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
