NOTE • Click on the button and you can buy the disc or read the booklet details • You can also access each track which you may then sample or down load. • Further Information.

Spanish early music has become comparatively mainstream in recent years, but this disc shows that there are still large tracts of fine renaissance music that are still to be tapped. The programme includes works by major international figures of the sixteenth century - Josquin and Gombert, as well as motets by the, now fairly well known, Spaniards Guerrero and Alonso Lobo. Of these figures, Lobo is possibly the most interesting. Blending styles of the old and the new, his motet "Libera me", at 8’29" a substantial piece of composition, contrasts the usual sinuous polyphony with quite extended passages in traditional plainsong. The contrast of textures that results from this juxtaposition of the severe and the lush is striking and effective. Avoiding the mistake of over-cooking the richness of the polyphony Alistair Dixon draws from his singers a greater sense of the sublime. In contrast, the chanting of the plainsong is given a weight and richness that its melodic simplicity might at first not suggest. This contrast works very effectively. [track 16 - start 4’30" ]

The major work on this disc is much less well known although why this should be so is a mystery. The booklet notes by Bruno Turner make a fascinating case for the discovery of the music that was sung at the Royal Exequies - what we would now call a memorial service - celebrated five weeks after the death of Philip II of Spain. There survives a proposed order of service for this occasion which says "the Mass of the dead is to be that of Circumdederunt for six voices..." There are several There are few survivals of works from this period that include the motet "Circumdederunt me", but surprisingly the six voice Requiem by Jean Richafort is based throughout on canons employing the chant ‘Circumdederunt me gemitus mortis." It was published in Attaignant’s sixth collection of masses in 1532. This is one of those masterworks that defies logical comprehension as to how such perfection of musical beauty could combine with such strict and rigorous technical structures.

The six part texture lends a richness and dignity that the singers of Chapelle du Roi relish. There are 16 singers credited in the booklet, making this a fairly large group for this sort of music, but Alistair Dixon moulds the textures well, avoiding the thickness of sound that can easily result from careless blending of the six parts. [ track 4 - start 0’00" ] Just occasionally there is some rather uneven intonation in the plainsong, which is a shame as the general gloss of the sound in the polyphony is good. The standard of presentation with Signum discs is excellent. Cover designs are well thought out and tastefully executed; booklet notes with complete texts and translations into Spanish and German are excellent. The quality of the recording employs the generous acoustic of St Jude’s, Hampstead to good effect, without loosing the clarity while yet retaining the sense of spaciousness that complements Dixon’s spacious pacing. Overall there is a feeling of tremendously relaxed solemnity that would almost certainly have suited the style of His Late Majesty. [track 10 - start 0’09" ]

Peter Wells

CD Price: £ 11.50 - Download Price:
£ 10.39
Buy CD:
Download all tracks:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOUND SAMPLES
(minimum 30 secs)

N. GOMBERT
Dicite in magni

F. DE LAS INFANTAS
Domine ostende

J. DES PRES
Nimphes nappes

J. RICHAFORT
Requiem
Introit
Kyrie
Gradual

Gradual

F. GUERRERO
Gradual
Tracet

J. RICHAFORT
Offertory

A. LOBO
Versa est in luctum

J. RICHAFORT
Sanctus
Benedictus
Agnus Dei
Communion
Dismissal

A. LOBO
Libera me





You require QuickTime to listed to samples.

Get a free QuickTime download here

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION • You can sample only 30 seconds (or 15% if that is longer) of a given track. Select from the View tracks list. Each sample will normally start from the beginning but you can drag the slider to any position before pressing play. • PLEASE NOTE: If you are behind a firewall and the sound is prematurely terminated you may need to register Ludwig as a trusted source with your firewall software. •You will need Quicktime to hear sound samples. Get a free Quicktime download here • If you cannot see the "Sample All Tracks" button you need to download Flash from here.

Return to Index