Laudi Spirituali
Cappella del Sacro Monte
Rec. 2016, Basilica on the Holy Mountain, Głogówko, Poland
No original texts, only Polish translations
DUX 1406 [40:59]
'Classical' music making in our time focuses almost exclusively on what we use to call 'art music'. It seems reasonable to assume that music making in ancient times was dominated by the singing and playing of music that was not composed, but came into existence within a particular tradition. Such music was usually not written down, but handed over orally from one generation to the next. As a result only a tiny part of what was sung and played has come down to us. However, in some cases such music was notated and even published. That is the case with the genre which is the subject of the present disc, and is known as laude.
The laude are part of a tradition which goes back to the 13th century, and continued to exist well into the 17th century. They were the product of the missionary activities of, in particular, Dominicans and Franciscans in regions such as Tuscany and Umbria. From ancient times music was seen as an important tool for the dissemination of faith. As in the time the laude came into existence the veneration of Mary became increasingly important, it does not surprise that many - maybe even the majority - of the laude are about her. With time laude became an important part of the repertoire of Marian confraternities as well as penitential processions of flagellants (practitioners of an extreme form of mortification of their own flesh by whipping it with various instruments).
Laude were sung during daily ferial services and annual festal cycles. Most lauda vigils included some combination of prayers, readings, a candle procession and offering with lauda singing, a brief sermon and further lauda singing that led to confession. Laude can best be ranked among the category of para-liturgical music, also because they were sung in the vernacular.
Towards the end of the 16th century, laude became an important part of the Counter-Reformation. Whereas the liturgy was in Latin, and its texts were not intelligible for common people, the laude became the ideal instruments to reach the hearts and minds of the faithful and to communicate to them the teachings of the church. Filippo Neri, founder of the Congregazione dell'Oratorio, actively promoted this repertoire and contributed to it's being made up to date.
In recent years several discs with laude have been released, among them a complete recording of the Laudario di Cortona No 91, a collection of laude from the Middle Ages (review). The present disc focuses on a collection published in 1589. Unfortunately, I can't go into any detail on what is actually performed, because the English introduction is very concise (the Polish text is more than three times longer), and the original lyrics as well as English translations are omitted. We only get Polish translations. As one can see, the programme also includes some oddities, such as a piece by Józef Zeidler, who lived almost two centuries later than the time most of the laude were published.
The lack of substantial liner-notes in English and English translations of the lyrics are just two of the shortcomings of this production. Another one is the playing time: 41 minutes is simply unacceptable. I hope that this disc is not offered at full price, because in that case only a few diehards may be willing to pay so much for so
little music. That would be a shame, because I certainly have enjoyed both the music and the performances. Laude are often refreshing in their spontaneity and directness, and that comes
off well here. The singing and playing of the members of the Cappella del Sacro Monte is technically assured, vivid and stylish. That makes it all the more disappointing that we get so little and
that the documentation is rather poor.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
Contents
Anon
Anime affaticate et sitibonde [3:16]
Signor Ti benedico [2:16]
Io vorrei mutar vita [4:07]
Francisco SOTO DE LANGA (1534-1619)
Nell'apparir del Sempiterno Sole [4:07]
Anon (?Orazio MICHI DELL'ARPA, 1594/95-1641)
Ninna Nanna al Bambino Giesł [6:23]
Anon
Symphonia ą tre [1:40]
Józef ZEIDLER (1744-1806)
Pastorella [4:07]
Fabio Sebastiano SANTORO (1669-1729)
Ave Maria doce me cantare [1:13]
Anon
Qual fin fa [2:56]
Amor senza misura [2:02]
O dolcezza de gl'Angioli e di Santi [3:51]
Gił per la mala via [1:50]
Michael PRAETORIUS (1571-1621)
La Canarie [1:54]
Anon
Vanitą di vanitą [2:41]
