Il Cantar Moderno. Venetian and Neapolitan songs of the 15th Century
Ensemble Daedalus



IMAGEN

medieval.org

Accent ACC 9068 D
1990





01 - Giù per la mala via (lauda)   [6:58]
soprano, 2 tenors, bass, rebec, 2 recorders, vielle, viol, lute, percussion JS

02 - Pietro ORIOLA. O vos homines (barzelleta)   [5:20]
soprano, tenor OR, bass

03 - Ben so che la mia mente (canzone)   [1:46]
tenor GT, 2 recorders, vielle, lute

04 - Ben so che la mia mente (ballata)   [4:34]
soprano, tenor OR, bass, recorder RF, vielle, viol

05 - [8:51]
a) O rosa bella ~ He robinet   [0:48]
soprano, bass
b) O rosa bella (instr.)   [1:56]
2 recorders

c) John DUNSTABLE or John BEDINGHAM. O rosa bella   [6:07]
tenor OR, baritone, bass

06 - Triumpho de le done (canzone)   [2:07]
soprano, vielle, viol

07 - Piangete done (canzone)   [2:10]
soprano, tenor OR

08 - Una vechia sempiternosa (canzone)   [2:20]
soprano, 2 tenors, rebec, vielle, viol

09 - Fate d'arera (ballata)   [1:08]
soprano, tenor OR

10 - Hora may che fora son (ballata)   [2:38]
soprano, 2 tenors, bass, 2 recorders, vielle, viol, lute

11 -  [3:25]
a) Johannes CORNAGO. Morte, merce (canzone)   [2:07]
soprano, tenor OR, bass, vielle, viol, percusion KT
b) Gilles BINCHOIS. Mort en mercy (instr.)   [1:18]
recorder RF, vielle, viol


12 - Per la mya cara (canzone)   [3:47]
soprano, tenor OR, bass, lute

13 - La gratia de voe (ballata)   [3:03]
soprano, tenor OR, vielle, lute

14 - O tempo bono   [4:22]
a) declamation   [1:12]
voice, lute
b) instrumental   [1:18]
2 recorders, vielle, viol, percussion MCK

c) strambotto   [1:52]
soprano, 2 tenors, vielle, viol, lute

15 - Cor mio volunturioso (strambotto)   [4:47]
soprano, 2 tenors, bariton, bass

16 - Amor tu non me gabasti (barzelletta)   [2:59]
soprano, 2 tenors, bass, 2 recorders, vielle, viol, lute

17 - Voca la galiera (instr.)   [2:46]
2 recorders, vielle, viol, lute


18 - Heinrich ISAAC. Morte che fay (canzone)   [6:20]
soprano, 2 tenors, bass, lute





Maria Cristina Kiehr
soprano #1 2 4 5a 6 7 8 9 10 11a 12 13 14c 15 16 18
rebec #1 8
percussion 14b

Otto Rastbichler, tenor
#1 2 4 5c 7 8 9 10 11a 12 13 14c 15 16 18

Gerd Türk, tenor
#1 3 8 10 14c 15 16 18

Josep Cabré
bass #1 2 4 5ac 10 11a 12 15 16 18
declamation 14a

Roberto Festa, recorder
#1 3 4 5b 10 11b 14b 16 17

Koko Taylor
recorder #1 3 5b 10 14b 16 17
percussion 11a

Renée Stock, vielle
#1 3 4 6 8 10 11ab 13 14bc 16 17

Sergi Casademunt, viol
#1 4 6 8 10 11b 14bc 16 17

Hugh Sandilands, lute
#1 3 10 11a 12 13 14ac 16 17 18

Martin Hummel, baritone #5c 15

Jill Schaeffer, percussion #1






Recorded at Pfarrkirche Seewen, Switzerland, July 1990
Produced and recorded by Adelheid and Andreas Glatt
Digital editing and recording by Andreas Glatt



IMAGEN

Accent 19068





IL CANTAR MODERNO
VENETIAN AND NEAPOLITAN SONGS OF THE 15TH CENTURY

The secular repertory of Italian music in the 15th Century known today consists entirely of some dozens of "canti". It is surprising to note that in the manuscript codices from the 15th Century musical examples with Italian texts are rare, compared to the very many examples of Franco/Flemish production. It is all the more surprising to note that the period of intense creativity for polyphonic music in the 14th Century and in the 16th Century, which was so productive in the field of music publishing, are separated by an almost "mute" 15th Century. In the 16th Century, in fact, thanks to the flourishing trade in music printing, madrigals and motets spread more easily throughout Europe. In the words of Nino Pirrotta, the 15th Century is defined as a break between the island of the Italian Ars Nova and the immense continent of 16th Century Italian music.

