Missa 'Pange Lingua', for 4 parts: Pange Lingua (Plain-Chant)
Missa 'Pange Lingua', for 4 parts: Kyrie
Missa 'Pange Lingua', for 4 parts: Gloria
Missa 'Pange Lingua', for 4 parts: Graduel: Christus Factus Est (Plain-Chant)
Missa 'Pange Lingua', for 4 parts: Credo
Missa 'Pange Lingua', for 4 parts: Sanctus
Missa 'Pange Lingua', for 4 parts: Agnus Dei
Popule meus, quid feci tibi? improperia
Qui velatus facie fuisti, motet cycle in 6 sections for 4 parts
O Domine Jesu Christe, motet for 4 parts
Christus mortuus est/Circumdederunt, motet for 6 voices (poss. spurious)
Nos autem gloriari oportet
The Missa Pange Lingua is widely considered to be Josquin's greatest Mass cycle; it's certainly the most widely recorded. The Mass is based on a particularly lovely tune, a plainchant hymn venerating the Body of Christ. Un... more »usually for Josquin, the titular melody is not stated in long notes in the tenor voice; rather, all four voices sing variations on the tune, forming a sort of extended fantasia. The recorded sound here--in the Mass and the three plainchant hymns on the disc, including "Pange lingua"--is rather different from that of the other issues in Ensemble a Sei Voci's admirable Josquin series. The acoustic is very resonant, and the microphones were evidently placed at some distance from the singers. The resulting halo of reverberation camouflages some occasionally messy execution from the children singing the top line, but it also seems to confer an air of spirituality on the music-making. On the whole, the performance is impressive--not as sublime as that by Ensemble Clément Janequin and Ensemble Organum, perhaps, but very good indeed, and the Agnus Dei is breathtaking. The disc also includes three motets performed by adult male voices only; tellingly, perhaps, the recorded sound is much closer and clearer in these pieces. Oddly, the most interesting of the three seems to be a forgery: "Christus mortuus est," a six-voice motet published under Josquin's name 40 years after his death. It's a worthy piece, and A Sei Voci does well by it, regardless of its pedigree. --Matthew Westphal« less
The Missa Pange Lingua is widely considered to be Josquin's greatest Mass cycle; it's certainly the most widely recorded. The Mass is based on a particularly lovely tune, a plainchant hymn venerating the Body of Christ. Unusually for Josquin, the titular melody is not stated in long notes in the tenor voice; rather, all four voices sing variations on the tune, forming a sort of extended fantasia. The recorded sound here--in the Mass and the three plainchant hymns on the disc, including "Pange lingua"--is rather different from that of the other issues in Ensemble a Sei Voci's admirable Josquin series. The acoustic is very resonant, and the microphones were evidently placed at some distance from the singers. The resulting halo of reverberation camouflages some occasionally messy execution from the children singing the top line, but it also seems to confer an air of spirituality on the music-making. On the whole, the performance is impressive--not as sublime as that by Ensemble Clément Janequin and Ensemble Organum, perhaps, but very good indeed, and the Agnus Dei is breathtaking. The disc also includes three motets performed by adult male voices only; tellingly, perhaps, the recorded sound is much closer and clearer in these pieces. Oddly, the most interesting of the three seems to be a forgery: "Christus mortuus est," a six-voice motet published under Josquin's name 40 years after his death. It's a worthy piece, and A Sei Voci does well by it, regardless of its pedigree. --Matthew Westphal
"Josquin was one of the greatest Renaissance composers, & surely among the most progressive. This piece begins with a few strikes of metallic percussion which serve to prepare & to tone dramatically. After that, the music is simultaneously dark & spiritual. Most early contrapuntal composers had the problem of being directed in their music by where the notes could go; Josquin told the notes what he wanted them to do, & they did it. The way he sets up melodic directions, expectations, follow-through & reaction here is wonderful. Of all the great work he did in his life, it's fair to call this his most monumental piece."
Great CD!!!
Florine Cleary | Tiverton,RI USA | 09/24/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I love this CD it is a fantastic meditation and relaxation CD. it is realy lovely inspirering music i recomend it to all! you may be surprised how much you listen to it!"
