Anthonius DIVITIS (c.1470 - c.1530) / Antoine DEFÉVIN
(c.1470 - 1511/12)
Lux perpetua - Requiem
Requiem [60:07]
Introitus: Requiem aeternam [6:52]
Kyrie [6:37]
[plainchant]
Epistola Beati Pauli Apostoli ad Thessalonicenses [3:34]
Graduale: Si ambulem [8:25]
Tractus: Sitivit anima mea [2:45]
Tractus: Fuerunt mihit lacrimae [3:09]
[plainchant]
Evangelium suncundum Johannem [4:01]
Offertorium: Domine Ihesu Christe [9:25]
[plainchant]
Prefacio: Vere dignum et justum est [2:56]
Sanctus [5:19]
Agnus Dei [4:04]
Communio: Lux aeterna [3:01]
anon
Tantum ergo sacramentum [5:47]
Organum/Marcel Pérès
rec. 3-6 November 2010, Abbey of Silvanès, France. DDD
Texts and translations included
AEON AECD 1216 [65:55]
The Requiem Mass is an important part of the Catholic liturgy. It
took some time, though, before the text of the Requiem was set
polyphonically. The first probably complete cycle dates from the second half
of the 15th century, and was composed by Johannes Ockeghem. Several parts
seem to have been lost, though. The first settings which have been preserved
complete are those by Brumel, De la Rue and Prioris. In the early 16th
century the composing of Requiem Masses became more common. The setting
which is the subject of this disc also dates from that time.
The cover mentions the name of two composers, Anthonius Divitis and
Antoine de Févin. That is not because they composed this Requiem
together, but because it is impossible to establish with any amount of
security who the real composer is. This Requiem has been preserved in five
sources. In two of them the name of the composer is omitted, two attribute
it to De Févin and in one source Divitis is mentioned as the
composer. The latter is the so-called Occo Codex, named after
Pompeius Occo, a rich Amsterdam business man who financed the production of
this manuscript which contains a number of masses by famous composers of the
15th century. The anonymous motet Tantum ergo which concludes this
disc is also taken from this source.
Only a couple of months before Organum the ensemble Doulce
Mémoire recorded this same Requiem Mass (review). The ensemble's director, Denis Raisin Dadre,
chose this work as the Mass which may have been performed at the occasion of
the funeral of Queen Anne of France, also known as Anne de Bretagne. It is
understandable that the sources are confused as to who is the composer of
this Requiem. Divitis and De Févin were working in the same
environment: Divitis directed the chapel of Queen Anne, whereas De
Févin acted as the director of the chapel of her husband, Louis XII.
Both chapels participated in the funeral ceremonies for Queen Anne, singing
in succession. If this mass was composed by De Févin, he certainly
didn't compose it for the Queen's funeral, as he had died two years before.
In the booklet of the present recording it is suggested that, if Divitis is
the composer, he could have written it in memory of De Févin. But it
is admitted that there is no firm evidence in favour of either of them.
The two performances are very different. Doulce Mémoire
presents it as part of a sequence of pieces which probably can be connected
to the funeral of Queen Anne. Organum sings this work as an independent
item, without any context. It has added some liturgical elements, though:
the Epistola, the Evangelium and the Prefacio, sung in
plainchant. The liturgical unity is a little damaged by the sometimes
unnaturally long silences between the sections of the Mass. The singing is
also strongly different. Organum has chosen a very low pitch, and as a
result the basses are producing a sound which one is used to hear from
Russian choirs. Obviously the upper voices are also relatively low. One
wonders why Marcel Pérès has opted for female voices for this
part as they can easily be sung by male altos. Organum's tempi are generally
slower than those of Doulce Mémoire: the Kyrie takes 6:37, compared
to 2:53. The Offertorio is another striking example: 9:25 vs 6:50. Doulce
Mémoire produces a more 'conventional', sophisticated sound, whereas
Organum's singers - especially the lower voices - sound brassy and much
rougher. Their singing reminds me of the sounds which I once heard from
traditional singers from Corsica. It is certainly not everyone's cup of tea.
The slow tempo and the added ornamentation in the plainchant are also
something one has to get used to.
Considering the aspiration of achieving a great amount of
authenticity, the Italian pronunciation of Latin is rather odd. I also
wonder why Marcel Pérès uses ten singers for this five-part
Requiem. A reduction of the number of singers would have resulted in a
greater transparency which suffers a little from the style of singing
anyway.
This Requiem Mass may have been recorded twice within a span of some
months, but they don't really compete, as they are fundamentally different.
Even if I am not convinced that Organum's performance reflects the way this
Requiem was sung at the time it was written, it is highly fascinating to
hear it performed this way. I don't want to make a choice; they are both
excellent in their very own way. Those who have a special interest in the
polyphony of the renaissance will like to have them both.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
A highly fascinating reading.