Miracula
/ Ensemble Peregrina
Medieval Music for Saint Nicholas
medieval.org
peregrina.ch |
tacet.de
Tacet 213
2014
[73:57]
1.
Gaudeat ecclesia [2:27]
rondellus, Paris, 13th c. —
Firenze, Biblioteca Laurenziana, Plut. 29,1 |
HJ solo, KL, ABB, harp, vielle
2.
Sanctissimo pontifici [2:19]
conductus, Aquitaine, 12 c. —
Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, ms. 289 |
KL
3.
Nicholaus pontifex [3:40]
rondellus, Paris, 13th c. —
Firenze, Biblioteca Laurenziana, Plut. 29,1 |
ABB, KL, HJ, vielle
4.
Kyrie. Christ and Sainte Marie / Sainte Marie virgine / Sainte Nicholaes [3:48]
Godrich von Finchale (ca. 1065-1120)
London, British Library, ms. Royal 5 F vii |
KL, ABB, HJ
5.
Alleluia. Nobilissimis siquidem [2:10]
Silos?, 12th c. —
Salamanca, Universidad, Archivo y Biblioteca Ms 2637 |
HJ solo, KL, ABB
6.
Incomparabiliter [3:54]
versus, Aquitaine, 12th c. —
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, f. lat. 1139 |
ABB, KL
7.
Ave presul alme [3:36]
hymnus, Engelberg, 14th c. —
Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, cod. 314 |
HJ, vielle
8.
Gaudens in domino / Iube domne silencium [2:44]
conductus and polyphonic lesson, Regensburg, around 1300 —
München, Staatsbibliothek, Clm 5539 |
ABB, HJ
9.
Benedicamus regi sydereo [2:32]
Benedicamus trope, Aquitaine, 12th c. —
Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, ms. 289 |
ABB, vielle
10.
Alleluia Tumba sancti Nycholai [2:18]
Laon, 15. c. —
Laon, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 223 |
KL solo, ABB, HJ
11.
Ora pro nobis, beate Nicolae [3:02]
polyphonic versicle, Aquitaine, 12th c. —
London, British Library, Add. 36881 |
KL solo, ABB, HJ
12.
Nicholaus inclitus [2:16] ·
estampie |
vielle, harp
13.
Ex eius tumba V. Catervatim ruunt populi, Prosula: Sospitati dedit egros [4:57]
responsorium, England, 13th c. —
Cambridge, University Library, Mm.ii.9 |
HJ (verse, doxology and prosula), ABB (prosula), KL
14.
Salve cleri / Salve iubara / [SOSPITATI] / [SOSPITATI] [2:22]
motet, England, 14th c. —
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Hatton 81 |
KL, HJ, harp, vielle
15.
Sancto Dei Nicolao [3:07]
versus, Aquitaine, 12 c. —
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, fonds latin 3719 |
KL
16.
Gaudens in domino [2:51]
conductus, Seckau, 1345 & Sankt Lambrecht, 14th c. —
Graz, Universitätsbibliothek, ms. 756 & ms. 29/30 [olim: III. 29 and 30, 38/8 and 38/9] |
ABB, HJ, vielle
17.
Stampedes [3:42] ·
estampie |
vielle
18.
Exultemus et letemur [2:16]
versus, England, 12th c. —
Cambridge, University Library, Ff.i.17 (1) |
ABB, HJ
19.
Alleluia. Fac veniale [2:24]
Langres, 13th/14th c. —
Langres, Grand Séminaire, ms. 213 |
ABB solo, KL, HJ
20.
Nicholai presulis [2:52]
conductus, Paris, 13. c. —
Firenze, Biblioteca Laurenziana, Plut. 29,1 |
ABB, KL, HJ
21.
Nicholai sollempnia [1:42]
Benedicamus trope, Sankt Gallen, 15th c. —
St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 392 |
KL, ABB, HJ
22.
Celica siderei [5:28]
sequence, Sion/Sitten, 14th c. —
Sion/Sitten, Archives du Chapitre/Kapitelsarchiv, ms. 48 |
ABB, vielle
23.
Qui cum audissent V. Clara quippe, Prosula: Clementem te prebe [2:45]
responsorium, Sens, 13th c. —
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, nouv. acq. lat. 1535 |
KL solo, ABB, HJ
24.
Benedicamus Domino [1:06]
conductus, Montpellier, 13th c. —
Montpellier, Bibliothèque Inter-Universitaire, Section Médecine, H 196 |
KL, ABB, HJ
25.
Benedicamus devotis mentibus [0:46]
Benedicamus trope, Rotterdam or Utrecht, 14th c. —
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Lat. liturg. d. 1 |
ABB, HJ
26.
Benedicamus devotis mentibus [0:54]
Benedicamus trope, Saint Bernard, 15th c. —
Grand-Saint-Bernard, Bibliothèque de l'Hospice, ms. 07 [olim 2038] |
KL solo, ABB, HJ
27.
