JOSQUIN. Le Septiesme Livre de Chansons —
Ensemble Clément Janequin
[11.1.2021]
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Release date: January 2021
1. Regretz sans fin il me fault endurer [6:04]
2. Allegez moy doulce plaisant brunette [2:00]
3. Douleur me bat [3:11]
4. Je me complains de mon amy [1:38]
5. Cueur langoreulx [2:46]
6. Mille regretz [3:10]
7. Musæ Jovis [5:41]
8. Petite Camusette a la mort mavez mis [1:02]
9. Plus nulz regretz [3:12]
10. Du mien amant [6:00]
11. La Bernardina [2:40]
12. Faulte dargent [1:53]
13. Baises moy ma doulce’ amye [3:40]
14. Ma bouche rit et mon cueur pleure [2:57]
15. O mors inevitabilis [2:54]
16. Mille regretz [3:00]
17. Parfons regretz et lamentable joye [2:26]
18. Tenez moy en voz bras [1:57]
19. Nymphes des bois [4:23]
En 2021 nous commémorons les 500 ans de la mort de Josquin Des
Pres, le compositeur le plus célèbre de son temps.
Dominique Visse, avec l'Ensemble Clément Janequin, a choisi
d'enregistrer une sélection de ses chansons à partir
principalement du Septiesme livre de Chansons de Tylman Susato (1545).
Cette édition témoigne de la diversité des
chansons de Josquin, mais surtout de la mélancolie, de la
douleur si souvent inscrite en son uvre, un hommage rendu à ce
grand compositeur, comme l'attestent les deux Déplorations sur
la mort de Josquin retenues pour cet enregistrement, Musæ Jovis
de Nicolas Gombert et O mors inevitabilis de Hieronymus Vinders. Cet
enregistrement s'attache à faire entendre l'héritage de
Josquin, l'expression post mortem de son uvre en chansons, la
souvenance de son génie musical. Il s'agit pour Dominique Visse
et l'Ensemble Clément Janequin de donner à entendre
l'amour, la ferveur musicale qu'ils portent à ce compositeur
majeur de la Renaissance, et qui les accompagne depuis plus de 40 ans.
2021
sees the 500th anniversary of the death of Josquin Des Pres, the most
celebrated composer of his day. Dominique Visse and the Ensemble
Clément Janequin are recording a selection of his chansons from
one of the most important editions of his works, Tylman Susato’s
Septiesme livre de Chansons published in 1545. This edition bear
witness to the diversity of Josquin’s chanson writing, but above
all to the melancholy and sorrow so present in his works, and is
clearly a tribute, as is also evident in the two Déplorations on
his death, Musæ Jovis by Nicolas Gombert and O mors inevitabilis
by Hieronymus Vinders. This recording endeavours to present a Josquin
legacy, a post mortem illustration of his chanson œuvre, in
remembrance of his musical genius. It has also enabled Dominique Visse
and the Ensemble Clément Janequin to express their profound
musical passion for this major Renaissance composer who has accompanied
them for more than 40 years.
[11.1.2021]
[5.2.2021]
medieval.org Remarks
http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/cds/remarks.html
31 January 2021
Todd M. McComb
———
And
as Josquin anniversary releases accelerate (& hopefully we're still
near the start of that process...), of course they're going to include
interpretations by various (perhaps more famous) ensembles known more
for later music, although in some cases e.g. a sixteenth century
orientation will overlap with Josquin's later output. (And I should
emphasize the degree to which Josquin's music straddles eras in a
technical sense, not only in terms of music publishing & modernity
broadly in that sense, but also according to ongoing transitions in
tuning: It's important to note that Pythagorean tuning & mean-tone
are almost opposites, meaning that there's considerable sonic tension
between the two. Although most interpretations of Josquin, if
considering period tunings at all, tend to dive straight into the amply
documented sixteenth century style around various instrumental
transcriptions & so also mean-tone temperaments, recall that
various Josquin pieces do still cadence on open fifths....) And it
already seems to be a trend to sidestep issues of authorship entirely,
continuing to record some of the catchier "hits" that have subsequently
been questioned:
Indeed all of these factors are wrapped into one
package for Ensemble Clément Janequin's new Septiesme livre de chansons,
based on Susato's 1545 publication. That's a retrospective collection
devoted to Josquin a generation after his death, and tends to position
the music in terms of the early madrigal, or especially the Parisian
chanson. (It also sits contemporaneously to & is inclusive of
various instrumental transcriptions for e.g. lute or keyboard... i.e.
with their tuning implications.)
So to back up for a moment, it's
probably accurate to suggest that I first started calling for new
attention to recording Josquin's secular music once the prior Visse interpretation started
seeming dated: This new album isn't dated in terms of the development
of their own performance style, but it certainly does keep to a 1540s
orientation — if not actually subsequent to that, given the
heavily doubled (suggesting continuo?) bass parts, etc. (A specific
orientation on the Susato book, having the benefit of more modern
notation etc., is also reflected by e.g. Se congie prens —
already almost a nine year-old recording, and likewise featuring quite
a lot of organ, although from a group with a more medieval orientation
in general....)
I guess what I'd really wanted, as I try to articulate
that for myself now, is a program featuring Josquin's songs in the more
classic style of Ockeghem & La Rue. Although Marc Lewon's program remains
the most idiomatic & compelling for me overall (despite mixing in
voices in kind of a jarring way that took a while to enjoy in a more
relaxed setting...), that's also more of a nitty-gritty "instrumental
variation" sort of perspective, such that the pure "courtly chanson"
take still seems open to me.... (Maybe the main issue around such a
project has really been that Josquin, absent the greater variety that
ultimately seems to define his output, would suffer in comparison to
e.g. Ockeghem & La Rue....)
ECJ also does without the viols of
their first program (generally in favor of organ), using a larger
variety of voices, particularly doubled in the lowest registers (&
producing a stiff or heavy sound). And e.g. the spinet sounds jarring
to me here, although actually it's pleasant enough. Anyway, the point
seems to be a lot of pretty singing, sighing lines, big/clear
harmonies, a kind of nostalgic drama.... In other words, it's an
enjoyable update with some stylistic differences from their first album
(released more than 30 years ago now!), but doesn't break new ground in
period technique or articulation. I.e. I don't feel as though I've
learned anything about Josquin or his music from this release, but some
of the tunes & figures surely do resonate: What's perhaps most
notable is how well his music continues to respond to these different
settings & orientations (including already in the sixteenth
century...).
[5.2.2021]