Jean RICHAFORT (c.1480-after 1547)
Requiem à six voix (in memoriam Josquin Desprez) [34:33]
Lætamini in Domino à 4 voix [3:10]
Sufficiebat nobis paupertas à 4 voix [6:08]
Salve Regina à 5 voix [8:35]
Ne vous chaille mon cueur à 4 voix [2:12]
Tru tru trut avant à 3 voix [1:56]
Il n’est si douce vie à 4 voix [4:14]
Huelgas Ensemble/Paul van Nevel
rec. 2001 (?) before 2002. DDD.
Booklet enclosed, texts available online.
HARMONIA MUNDI MUSIQUE D’ABORD HMA1951730 [60:53]
The Original Harmonia Mundi Musique d’Abord LP series was a decidedly
economical venture, in plain white sleeves like 78s and with a printed paper
insert containing notes. Though it included some very desirable performances,
such as that of the Deller Consort in the Prague Easter Play, a dealer – yes,
there used to be such beings – once told me that people were wary of buying
what looked like a cheap offering. On CD the series has hitherto looked elegant
rather than cheap and has continued to offer much more than basic repertoire
in reliable performances – often much more than reliable.
Now Musique d’Abord has been revamped in bright colours but once
again in economy packaging, a simple tri-fold cardboard sleeve, slimmer than
the usual for such packages since the CD is contained not on a plastic tray
but slid into a pocket. The disc itself is black on both sides, with the label
side made to resemble a miniature LP – where have we seen that before? The
notes are easily missed because they reside in another pocket.
The economy, unfortunately, affects the value of the offering, since the tri-lingual
notes are very sparse – not even Richafort’s presumed dates, for which I was
indebted to Hyperion (below) until I saw them in small grey print not in the
booklet on the back cover – and the promise of texts from harmoniamundi.com
had not borne fruit at the time of writing. I’ve even had to guess at the
date of the recording from the information (P) 2002 and the fact that the
original CD appeared in March of that year. As for the illustration from the
Rusconi Codex to which Paul van Nevel refers in the notes, that’s no longer
included.
Actually we know very little about Richafort but in compensation the notes
concentrate on guiding us through the music. What really matters is the quality
of that music, performance and recording and the fact that there is only one
other recording of Richafort’s Requiem for Josquin, a recent arrival
from Cinquecento on Hyperion (CDA67959 – review
and August 2012_1 Download Roundup).
Apart from the opening Requiem æternam, where the time difference
is due to the Paul van Nevel’s failure to repeat the opening words, Cinquecento
take all the sections of the Mass slightly more quickly than the Huelgas Ensemble;
there is consequently a greater sense of grief and grandeur from the latter,
though it’s not overdone. In fact, oddly enough, their performance of the
first motet which follows, lætamini in Domino, though a setting of
a joyful text (Rejoice in the Lord), actually sounds more stately than the
Communio of the Mass, Lux æterna which precedes it on track
7. That’s not inappropriate since, despite the words of the text, the music
is more intense than Purcell’s joyous response to the same words in the ‘Bell’
Anthem.
For the Requiem I could be happy with either performance; the more
sumptuous presentation and documentation of the Hyperion comes at a higher
price, around twice that of the Harmonia Mundi, which you should be able to
find for around £5, though it’s possible to save on the Hyperion by downloading
in mp3 or CD-quality flac, complete with the de luxe booklet and texts, for
£7.99. (There’s also a better-than-CD 24-bit version for £12.) Don’t try to
download the Harmonia Mundi recording; it’s likely to cost more than the CD!
The motets, sacred and secular, make an attractive coupling whereas Hyperion
have music by Josquin and other contemporaries. Only on track 12, the jolly
Tru, tru, trut avant, il fault boire, did I think that the Huelgas
Ensemble were a little too large for the music, losing some of the jollity
thereby – would a large crowd of drunkards ever sound so disciplined? In this
motet, too, the recording, otherwise very good, sounds a little too reverberant.
This track is available to sample on YouTube
and there’s an online score here.
If you are looking for a cross-section of Richafort’s music, well performed
and recorded, you need look no further than this Harmonia Mundi reissue. Its
rival on Hyperion is a little more sprightly in the Requiem and comes
with better documentation, but at a higher price and with music by other contemporaries
rather than with Richafort’s own music which completes the Harmonia Mundi
disc.
Brian Wilson
An attractive reissue at an attractive price.
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