Benedicamus devotis mentibus [1:46]
Benedicamus trope, Verona, ca. 1500 —
Verona, Biblioteca Capitolare, DCXC |
KL, ABB, HJ
Miracula —
Medieval Music for St. Nicholas
The main protagonist of our programme, St. Nicholas, a modest 4th
century bishop from Myra (today's Turkey) made quite a career. He seems
to be a rare sort of an inter-confessional saint, and this with a broad
department of duties: he's the patron of sailors and the ship-wrecked,
of pilgrims, thieves, butchers, prostitutes, lawyers, pharmacists,
tailors, prisoners, students and children. The latter eventually made
him the jolly Santa Claus smiling at us from every Coca-Cola
advertisement. We skip mentioning his trivialised modern
personification as a rosy-cheeked bearded man from Lapland and
concentrate on the fascinating historical person that inspired many
poets and composers and is still widely venerated all over the world.
St. Nicholas seems to be commemorated not only among Catholic and
Orthodox, but also Anglican and Lutheran Christians, he's the patron
and patron saint of Russia, Greece and many cities where there are
still Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian and Reformed churches named in
his honour.
This is how one of the most popular medieval books, Legenda aurea (the Golden Legend)
compiled around 1275 by Jacob de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, describes his life:
Nicholas, citizen of the city of
Patras, was born of rich and holy kin (..) the first day that he was
washed and bained [bathed] (..) he would not take the breast nor the
pap but once on the Wednesday and once on the Friday (..) He used
and haunted gladly holy church; and all that he might understand of
holy scripture he executed it in deed and work after his power. (..)
And when his father and mother were departed out of this life, he began
to think how he might distribute his riches, and not to the praising of
the world but to the honour and glory of God. [Jacobus de
Voragine, The Golden Legend or Lives Of The Saints; Englished by
William Caxton, First Edition 1483 — From the Temple Classics,
Edited by F. S. Ellis]
His veneration starts with the pilgrimages to his grave in Myra
where he was once anointed as a bishop and with the translatio
of his remains later on to the Italian cities of Venice and Bari.
Today's symbol of the inter-confessional nature of his cult is the
basilica in Bari, a shrine for both Roman Catholics and Orthodox
Christians from Eastern Europe.
The miracles of St. Nicholas were well-known in the medieval world. In
many literary or musical works we come across the stories about him
fasting as a child on Wednesdays and Fridays (which were considered
fasting days in early Christianity), about the wondrous resurrection of
the clerics, the converted Jew, the sailors saved from the tempest,
about providing the dowry for three daughters and thus saving them from
the brothel and the wheat miracle during the famine in Myra. Most of
the miracles started at the tomb of Saint Nicholas (first in Myra, then
in Bari), which was said to exude a clear rose water liquid each year,
"believed by the faithful to possess miraculous powers", to quote the Legenda aurea again.
Most of those miracles are told in two simple rondelli from 13th century Paris — Nicholaus pontifex [3]
and Gaudeat ecclesia [1]. Another piece from the Notre Dame school, the conductus Nicholai presulis
[20], calls for praising the saint with "happy melodies" and "sweet
songs" in "high voices". Musical terms very often appear in pieces for
St. Nicholas since he's also been considered the patron of clerics
— they are also present in two simple conducts heard here (one
with the following lectio) that mention hymnis et organis ad laudem presulis,
thus emphasizing the role of music in his cult [8 & 16].
Within the liturgical repertoire, the two widespread responsories for
the saint were the source of the two melodies that have led individual
lives outside the genre they stemmed from. The last melisma of the
responsory Qui cum audissent V. Clara quippe
[23] was the source of numerous musical pieces. The French version of
this responsory recorded here includes the texted version of this
melisma — the prosula Clementem te prebe.
The melisma itself appears in many disguises and in many countries
throughout the centuries both in rhythmic and unmeasured forms: as the
pre-existing voice in the Notre Dame-style 3-part Benedicamus Domino
from Montpellier [24], as the lower voice of the 2-part 14th c. troped
Marian-Benedicamus [25] from the Netherlands (Rotterdam or Utrecht
— here the text has been adjusted for St. Nicholas, the original
addressee of the melody) or as the 1-part Benedicamus
from the St. Bernard manuscript [26], here enriched by a simple bordun.
A special treat is the 3-part version from Verona from around 1500
(dedicated to St. Augustin in the source, but in our recording
righteously reverted to the praise of St. Nicholas) presenting an
absolutely unique setting of this captivating prosula melody [27].
