Notes and Editorial Reviews
GOMBERT
Salve regina. A quoy tient il. Je suis trop jonette. O gloriosa Dei genitrix. Ave Maria. Mort et fortune. Triste depart. O malheureuse journée. Tous les regretz. Pleust a Dieu. Or suis je prins. Aspice Domine. Ave regina caelorum. Par un regard. En attendant. Magnificat 4 toni
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Peter Urquhart, dir; Capella Alamire; Woodman Consort of Viols; Noël Bisson (sop)
•
NAXOS 8.570180 (68:17
)
Nicolas Gombert (c. 1495–c. 1560) was
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recently accorded a summation of his place in the record catalog (29:5). That account of attention given his works would have been even longer if this splendid recording, most of it made almost 10 years ago, had appeared more promptly. But such are the vicissitudes of small labels, the ones this American vocal ensemble has dealt with in the past, that it was necessary for Naxos to take up the slack. That says more about the record market than about the superb quality of these performances. In an unaccustomed ploy, Urquhart has distributed five motets among the 10 chansons before concluding with a Magnificat, the one in the fourth mode. The Magnificat, the motets, and two chansons are sung by Urquhart’s group, while the rest of the chansons (recorded two years later) are given to Noël Bisson’s light and flexible soprano supported by the viol consort, except for one that is rendered instrumentally.
Three of the five motets seem to be first recordings, while the
Salve regina
is on the Hilliard Ensemble program (29:5) and
Ave regina caelorum
is on an old Bruno Turner LP. Urquhart had earlier included three other motets of Gombert on a Titanic CD (16:1, where the big news was Busnois). As evident already on that disc, Urquhart shares the views of such interpreters as Jonathan Brown who find the cross-relations in the linear movement of the music to be essential to an appreciation of music that was, after all, written in part books, not in score. Scores tend to encourage focusing on the vertical harmonic element in the music.
The chansons are uniformly new to disc, for I cannot find a single title in my collection or in the last
Bielefelder Katalog
. Noteworthy is
O malheureuse journée
, one of two sung by the Capella, an extended song for five voices that expresses a bleak but unexplained despair. Urquhart’s notes, which clarify the difference between the liturgical and paraliturgical motets on the disc, are succinct but informative, and all the sources of first publication are noted. He also points out the effective use of cross-relations to support the meaning of the text at the climax of
Tous les regretz
. Certainly this program was worth waiting for. The sound captured in a Portsmouth, NH, church is vivid in a natural, unobtrusive way. The price makes this even more desirable.
FANFARE: J. F. Weber
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Works on This Recording
1.
Salve regina alternatim by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
2.
A quoy tient il by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
3.
Je suis ionette by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
4.
O gloriosa Dei genitrix by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
Period: Renaissance
Written: by 1534
Venue: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth
Length: 5 Minutes 14 Secs.
Language: Latin
Notes: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth (06/15/1997 - 07/01/1997)
5.
Ave Maria by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
Period: Renaissance
Written: 16th Century; Flanders, Belgium
Venue: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth
Length: 4 Minutes 16 Secs.
Language: Latin
Notes: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth (06/15/1997 - 07/01/1997)
6.
Mort et fortune by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
7.
Triste départ by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
8.
O malheureuse journée by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
Period: Renaissance
Written: by 1550
Venue: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth
Length: 4 Minutes 30 Secs.
Language: French
Notes: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth (06/15/1997 - 07/01/1997)
9.
Tous les regretz by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
Period: Renaissance
Written: by 1544; Flanders, Belgium
Venue: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth
Length: 3 Minutes 13 Secs.
Language: French
Notes: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth (06/15/1997 - 07/01/1997)
10.
Pleust adieu by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
11.
Or suis je prins by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
12.
Aspice Domine by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
13.
Ave regina caelorum by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
Period: Renaissance
Written: 16th Century; Flanders, Belgium
Venue: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth
Length: 4 Minutes 37 Secs.
Language: Latin
Notes: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth (06/15/1997 - 07/01/1997)
14.
Par un regard by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
15.
En attendant by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
16.
Magnificat quattro toni by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
Period: Renaissance
Written: 16th Century; Flanders, Belgium
Venue: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth
Length: 12 Minutes 33 Secs.
Language: Latin
Notes: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth (06/15/1997 - 07/01/1997)
17.
Salve regina [Eia ergo] by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
Period: Renaissance
Written: by 1541; Flanders, Belgium
Venue: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth
Length: 8 Minutes 44 Secs.
Language: Latin
Notes: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth (06/15/1997 - 07/01/1997)
18.
A quoy tient-il by Nicolas Gombert
Performer:
Noël Bisson (Soprano)
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Woodman Consort of Viols
Period: Renaissance
Written: by 1531
Date of Recording: 11/12/1999
Venue: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth
Length: 2 Minutes 14 Secs.
Language: French
19.
Je suis trop jeunette by Nicolas Gombert
Performer:
Noël Bisson (Soprano)
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Woodman Consort of Viols
Period: Renaissance
Written: by 1560
Date of Recording: 11/12/1999
Venue: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth
Length: 2 Minutes 5 Secs.
Language: French
20.
Mort et fortune pourquoy m'avez laisse by Nicolas Gombert
Performer:
Noël Bisson (Soprano)
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Woodman Consort of Viols
Period: Renaissance
Written: by 1538
Date of Recording: 11/12/1999
Venue: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth
Length: 2 Minutes 5 Secs.
Language: French
21.
Trist départ m'avoit by Nicolas Gombert
Performer:
Noël Bisson (Soprano)
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Woodman Consort of Viols
Period: Renaissance
Written: by 1560; Flanders, Belgium
Date of Recording: 11/12/1999
Venue: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth
Length: 2 Minutes 12 Secs.
Language: French
22.
Pleust a Dieu quil fust dict by Nicolas Gombert
Performer:
Noël Bisson (Soprano)
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Woodman Consort of Viols
Period: Renaissance
Written: by 1560
Date of Recording: 11/12/1999
Venue: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth
Length: 1 Minutes 34 Secs.
Language: French
23.
Or suis-je prins by Nicolas Gombert
Performer:
Noël Bisson (Soprano)
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Woodman Consort of Viols
Period: Renaissance
Written: by 1544
Date of Recording: 11/12/1999
Venue: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth
Length: 2 Minutes 6 Secs.
Language: French
24.
Aspice Domine in testamentum by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Capella Alamire
Period: Renaissance
Written: 1538
Venue: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth
Length: 7 Minutes 46 Secs.
Language: Latin
Notes: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth (06/15/1997 - 07/01/1997)
25.
Par ung regard by Nicolas Gombert
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Woodman Consort of Viols
Period: Renaissance
Date of Recording: 11/12/1999
Venue: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth
Length: 1 Minutes 55 Secs.
26.
En attendant l'espoir by Nicolas Gombert
Performer:
Noël Bisson (Soprano)
Conductor:
Peter Urquhart
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Woodman Consort of Viols
Period: Renaissance
Written: by 1545
Date of Recording: 11/12/1999
Venue: Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth
Length: 2 Minutes 21 Secs.
Language: French
Sound Samples
Salve regina (alternatim)
Je suis trop jonette: (a 3)
O gloriosa Dei genitrix: (a 4)
Triste depart m'avoit: (a 5)
O malheureuse journee: (a 5)
Aspice Domine quia facta est: (a 4)
Ave regina caelorum: (a 5)
En attendant l'espoir: (a 6)
Magnificat on the fourth tone
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