Adieu, naturlic leven mijn / Aventure
Songs from the Koning Manuscript ca. 1500

medieval.org
www.aventure-ensemble.nl
Challenge Records "Fineline" 72411
2007












1. Benefico solacio   [2:27]   voices NM CK

2. Truren moet ic nacht ende dach   [6:11]   voices NM CK AL
instrumental versions (Ita Hijmans) recorder consort

3. de Sancta Ursula. Flatu docta spiritali   [5:06]   voices NM CK

4. O, Jesus bant   [4:12]   voices NM CK viol

5. de Sancta Cecilia. Puram Christo te dedisti   [4:32]   voices CK AL

6. Die werlt leit mi so seer en quelt   [9:04]   voices NM CK AL
instrumental versions (Ita Hijmans) recorder consort

7. Ave pulcherrima regina   [3:45]   voices CK AL

8. Mijns herten troest   [7:44]   voices NM CK, viol
Alexander AGRICOLA

9. de Sancta Katherina. Costi regis filia   [3:15]    voices CK AL, viol

10. Adieu, naturlic leven mijn   [11:42]   voices NM CK AL
instrumental versions (Ita Hijmans) recorder consort

11. de Sancta Barbara. Digne colat ecclesia   [3:47]   voices CK AL

12. Och, voer die doot en is geen boot   [9:40]   voice NM, recorder consort
the Koning Manuscript and Jacob OBRECHT

13. Nicolai solennia   [2:42]   voices NM CK AL

14. Jesu dulcis memoria   [2:18]   voices CK AL

Adieu naturlic leven mijn
SONGS FROM THE KONING MANUSCRIPT
BRUSSELS, ROYAL LIBRARY MS II 270) CA. 1500

All songs on this recording come from the Koning Manuscript, which is presently kept in the Royal Library of Brussels (ms II 270). It is a two-part manuscript, the songbook portion of which was compiled around 1500; in addition to the 29 polyphonic songs, it contains the verse text for an antiphon, songs without musical notation and spiritual poetry in Latin and Middle Dutch, and has been enriched with a number of illustrations.
The instrumental pieces on this CD are all arrangements of the songs written in a 15th Century style.


TEXTS

‘Truren moet ic nacht ende dach’' is the opening of a song filled with the awareness of sin. At the end, it states: ‘Och rijc heer god hoe wel lust mi uut deser werlt te sceiden.’ The late medieval faithful often submitted themselves to feelings of self-chastisement and the longing for death. The songs on this CD show the macabre side of the Koning Manuscript.

But who sang this? Who came up with the idea to continually reinforce the feeling that death was always around the corner? Everyone; that could be the answer: “Throughout life is the constant and relentless call of the memento mori” is what Huizinga wrote in The Autumn of the Middle Ages. Considering the distribution of these songs, it seems true. They appear in various medieval books, but the real bestsellers were the Christmas songs, which are also in this manuscript. Although it is not known precisely for whom this book was intended, there is much to be said about it. It is beautifully crafted, more so than the most books with a similar content; and the musical content is typical of what was found in cities at the time. Looking at the origins of the songs, it is notable that many of them are well-known in the Lower Rhine area. There is a clear connection with the German lands. The language of the copyist is nonetheless Dutch, and there are many similarities with a later manuscript found in Dordrecht. It is this last connection that deserves attention.

The songbook, which must have been written in Holland, is bound together with a book which came from the Southern Netherlands. This Southern book, written around 1523 in Antwerp, contains poems by Anna Bijns. One of these poems, about the advantages of celibacy, is dedicated to Cornelis Damasz. He was the mayor of Dordrecht; after the early death of his wife he remained unmarried, living as a lay brother and rector of the local tertiary cloister. How that book from Antwerp came to be together in one binding with a songbook from Holland is unknown. But is it strange to think that that could have occurred in Dordrecht?

In the Koning Manuscript, one hears the longing for a renunciation of the worldly, which was gaining increasing popularity among the late medieval elite. It contains morbid songs: ‘Och als ic bin gheset te lijc ende sta ghekist ter baren Ende tvleisch sal rotten onder tslijc waer sal mijn siel dan varen?’, but also the beautifully mystical song ‘O Jesus bant’' in which an inner longing for love and comfort speaks: ‘lief wilt mi troost verleenen’.

Johan Oosterman
Professor of Early Dutch Literature at the Radboud University, Nijmegen

THE IMAGE OF DEATH

The devotional texts in the Koning Manuscript were strongly suggestive of the transience of earthly life and were accompanied by a number of illustrations. These pen drawings seem macabre but are intended, just like the songs, to inspire comfort and hope in this finite earthly existence. In other words, the illustrations add an extra morbid accent. In a lovely quadrilob at the conclusion of the book the reassuring words ‘veniet mors ultimo solamine quandoque’ are written: “Sooner or later, Death shall come as the last comfort”. This somewhat stilted saying, very fitting within the context of the Koning Manuscript and certainly in the music which is heard on this CD, is designed as a partially musical rebus: the ‘comfort’, ‘solamine’ is made up of not only letters, but also musical notes: word and music form an inseparable unity. Three other pages of the manuscript show how Death can confront anyone at any time. In each case, we see two yellowish gold coloured circles above two columns of written Latin reflections: in the left tondo is Man, in the right circle, as if in a mirror, is Death. In relation to the text, a nobleman, a middle-class man and a middle-class woman are pictured. Together they seem to enter into a Dance of the Dead, as the images in the series of illustrated confrontations between Death and people of all ranks and positions are often called. Such Dances of the Dead were very popular in the late Middle Ages. Actually, they present the same concepts visually as the songs from the Koning Manuscript do with music and text; but more as a reminder of the constantly present and completely inescapable threat than as a comfort...

