Considering his reputation
as a composer it is surprising that
so few of Cristóbal de Moráles's
compositions are available on disc.
Some of his masses have been recorded
and a small number of motets, some more
than once. But the bulk of his large
production of motets - about one hundred
in total - has been neglected. Therefore
this recording, entirely devoted to
De Moráles's motets, is most
welcome; the more so since the largest
part of them has never been recorded
before.
De Moráles,
who almost exclusively composed religious
music, had an international reputation
as one of the most brilliant composers
of his time. He was often compared with
Josquin Desprez. De Moráles shared
this judgement, and considered himself
the true successor of Josquin. This
reveals a part of his personality some
people, in particular his employers,
found difficult to deal with.
A mark of the popularity
of his music, both during his life and
after his death, is the large number
of prints of his compositions. His music
was sung almost everywhere in Europe,
but also in Latin America, and even
in Angola. It remained in the repertory
of churches well into the 18th century.
The title of this disc
- 'dialogue motets' - puzzles me. The
liner notes don't refer to a dialogic
character of these motets at all. Some
texts do contain elements of dialogue,
for instance 'Simile est regnum', a
paraphrase of Matthew 20, 1-16 (the
parable of the landowner hiring men
to work in his vineyard). Then there
is 'In illo tempore dixit Jesus modicum'
(John 16, 16-19), where Jesus announces
his death to his disciples in a cryptic
way, which causes vivid debates among
the Twelve. These however are exceptions.
Most of the motets
are for four voices, although some are
in five parts. A remarkable piece is
the six-part 'Quanti mercenari'. Its
subject is the passage from the parable
of the lost son (Luke 15), beginning
at the moment the youngest son decides
to return home: "How many hired servants
of my father's have bread enough and
to spare, and I perish with hunger!"
While five voices sing the setting of
the verses 17 to 19 from this chapter,
the sixth voice - here scored with four
singers - sings the Lord's Prayer as
cantus firmus.
Very expressive are
the two motets on texts from the Book
of Job, in particular 'Manus tuae Domine':
"Thine hands have made me and fashioned
me together round about; yet thou dost
destroy me." In 'In illo tempore dixit
Jesus modicum' the debate among the
disciples is illustrated by a lively
rhythm. Quotations sometimes get special
treatment in order to provide emphasis.
An example is when Jesus says (in illo
tempore stabant autem): "mulier ecce
filius tuus" (Woman, behold thy son!).
Most of the motets
here are on texts from the Bible. The
only exception is 'Virgo Maria' which
reflects the devotion to the Virgin
Mary, so characteristic of Spanish Catholicism
in the renaissance. During the whole
piece the second voice sings 'Virgo
Maria' on the same melody, in the second
part joined by the upper voice, which
is doing the same independently. The
text of the motet is sung by the other
voices - here, though, only by a tenor,
whereas the two other voices are played
on the lute. Interesting also is 'Vae
Babylon, civitas magna', a paraphrase
of Revelation 18, 1-3. The first words
"Vae, vae Babylon" (Woe, woe Babylon)
are set homophonically, and its declamatory
effect is strengthened here by doubling
the voices on this passage (referred
to as 'ripieno' in the tracklist). This
is repeated at the beginning of the
second part and again at the end of
the motet. The same practice of 'ripieno
voices' is used on "alleluia" at the
end of both sections of 'Iam non dicam
vos servos'.
As one may conclude
from these descriptions this is a most
interesting recording, which underlines
the qualities attributed to De Moráles
by his contemporaries. I am happy to
say that the performance by the Carissimi
Consort is excellent. All singers have
fine voices, which blend very well.
The solo passages are also realised
convincingly. The sound of this ensemble
is clearly different from that produced
by British vocal ensembles. It is difficult
to describe exactly what that difference
is, but to me these voices just sound
warmer, more vibrant and more intense.
The interpretation pays tribute to the
wide variety of performance practices
in Europe in the 16th century. The fact
that De Moráles's compositions
were performed all over Europe is used
as argument to use instruments either
to play colla parte with the singers
or as substitute for one or more voices
or even as accompaniment of the singers
(in particular the organ). There are
also some intavolations, which reflect
a widespread practice at the time.
I strongly recommend
this disc, first because of the rarely
performed repertoire and its quality,
secondly for the outstanding and imaginative
interpretation.
Johan van Veen