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
Organum/Marcel Pérès