Analysis of secular texts found in the music manuscripts of the 15th Century is perhaps equivalent to unveiling the secret of the century. From the beginning of the century and throughout the peninsular, a new literary style appeared, close to the popular lyricism, imitating its language, its forms and its themes. The spread of this new literary genre was assured by the poets who were inspired by the most popular metrical forms: the chanson d'amour (strambotto) the comic poem (barzelletta) or the ballade (ballata). It is also true that, at the heart of the humanist literary culture, an authentic, 'popular current' was born and expanded throughout the peninsular; Leonardo Giustiniani in Venice, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Luigi Pulci and Angelo Poliziano in Florence, Cariteo (Benedetto Gareth) and Francesco Galeota in Naples, Serafino Cimelli (the Aquilano) in Aquila. Often two aspects co-existed in the same work; the erudite style and the imitation of forms in the popular tradition. Such is the case with Poliziano who named his poetry in the popular style "rispetti" (consisting of eight rhyming lines in dialogue form).

Already by the 14th Century it was common for a poet to send his verses to a musician to set them to music. Dante Alighieri delivered to his "friend Lippo" the canzona Lo mio servento core, accompanied by a sonnet, asking him to clothe them in music, so that they may be known wherever one wishes.

The musical arrangements served the function of amplifiers, broadcasting the poetry to a larger and less exclusive public; sometimes it is even impossible to retrieve the original version of the poetic text from the dialect variants and the setting. Moreover, although the popular language no longer permits the discovery of the verse as written by the poet, one notes at the same time that his way of feeling things and translating his sentiments, is the same as that of the people. In taking over the rhymes of Giustiniani - as d'Ancona fairly says in 'Popular Italian Poetry' - the people recapture his worth and, by


From the more specifically musical point of view it is possible to distinguish three fundamental styles in 15th Century polyphony.
The first is characterised by the important fioriture in the part of the Superius (the highest voice), contrasted with the more linear accompaniment of the other voices (generally three). In this part of the repertory, the polyphonic tradition of the 14th Century is still detectable, thanks to the melodic form and to the models which were retained.
The second identifiable style is that of the song written in the manner typical of the transalpine composers, Obrecht, Brumel, Compère, Isaac and Josquin, but with a tendency to make the imitations between the voices less marked, giving them all equal importance.
The third is the homorhythmic and homophonic style, mixing verses from the poetry of love (strambotto), of the Venetians (veniziane) and of comedy (barzelletta). It is this style about which little is known, in the almost complete absence of written sources; in fact a song is very often performed to an improvised accompaniment "ad cytharam", "ad violam" or "ad lyram". This method was nearly always used, as is shown from the iconography and in the many literary references. Prints show that musicians rarely used written scores in their concerts. The result is that, unfortunately, not a single note has come down to us of those masters who were the most famous in the literature and the chronicles of the 15th Century. It is from this that we know that Giustiniani was not only a poet, but also an experienced lutenist, and that Pietrobono dal Chitarrino, a musician at the Estonian court, was praised by Pisanello for his great skill.

The sung poetry of the 15th Century seems to have avoided the limitations of written notation intentionally, and to have relied completely on the inspiration of the performer, much to the loss of posterity. Possibly this hypothesis solves the mystery surrounding Italian music of the century of Leonardo da Vinci, an age which appears to us like a world opaque to our eyes, but which was actually full of light, life and sounds, the sounds of unwritten music.

Roberto Festa
Translation by Christopher S. Cartwright



GIU PER LA MALA VIA (LAUDA)
MUSIC: ANONYMOUS / TEXT: FEO BELCARI (1485)
The text of this Lauda is a religious version of a canzone in the Panciatichi Codex 27 in Florence, which begins 'Giù per la villa lunga'. Slightly modified, this text can also be found as 'Giù per la valle lunga' in the codex 119 CL. 35 of the Biblioteca Magliabecchiana and as 'Giù per la via lunga' in the Codex 367 CL.V11 in the same library.

O VOS HOMINES QUI TRANSITIS (BARZELLETTA)
MUSIC: PIETRO ORIOLA / TEXT: ANONYMOUS
In this Barzelletta the composer Pietro Oriola uses an anonymous parody of the Antifon for Easter Saturday 'O vos omnes qui transitis per viam, attendite et videte si est dolor sicut dolor meus'. Unique source: Montecassino, Codex 871, page 279. Additional source of the text: Bibl. Nationale, Paris, Codex f. it. 1035.

