medieval.org | amazon.es
Glossa 31909
2020
[16.11.2020]
Josquin. Stabat mater —
Cantica Symphonia
Marian motets and instrumental songs
[16.11.2020]
medieval.org |
amazon.es
Glossa 31909
2020
[16.11.2020]
medieval.org Remarks
http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/cds/remarks.html
17 November 2020
Todd M. McComb
———
Following already on the heels of the final Tallis Scholars installment is an Italian-themed program from
Cantica Symphonia. Josquin's connection to Milan has been alternately
one of the clearest parts of his biography & mostly fictitious
(& at least in these entries, I'm intending to focus on the
recorded music per se), but also obviously continues to inspire as a
program.... There's his connection to Ferrara too, of course (per the
Herclues Mass of the previous entry).
It
all gives Giuseppe Maletto & colleagues an opportunity to justify a
big ensemble with instrumental support — in a mode similar to their lavish Dufay interpretations — for the opening Stabat mater:
I haven't generally appreciated such big productions, but it's worked
in their Dufay, and it works here. It's a great piece, and every detail
is strongly articulated across a broadly colorful tapestry.... Most of
the program is actually performed by smaller forces, though, especially
the lengthy Vultum tuum... cycle
(performed one to a part), which continues to be popular with singers.
Presumably that's because it's easy to sing, with short easy phrases
& some embryonic word painting (suggestive of e.g. Brumel), but
it's not a cycle that's ever really sustained my attention (probably
for similar reasons), and it's the main item on the program here....
The iconic Ave Maria,
probably the most popular composition of its era, is given a quality
reading with two voices to a part. While the rendition of the famous
5-part Salve Regina (another
ostinato-based piece, and another summit) employs a couple of horns
together as sustaining tenor amid an otherwise single voice texture...
that's a less successful choice. The punchy, concluding Nimphes napées likewise involves a big, mixed ensemble, and could benefit from more (conceptual) attention to intonation.... Ecce tu pulchra (a4) & Benedicta es (a6) are probably the highlights though — after the exciting reading of the well-known Stabat Mater (which,
note, does unusually evoke music of two generations prior in its
Binchois citation...) — in terms of advancing the Josquin
discography... the six-part motet in particular sometimes ends up a bit
unbalanced whether vertically or horizontally, but it's still a
worthwhile effort on a great but sometimes unwieldy piece... especially
when I have no real idea what will be coming over the next year.
Finally,
the handful of short instrumental tracks are enjoyable, played with
elegance & flair, but don't really render anything new. This
program doesn't thrill me as a whole, but some of its tracks do
immediately become some of the best Josquin motet interpretations on
record. (For now? I guess I'm never satisfied....) And at times it's an
exuberant & extroverted program, while at others it seems more
intimate: It certainly does exhibit some of Josquin's characteristic
chameleon quality across its various presentation styles, though.
[19.11.2020]