Authenticity Isn't Always the Best Idea
Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 10/18/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"What separates this performance of Josquin's oft-sung Missa Pange Lingua from other performances is the use of girls and boy sopranos from the Maitrise de Pays de Loire (one of France's state-sponsored choir schools) to sing the superius of the four-voice mass while the men of A Sei Voci sing the three lower lines one-on-a-part. A very good case can be made that such a performance arrangement was common in Josquin's musical world. And it's very interesting to hear the effect, although I'm fairly certain that the boys and young men of 1440-1521 - Josquin's lifetime - were more assured in their vocal technique than the youth on this recording. The trouble is that it's also ragged in a way that will become more annoying as I listen to the CD more than once.
The shame is that the core members of A Sei Voci can really sing! When you hear them without the kids, on the three motets that follow the mass, you can't help but wish they'd done without the concept of combining with the Maitrise. On the other hand, with half a dozen recordings of this mass on the market, it's probably worthwhile to hear this experiment in authenticity. Besides, the 25 minutes of luscious motetifying are worth the price of the CD.
A Sei Voci has also released a recording of Gregorio Allegri - Miserere - singing all by themselves. It's a five-squared star perfprmance."
Wonderful introduction to Renaissance
Leonardo | Argentina | 01/03/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Much has been written about Josquin, the most important composer in Renaissance (perhaps together with Lasso). His point in historyb is comparable to Beethoven. And he shows here why. This mass is the culmination of his career. Here he, for me, goes beyond the music of his generation and ancestors (that is, heavy of analytical counterpoint) to achieve a sincerity of expression so special that makes this mass a summit of the art of his age, one of those selected masterworks that goes beyond the spirit and aesthetics of his time. If you are accustomed to listen to Brahms, verdi, Wagner, Mozart, Bach, of course, handel, even Monteverdi and Palestrina, sit and listen to Ockeghem or Obrecht. It isn't easy, don't you?
And then try a listening of Pange lingua mass. Far more accesible, wright? Because he sets free from his past and achieves a "distillation" of the music of early renaissance. No counterpoint section is dense and boring. Everything is in the correct place.You have from lovely duets to formal polyphony and from antiphonal writting to homophony. And all go just deep to your heart.
This recording is very special. Yes, the peres recording may have better soprano part (those wonderful falsettists), much vitality and clearer sound, but this interpretation is more profound without beeing boring and keepeng your attention. Here Fabre garrus employs three singers to a part instead of 2 in peres recording, and for the soprano part you have at least 8 or 10 members of a french choir school. So what you get here is a fantastic dinamic contrasts (because you can hear from solo sections to tutti singing) not so evident in the peres. The male voices (alto, tenor and basses) are absolutely terific. Such a splendid singing. The soprano part I think it is a mixture of children voices and young female voices. Yes, it can be lovely, but I admit they have a vibrato that may not please everyone. They are more numerous but in general they blend with the rest of the singers reasonably well. The accoustics are special. The peres recording is clearer, but it is made in a common church with common technology, that is you hear nice sonics with claer voices. And here? It is recorded in the Saint Robert church, and this recording keeps all its rich accoustics. So an extra dimension is added here: the vast echo of the church, that makes this recording a spirituak experience absolutely lacking in the peres. You can listen to the gregorian chant here and with that accoustics you can feel you are praying with them. The blending of the soprano voices with their reverberation is simply breathtaking, no matter how "conventional" is sung the gregorian. In comparison, the peres is like a clown spectacle, they don't convince anyone (spitritually speaking) and those tempi and ornaments are so boring ...
Yes, when polyphony is sung and they sing forte in tuttis, the reverberation together with the more numerous singers may achieve a more dense sonic lansdcape than peres, but clarity still is preserved and this add extra value (grandeur) to the contrasts of the music.
A wonderfull recording.
The rest of the music is three motets and two gregorian quotations related to Holy Week. Well, pure homophony. I don't think it is essential Josquin, in spite of this beeing sung just by A sei voci with better sound. And those motets are simply boring.
But the main reason you have to buy this disk is the mass, as in the case of the peres recording. To sum up, peres has better sound and clarity, but seems superficial. This is more profound, more spiritual, more "atmospheric" in sound, with greater contrasts: a more complete listening experience. Don't miss. You can try peres also, but just to listen to their falsettists.
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1