BEN SO CHE LA MIA MENTE (CANZONE)
MUSIC: ANONYMOUS / TEXT: L. GIUSTINIANI ?
Unique source: Escurial, Ms. IV. a. 24, fol. 11' - 12

BEN SO CHE LA MIA MENTE (BALLATA?)
MUSIC: ANONYMOUS / TEXT: L. GIUSTINIANI ?
Unique source: Escorial, Ms. IV. a. 24, fol 112'- 114.

O ROSA BELLA / HE ROBINET (BALLATA)
The text of this Ballata was published in 'Il fiore delle elegantissime cancionete del nobile messere Leonardo Justiniano' in 1482 in Venice. The music, entirely or partly attributed to John Dunstable or John Bedingham, can be found in numerous manuscripts of the 15th century. We chose versions from the Escorial Codex Ms. IV. a. 24 and from the Codex 871 of Montecassino page 341.


TRIUMPHO DE LE DONE, O CHIARA LUCE (CANZONE)
MUSIC: ANONYMOUS / TEXT: L. GIUSTINIANI ?
Unique source: Escorial, Ms. IV. a. 24, fol. 86 - 87.

PIANGETE DONE ET VUY FEDEL AMANTI (CANZONE)
MUSIC: ANONYMOUS / TEXT: L. GIUSTINIANI ?
Unique source: Escorial Ms. IV. a. 24, fol. 87' - 88.

UNA VECHIA SEMPITERNOSA (CANZONE)
MUSIC: ANONYMOUS / TEXT: L. GIUSTINIANI ?
Unique source: Escorial Ms. IV. a. 24, fol. 89' - 90.

FATE D'ARERA E NON T'ACOSTAR IN ZA (BALLATA)
MUSIC: ANONYMOUS / TEXT: L. GIUSTINIANI ?
Unique source: Escorial, Ms. IV. a. 24, fol. 137'.

HORA MAY CHE FORA SON (BALLATA)
MUSIC: ANONYMOUS / TEXT: L. GIUSTINIANI ?
Unique source: Escorial Ms. IV. a. 24, fol. 90' - 91.
This is the earliest version of the well known 'Monica' song which tells of a girl who was sent to a monastery against her will. The melody, however, is completely different from 'Madre non mi far monaca / Une jeune fillette / Ich ging einmal spazieren' and the Almande la Nonette.

MORTE, MERCE, GENTILE AQUILL' ALTERA (CANZONE)
MUSIC: JUAN CORNAGO / TEXT: L. GIUSTINIANI ?
Source: Montecassino Codex 871, page 278.
Additional sources: Escorial Ms. W. a. 24; Bibl. Nat. Paris, Codex Cordiforme.

MORT EN MERCHY
MUSIC: GILES BINCHOIS
Source München, Nat Bibi. Ms. 3192, fol. 126'.

PER LA MYA CARA (CANZONE)
MUSIC: ANONYMOUS / TEXT: ANONYMOUS
Unique source: Paris, Bibl. Nat. Codex Codiforme.

LA GRATIA DE VOE (BALLATA)
MUSIC: ANONYMUS / TEXT: ANONYMUS   

O TEMPO BONO (STRAMBOTTO)
MUSIC: ANONYMOUS / TEXT: FRANCESCO GALEOTA
This Strambotto can be found in the 'Canzoniere di Francesco Galeota' (Codex X B13 in the Biblioteca Estense in Modena). The text shows strange parallels with the Spanish romance 'Tiempo bueno'. The music from the Strambotto comes from the Codex 871 of Montecassino.

COR MIO VOLUNTORIOSO (STRAMBOTTO)
MUSIC: ANONYMOUS / TEXT: GIACOMO CANTELMO
Unique source: Codex Montecassino 871, page 418 - 419.

AMOR TU NON ME GABASTI (BARZELLETTA)
MUSIC: ANONYMOUS / TEXT: GIACOMO CANTELMO
Source: Montecassino, codex 871, page 272-273, page 418. There is also a three-part version in the Codex 431 of the Library in Perugia.

VOCA LA GALIERA
The text of this seafaring song of the galley slaves has not survived. The (anonymous) music for this text comes from the Montecassino Codex 871.

MORTE QUE FAY (CANZONE)
MUSIC: HEINRICH ISAAC / TEXT: ANONYMOUS
Source: Cancionero de Segovia and Paris, Bibl. Nat., Codex Ms. Rès. Vm. 7 676.


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