Argentum et Aurum: Musical Treasures from the Early Habsburg Renaissance
Details at end of review
Ensemble Leones (Els Janssens-Vanmunster (voice), Raitis Grigalis (voice), Baptiste Romain (renaissance violin), Uri Smilansky (viola d’arco), Elizabeth Rumsey (renaissance gamba), Miriam Andersén (Swedish cowhorn), Tobie Miller (symphonie), Liane Ehlich (flute))/Marc Lewon (viola d’arco, cetra and plectrum lute)
rec. Schlosskirche Beuggen, Germany, 9-12 April 2013. DDD
Texts and translations available online.
NAXOS 8.573346 [78:37]
You might think from the title and the cover shot that this
recording represented a celebration of the growth of capitalism in the early
renaissance. The painting by Quentin Matsys used for the cover certainly depicts
a merchant counting his money and jewellery, and is often used to illustrate
the growth of the rich merchant class. In fact the early renaissance, here
roughly taken as the fifteenth century, was an age of increasing piety and
increasing wealth and secularism. Both aspects are illustrated in this anthology.
The German title of the notes makes this clear: Silber und Gold in musikalischer
Münze – silver and gold in musical currency. For some reason the English
translation omits the second part.
The silver and gold referred to in the first piece is actually an extract
from the Acts of the Apostles, used as one of the readings for the feast of
St. Peter and St. Paul. Asked for alms by a poor cripple, Peter replied ‘Silver
and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk’. And he took him by the right hand,
and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple,
walking, and leaping, and praising God. (3, 6-8, King James Version).
That text from Acts is immediately followed by a secular song by the late
Minnesinger, Neidhart von Reuental. Neidhart was somewhat given to melancholy
texts, so that it’s not clear whether Riuwental – vale of regret –
was his real name or a nickname. Even the name Nîthart in Middle High
German could mean ‘envious heart’. This appears at first sight to be one
of his more cheerful works: entitled Vyol (the violet) the poet bids
winter take a holiday but ends with one character cursing both Neidhart’s
violet and the summer which it heralded: verflucht sei der summer, / den
der Neithart erste fandt! / Nun múß wir leiden kummer; / so der veihel sei
geschant! / Nu múg wir nimer springen.
The melancholy Neidhart is more than offset by the works on happy themes.
The watchman of track 2 rebukes the singer for his lack of attention to his
soul’s plight – schön und kraft / muß gar zergan, / by sinnen macht du
nit bestan, / der tod der nimptz dahin: beauty and strength assuredly
must pass away; your senses will not support you, death takes them away –
but the Monk of Salzburg sings of the un-monastic pleasure of midday naps
frolicking with a maid in the straw (track 3).
Oswald von Wolkenstein, the other Minnesinger represented here, offers a very
different outlook on life from Neidhart, extolling the delights of gesangk
/ und getranck / und sússer winckenwanck, effectively wine, women and
song: though I draw a veil over the exact significance of winckenwanck,
you can probably guess (track 5).
Throughout the programme the two strands alternate, though you won’t find
here any of the ‘jolly japes’ dance music from a slightly later period such
as was collected by Arbeau (Orchésographie), Susato (Danserye)
or Prætorius (Terpsichore). For the last two you need to turn to David
Munrow and his Early Music Consort on Virgin 3500032, one of the most enjoyable
2-CD bargains in the catalogue.
The programme ends as it began with religious texts. Paul Hofhaimer’s
Gottes namen faren wir (track 27) is a prayer that we may travel
in God’s name – surely the optative ‘let us travel’ rather than ‘we travel’,
as translated in the online text – and the programme concludes with a song
in praise of the Virgin Mary, ‘of noble descent, a rose without thorns’.
Little is known of the composer, who flourished around 1500 and rejoiced simply
in the name Pfabinschwanz, Peacock’s Tail.
Ensemble Leones made an earlier recording of the music of Neidhart for Naxos
(8.572449). There are no overlaps with Neidhart’s works on the new recording.
Both Byzantion – review
and I – DL
Roundup 2011/1 – liked that earlier release. As before, the present release
combines detailed scholarship – all the source MSS are listed in the notes
– with very enjoyable performances and the recording is very good.
Ensemble Leones have also made some fine recordings for other labels which
I must try to catch up with, including a programme of the music of Oswald
von Wolkenstein (Christophorus CHR77379). The one work common to both that
and the Naxos is performed as an instrumental piece on Christophorus, so the
overlap is more apparent than real. There’s also an album of Agricola on
Christophorus (CHR77368) and Josquin on CHR77348. All these can be downloaded
from eclassical.com and streamed from Qobuz. The von Wolkenstein download,
like even the CD, does not contain the texts, but these are available online.
Marc Lewon also appears on a Naxos recording of music from the Glogauer
Liederbuch which I liked, with small reservations (8.572576 – DL
News 2012/23), also on their recording of the Lochamer Liederbuch
(8.557803 – review
and review).
First, however, I suggest that you start with the new recording before moving
on to the earlier Neidhart CD and then the Christophorus albums. At least
the texts for the new Naxos CD, though not included in the booklet, can be
found online.
Brian Wilson
Details:
Heinrich ISAAC (c.1450-1515) Argentum et aurum * [3:08]
NEIDHART (von Reuental) Vyol: Urlaub hab der wintter
[6:35]
Hugo von MONTFORT (1357-1423)
Ich fragt ain wachter (I asked a watchman) [6:13]
Monk of Salzburg (late C14) Das kchúhorn - Untarnslaf [1:36]
Oswald von WOLKENSTEIN (c1377-1445)
Skak - Frolich geschrai so well wir machen [1:13]
Anonymous (late C14)
Soyt tart tempre (Whether early or late) [1:30]
Or sus vous dormez trop [5:56]
Oswald von WOLKENSTEIN
Durch Barbarei, Arabia (Travelling through Barbary and Arabia) [2:31]
NEIDHART (von Reuental) Der sunnen glanst * [4:43]
Do man den gumpel gampel sank [8:13]
Oswald von WOLKENSTEIN
Freu dich, du weltlich creatur [2:16]
Zergangen ist meins herzen we [4:59]
Anonymous (c.1440) Gegrusset seistu Maria * [5:35]
Hermann EDLERAWER (c.1395-c.1460) Amen * [2:57]
Anonymous
Von osterreich - Sig, säld und heil * [0:57]
So stee ich hie auff diser erd [0:59]
Alle dei filius [2:11]
My ladi, my ladi, myn happ * [1:27]
Guillaume DUFAY (1397-1474) Seigneur Leon [1:20]
Anonymous
Gespile, liebe gespile gut [0:47]
Es sassen höld in ainer stuben * [0:51]
Ich sachs ains mals * [1:07]
Oswald von WOLKENSTEIN
Heya, heya nun wie si grollen * [0:55]
Johannes MARTINI (c.1430/40-1497) La Martinella [2:04]
Anonymous
Pavane [1:29]
Mantuaner dantz [1:22]
Paul HOFHAIMER (1459-1537) Gottes namen faren wir [1:45]
PFABINSCHWANTZ (fl.c.1500) Maria zart, von edler art * [3:08]
* world premiere recordings
|
Support us financially by purchasing
this from
|
|
 |
 |
|
|