The nobleman is shown in armour, over which he wears a fur-edged cape. More important for his status are the sceptre in his hands and the royal hat and crown placed on his full head of hair. Death opposite him seems to have taken the sceptre and has his emaciated arm shoved through the crown. The common man or merchant is dressed in a wide blue cape and wears a headdress with a train hanging over his right shoulder. The image of Death facing him displays the same earthly wealth, sporting the same hat with long train over his skinny shoulders. This mortal will also be robbed of all his worldly goods by Death. Finally, the woman, whose finery shows no sign of poverty, is also opposed by her ephemeral mirror image: strikingly, it is very literally a feminine Death!

Jos Koldeweij
Professor of Medieval Art History at the Radboud University, Nijmegen

POLYPHONY

Late Medieval Dutch manuscripts usually contain one- and occasionally two-voice music, which are referred to as ‘simple polyphony’. This genre, ‘cantus planus binatim’ (plainchant twice), was very common in Northern and Central Europe for various reasons. In the Netherlands, this style is most commonly associated with cloisters. The sobriety and respect for the words play an important role in the choice of ‘cantus planus binatim’.
Many of the pieces in the Koning Manuscript are rooted in this repertoire, but the polyphonic versions in this songbook are more elaborate. For example, in Benefico solacio and Jesu dulcis memoria, we hear simple polyphony; but the note against note counterpoint is very carefully considered and applied. There is a long tradition of one- and two-voice settings of the Ave pulcherrima regina, which can be found in various 15^th Century sources as simple polyphony. But in the Koning Manuscript it appears as a balanced polyphonic duet. Even the Nicolai solennia and Digne colat, both well-known in the Dutch cloister repertoire, are perfected here. O, Jesus bant and Costi regis, locally occurring in monophonic or simple polyphonic versions, have been transformed into polyphonic compositions using discant, tenor and contratenor lines.

Another group of compositions has a clear relationship with the international and instrumental repertoire of the time. Mijns herten troest is a composition by Alexander Agricola, which has been given a sacred text. Die werlt leit mi so seer and Adieu, naturlic leven mijn can be found as instrumental pieces in international songbooks, which leads to the assumption that they had already been circulating for some time. Truren moet ic and Och, voer die doot were found in text-only versions in the later Dordrecht songbook; while the music of the first piece appears only here, the second is based on one of the most popular instrumental tunes of the 15^th Century: Tandernaken. It is rare that such a tenor tune is provided with a text. It seems to be the ultimate mix of influences from various circles.

It is because of this that the Koning Manuscript can be considered as a peer to the other international songbooks that we encounter in urban centres throughout Europe. In this setting, instrumentalists often arranged vocal works, according to specific ‘recipes’. It is against this background that one should view the instrumental versions presented on this CD: a sign of the bounty and prestige found in urban culture.

Ita Hijmans
Aventure, Ensemble for Medieval Music, Amsterdam

translations: Christopher Kale

AVENTURE

Aventure, under the direction of Ita Hijmans specializes in (late) Medieval music. The ensemble borrows its name from the courtly concept of story, adventure and experience; and refers therefore to the non-written culture of the Middle Ages. Continuously examining the scope of this non-written legacy is the challenge for Aventure in its musical performance practice.

Since its conception in 1992, Aventure has produced varied programs with differing performers on the national and international podia. After beginning with the story-telling tradition of the monophonic music around Oswald van Wolkenstein (CD: O, snode welt), the Latin conductus, lai and estampie, the unknown songs of Adam de la Halle, followed programs of early polyphony from the Montpelier Codex and Bamberg, among others. Fifteenth-Century songbooks are the new focus for Aventure, and research into the unwritten role of instrumentalists, especially that of the recorder consort in the last decades of the 15th Century. Through extensive research into the many aspects of performance: improvisation techniques, pronunciation, musical idioms and historical context, we wish to create a living sound impression of an otherwise forgotten time.

Ensemble AVENTURE
voor middeleeuwse muziek · for Medieval Music
Ita Hijmans

voices:
Nancy Mayer  (NM)
Christopher Kale  (CK)
Arnout Lems AL  (AL)

renaissance viol: Piet Stryckers

recorder consort:
Peter de Clercq
Patrick Denecker
Ita Hijmans





Filling the gap. Een 15e-eeuwse reconstructie in concert



Dordrecht-blokfluit


Reconstructie van een blokfluitconsort uit het midden van de 15e eeuw

FINELINE CLASSICAL | FL72411

A&R Challenge Records International: Anne de Jong
Produced by Stichting Aventure

Digital recording and editing: Harry De Winde
Recording engineer: Koen Uvin
Recorded at: Michaëlskerk, Oosterland (NH), 15 - 17 January, 2007

Recorders: based on Schnitzer instruments early 16th c.
by Peter van der Poel, 2004

Sources: Brussels, Royal Library Albert 1st, MS II 270
Music edition and arrangements: Ita Hijmans

Text preparations:
Jeske van Dongen, Middle Dutch
Andries Welkenhuysen and Jeanine De Landtsheer, Latin texts

English Translation of the songtexts: Stratton Bull, copyright Alamire Muziekuitgeverij, www.alamire.com
English Translation: Christopher Kale

Pictures: Brussels, Royal Library Albert 1st, MS II 270
Sleeve design: Marcel van den Broek

www.aventure-ensemble.nl
www.challengerecords.com

℗ & © 2007 FINELINE


This production was made possible through the generous contribution of the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds from the Cohen Fonds, the ThuisKopie Fonds, the M.A.O.C. Gravin van Bylandt Stichting and Electrolux