The prosula Sospitati dedit egros, a later addition to the responsory
Ex eius tumba V. Catervatim ruunt populi [13], made its way into
a 14th c. 4-part English motet Salve cleri/Salve iubar/ [SOSPITATI]I[SOSPITATI]
[14] in the form of two alternating tenor melodies that, if texted,
would have made assonances and allusions to the texts of the upper
voices. The non-written text of the prosula the tenors were based on
would have been present at least in the memory of contemporary
musicians and performers.
Another English source preserved a unique set of three songs attributed to St. Godrich
— Kyrie. Crist and Sainte Marie — Sainte Marie virgine — Sainte Nicholaes
[4]. St. Godrich was an Anglo-Saxon hermit and pilgrim living ca.
1065-1120, but the songs were written down in the early 13th century.
Even if he was never officially canonized, he was quite popular in his
lifetime (as described in many hagiographic works) and was highly
respected by figures such as Thomas Becket or Pope Alexander III. The
two first songs present Godrich himself and his sister Burgwen praying
to Christ and Holy Mary, whereas the last piece of this lovely triptych
is a prayer to St. Nicolaus asking for safe passage. These songs belong
to the most popular medieval pieces performed nowadays, thanks to a
popular edition by E. J. Dobson and F. Ll. Harrison (Medieval English Songs,
London 1979), which is still widely used. However, a performance or
recording presenting the order of the pieces and nuances indicated in
the original manuscript, such as we attempt to do here, has not been
brought to my attention so far.
Also from the 12th century are several polyphonic pieces for St. Nicholas
found in Aquitanian & Norman-Sicilian sources. Exultemus et letemur
[18] found in later Cambridge songs is an example of early two-part
writing for two equal voices making fascinating use of both b flat and
b natural and with a refrain partly in vernacular. Some of the pieces
here are heard for the first time since they were written around 1100:
Sancto Dei Nicolao [15], Sanctissimo pontifici [2] or
Benedicamus regi sydereo [9] have never been recorded so far.
The two last ones belong to the favourite genre of Benedicamus songs —
strophic textual tropes of the Benedicamus Domino and Deo dicamus gratias f
ormulas showing a great degree of artful poetry of that time.
Another piece from the Aquitanian tradition, lncomparabiliter
[6], has been preserved with fragmentary melody and incomplete text.
We've reconstructed both the missing text lines and the music in order
to make this song sound again. Since this versus had been placed close
to the many hidden-polyphony pieces in the early Aquitanian manuscript
Pa 1139, we've also decided to take verbatim the words of the refrain
mentioning modis organicis
and composed the festive refrain in the Aquitanian 2-part style. We
were happy to identify the lower voice of another Aquitanian piece, the
often recorded tiny organum Ora pro nobis beate Nicolae
as the versiculum formula finalizing some office services and to be
able to present it here with the belonging short respond [12].
Also the three alleluia-verses presented here — Nobilissimis siquidem,
probably from 12th c. Silos [5], Fac veniale tuis
from Langres [19] and the late medieval Tumba sancti Nycholai
from Laon [10] - have rarely or never been recorded. We're especially
pleased to cover a particular gap in reviving unique pieces from Swiss
sources. The hymn Ave presul alme from Engelberg is a contrafact of a
known Marian melody of Ave mans stella [7]. The 3-part Nicholai sollempnia
[21] seems to have been overlooked by musicologists, hidden at the
bottom of the pages of one of the St. Gall manuscripts. Only the first
strophe of this piece is provided in the source - the rest of the text
has been completed using related sources of this widespread text
— and the music does not seem to have anything in common with the
popular 2-part version of this piece transmitted in the same manuscript
a couple of folios earlier or known from other numerous German, Italian
or Danish sources. Finally, the unique, elaborate 14th century sequence
Celica siderei from Sion
(Sitten) shows the long lasting interest in artful celebration of the
cult and the miracles of the Eastern bishop [22].
The choice and the interpretation of many songs on this recording were
influenced by extended discussions and singing sessions with Professor
Wulf Arlt. Even though not all of the pieces may have taken on the form
he would have wished for, we are endlessly indebted and grateful for
his advice, remarks, analysis, coaching and time spent in fruitful
exchange.
Agnieszka Budzinska-Bennett
Ensemble Peregrina, founded in 1997 by the Polish singer and
musicologist Agnieszka Budzinska-Bennett in Basle, researches and
performs sacred and secular music from twelfth to fourteenth century
Europe. The ensemble's main interest lies in the early polyphonies and
monophonic repertories of the Notre Dame school and Aquitanian nova cantica;
the aim always being to look for a creative "counterpoint" to the
mainstream in the less known peripheral sources. The ensemble's
programmes are characterised by a careful choice of themes and pieces,
always paying close attention to their textual and musical
interrelationships.
Peregrina's interpretation and style is informed by the original source
materials and treatises, as well as the latest musicological and
historical research. The ensemble strives to approach a performance
transmitted in the sources as closely as possible without having to
renounce a well-balanced and beautiful vocal performance.
