now seem to be appearing almost monthly. Nor even that musicians and ensembles—like Philippe Herreweghe and La Chapelle Royale—who have hitherto concentrated on somewhat later music are apparently turning to Josquin, whose music they perform with individuality and seriousness of purpose. It is also that they are concentrating on some of his finest achievements: here, for example, we have not only the miraculous Miserere—the work that the late Edward Lowinsky regarded as music's answer to the Sistine Chapel ceiling—but the six voice Ave nobilissima creatura, the Stabat mater and the psalm Usquequo, Domine.

[La Chapelle Royale] are heard at their best in the four-voice Salve, regina, where the lines run excitingly and each phrase emerges gloriously from the last. Another excellent performance is Usquequo, Domine, where the (perhaps surprising) decision to choose a lower pitch-standard allows Herreweghe to dispense with his sopranos, thereby displaying the superb control of his altos and particularly his low basses. But I shall probably return to the record most often for the Miserere, where Herreweghe secures the blend of precision and passion that is so necessary if this most extraordinary of works is to make its impact." ---Gramophone [4/1987], arkivmusic.com

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1. Motet: Ave Maria (a 4)
2. Motet: Absalon, fili mi (a 4)
3. Motet: Veni, sancte Spiritus (a 6)
4. Motet: De profundis clamavi (a 4)
5. Frottola: Scaramella (a 4) (w/ setting by Compere)
6. Chanson: In te Domine speravi (a 4)
7. Frottola: El grillo (a 4)
8. Chanson: Milles regretz (a 4)
9. Chanson: Petite camusette (a 6)
10. Chanson: Je me complains (a 5)
11. Chanson: En l'ombre d'ung buissonet (a 3)
12. Chanson: Je ne me puis tenir d'aimer (a 5)
13. Motet-chanson: La deploration sur la mort de Ockeghem (a 5)

Hilliard Ensemble
David James (counter-tenor), Paul Elliott (tenor), Leigh Nixon (tenor)
Rogers Covey-Crump (tenor), Paul Hillier (bass), Michael George (bass)

When compared to late Medieval and early Renaissance composers, Josquin’s style is unique since it preserves the Church’s tradition of textual clarity while emphasizing varied vocal texture and human emotion. The first piece on the album, Ave Maria, Gratia Plena, is a motet that encompasses these characteristics and others that make up Josquin’s style. Josquin begins Ave Maria, Gratia Plena using all four voices to declare the text by beginning with the soprano and using points of imitation to slowly move the text through the other voices. By using imitation, Josquin emphasizes the text through repetition and creates seamless polyphony, a compositional technique that creates fluid vocal movement from resulting harmonies. Because Josquin’s use of imitation is very effective, he does not over use this technique, but instead chooses to vary the vocal textures in the piece by using a mixture of polyphony and homophony, and at certain moments, opting to leave out a voice. It is clear through Josquin’s compositional techniques that his intentions are to use a variety of textures to above all, support the text. Though these are technical examples of Josquin’s style in Ave Maria, Gratia Plena, the listener experiences nothing of the sort. Josquin artfully blends his techniques so his music does not sound technical, but captures the listener through beautiful colors and varied textures.

Though the title of the album suggests the recording contains exclusively motets and chansons, the Hilliard Ensemble chose to surprise the listener by including a Josquin frottola, El Grillo. The frottola was an Italian song style typically composed using four, treble-dominated voices set homophonically. The texts in frottola were also set syllabically and were distinguishable by a rhyme scheme of short and long syllables (short, short, long, short, long, short, long, long).

Contrasting the somber character of Ave Maria, Gratia Plena, the song, El Grillo is a playful tune about a cricket. In this song, Josquin depicts the characteristics of a cricket, using a high vocal range to imitate cricket chirps and rhythmic complexity to portray the springy nature of a cricket. Since El Grillo is largely homophonic, there are frequent cadence points that give the piece a forward motion that depicts the constant, yet intermittent character of a cricket (Sherr 428). After listening to the more serious works on Motets et Chansons, El Grillo almost seemed out of place. Though it was different than the other works on the album, El Grillo was a humorous change of pace that demonstrated Josquin’s versatile compositional abilities.

Listening to the Hilliard Ensemble’s album, Motets et Chansons, was an enlightening experience as I have not listened to much vocal music during my life as a musician. The talents of the Hilliard Ensemble performed Josquin’s music with a passion and energy that was evident during slowest and darkest of songs. The fluidity and vocal perfection in each song showed the listener the careful thought the Hilliard Ensemble put in placing each note and coloring each texture. Experiencing the virtuosity of Josquin Des Prez in combination with the amazing talents of the Hilliard Ensemble has positively changed my attitude towards vocal music, and has redefined my view of voice, labeling it as one of the most beautiful instruments. ---vincemazzoni.blogspot.com

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