The ensemble's continuing partnership with the Schola Cantorum
Basiliensis, where its members met and studied, led to CD recordings Mel et lac (Raumklang 2005) with Marian Aquitanian songs of the 12th century and Filia praeclara
(Divox 2008) with medieval music from 13th and 14th century Polish
Clarisse convents. Both CD have received critical acclaim in the
European and American press including a. o.: twice Goldberg 5 (ES),
Selection Musicora (CH), CD of the month (Muzyka 21 PL), Supersonic
Pizzicato (LUX). Filia praeclara
has also won the prestigious ECHO-KLASSIK Award 2009 for the best a
capella recording of the year. In 2011/2012 the three new CDs of the
group have been released: Crux with Parisian Easter music from 13th & 14th centuries (Glossa 2011), Sacer Nidus with oldest extant music from medieval Poland (Raumklang 2011) and Veiled Desires - Lives and Loves of Nuns in the Middle Ages (Raumklang 2012, International Classical Music Awards 2013 nomination). The last CD of the ensemble, Cantrix,
presents the musical past of the Maltese Order form the Royal Convents
of Sigena (Hospitallers) and Las Huelgas (Cistercians) and has already
received the Supersonic Pizzicato (LUX).
Peregrina has performed at numerous festivals in Switzerland (such as
Lucerne Festival), Poland, Germany, Spain, France, Austria, Great
Britain, Estonia, Iceland, Italy, Czech Republic and the USA. The
concerts of the ensemble have been regularly broadcast on Schweizer
Radio DRS 2, Deutschlandfunk, Südwestfunk, SWR2, BR, Klaasika
Radio Estonia, PR 2 and BBC 3. In 2003/2004 the ensemble has also been
invited to lecture on the music of 12th century Aquitaine at the Schola
Cantorum Basiliensis. In the years 2011-2013 Agnieszka
Budzihska-Bennett and Kelly Landerkin belonged to the research
department of this institution. At present Kelly Landerkin teaches
Gregorian chant at the SCB, Agnieszka Budzihska-Bennett teaches early
music history and Gregorian chant at the Musikhochschule Trossingen in
Germany.
The name peregrina, the
wanderer, alludes to the transmission of music and ideas throughout
Europe in the Middle Ages, but also reflects the personal journeys of
the singers themselves. The ensemble members (coming from Poland,
Switzerland, France, Finland and the USA) together achieve a dynamic
balance through their differing origins, and they unite to emulate the
interaction and convergence of the cultures and histories of the music
they perform.
www.peregrina.ch
Ensemble Peregrina · Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett
Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett — voice, medieval harps
Kelly Landerkin, Hanna Järveläinen — voice
Baptiste Romain — vielle
Instruments:
13th c. oval vielle — Ugo Casalonga, Corsica 2004
Trecento vielle — Judith Kraft, Paris 2007
Romanesque harp, — Claus Henry Hüttel, Düren, Germany 2001
Gothic harp — Claus Henry Hüttel, Düren, Germany 2006
All
pieces were sung from facsimiles or transcriptions prepared by
A. Budzińska-Bennett, with the exception of track 2, transcribed by
Kelly Landerkin; track 25, transcribed by Wulf Arlt; and tracks 10, 19
and 14 where the editions Alleluia-Melodien II by Karlheinz Schlager,
Kassel 1987 (MMMA 8) and Polyphonic Music of the Fourteenth Century,
vol. XV by Frank Ll. Harrison (music) and Peter Lefferts (texts),
l'Oiseau-Lyre 1981 were used respectively.
All instrumental pieces and accompaniments by B. Romain (vielle) and A. Budzińska-Bennett (medieval harps).
The missing parts of Incomparabiliter were completed by Hanna Marti (text) and Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett (music).
Impressum
Recorded in Basel/Switzerland, November 2013
Technical equipment: TACET
Translation: Lucas Bennett
Einführungstext übersetzung: Lucas Bennett
Lieder übersetzungen: Hanna Marti und Lucas Bennett
Cover photo: Zwettler Codex 204 (fol. 157r.)
Mit freundlicher Genehmigung des Zisterzienserstiftes Zwettl, Österreich
Ensemble photos: Jarosław Wagner
Cover design: Julia Zancker
Booklet layout: Toms Spogis
Recorded and produced by Andreas Spreer
© 2014 TACET
℗ 2014 TACET
Our cordial thanks go to Prof. Dr. Wulf Arlt, Prof. Dr. Jürg
Stenzl, Prof. Dr. Felix Heinzer, Lucas Bennett, Hanna Marti, Łukasz
Kozak, Agnieszka Tutton and to the Heilig Kreuz Church in
Binningen-Bottmingen.
This recording is for Philipp and Hans Joerg, our longtime friends and
supporters. May St. Nicholas continue to bless and protect you!
