Notes and Editorial Reviews
WILLAERT/JACHET
Vespro della beata Vergine.
Ricercars.
PADOVANO
Toccatas
•
Capilla Flamenca
•
RICERCAR 325 (79:30 Text and Translation)
Willaert didn’t create the double-choir psalm, though for the longest time he was credited with it. Examples exist that were composed earlier in the 16th century in the Venetian-controlled towns of Bergamo and Treviso, and earlier still at the Court of Ferrara in the 1470s. It was
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Willaert’s published collection of these psalms specifically for Vespers in 1550, however, that first drew attention to the genre, and where the man who had held the prestigious post of
maestro di cappella
at St. Mark’s in Venice for 23 years (and would continue to do so for another decade, until his death) traveled, other composers followed. Many similar collections immediately appeared and continued into the next century, of which Monteverdi’s is of course the most celebrated.
Willaert’s psalms demonstrate an increasingly sophisticated antiphonal treatment of the choirs. They no longer simply alternate verses (
salmi senza riposte
) between groups, but can overlap content slightly (
salmi spezzati
), and be performed by two differently composed choirs (
salmi con le sue riposte
)—one made up of soloists, the other employing multiple singers to one or more parts. This leads the Capilla Flamenca to abandon for this release its usual ensemble of four singers augmented by three gambists, a recorder soloist, lutenist, and organist, and settle instead on two countertenors, four tenors, a baritone, bass, and organist. (The organ is heard in interludes, not in the vocal selections.) The core group still consists of countertenor Marnix de Cat, tenor Tore Denys, baritone Lieven Termont, and bass Dirk Snellings, and functions as the soloists’ ensemble.
The presentation includes five of Willaert’s Vespers psalms. Three of these are actually collaborative efforts between Willaert and Jacques Colebault, better known in Italy as Jachet de Mantua. (They take alternate verses, employing contrasting contrapuntal techniques and meters.) These are interspersed—as they might have been in actual performance before the Doge in the Basilica of St. Mark’s—with other works, mostly motets by Willaert, including a simpler, spirited gem of a Magnificat, and almost inevitably an
Ave maris stella
with richly imitative writing of great beauty. Six interludes are supplied as well for solo organ, drawn from the ricercars and toccatas of both Willaert and Annibale Padovano, who functioned as first organist at St. Marks through Willaert’s last 10 years there, and the brief employment of his immediate successor, Cipriano de Rore.
Capilla Flamenca’s readings are spirited and precise. Each voice part is balanced with the others, while maintaining a textural clarity essential in music this complex. Enunciation is excellent. I would only note on the negative side that some minor vocal problems associated with Marnix de Cat’s intonation and tonal production in the ensemble’s last recording (secular works and Motets by Isaac, Ricercar 318,
Fanfare
35:5) continue in this release. These are not frequently evident, however, and the overall effect of the group remains one of great focus and transparency.
In short, this is a most welcome release, both for the seldom-heard Willaert Vespers, and for another chance to sample the art of Capilla Flamenca.
FANFARE: Barry Brenesal
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Works on This Recording
2.
Toccata for organ in the 8th tone by Annibale Padovano
Performer:
Joris Verdin (Organ)
Date of Recording: 03/2012
Venue: Bologna, Basilica di San Petronio
Length: 3 Minutes 48 Secs.
3.
Ricercares: Ricercar 1 a 4 by Adrian Willaert
Performer:
Joris Verdin (Organ)
Period: Renaissance
Written: Europe
Date of Recording: 03/2012
Venue: Bologna, Basilica di San Petronio
Length: 4 Minutes 35 Secs.
6.
Ricercares: Ricercar primo a 3 by Adrian Willaert
Performer:
Joris Verdin (Organ)
Period: Renaissance
Date of Recording: 03/2012
Venue: Bologna, Basilica di San Petronio
Length: 5 Minutes 18 Secs.
9.
Ricercares: Ricercar settimo a 3 by Adrian Willaert
Performer:
Joris Verdin (Organ)
Period: Renaissance
Date of Recording: 03/2012
Venue: Bologna, Basilica di San Petronio
Length: 4 Minutes 12 Secs.
10.
Lauda Jerusalem by Adrian Willaert
Period: Renaissance
Written: 16th Century; Italy
Date of Recording: 02/2012
Venue: Gijzegem, Kapel Zusters van Sint Vincent
Length: 4 Minutes 45 Secs.
11.
Ave maris stella by Adrian Willaert
Period: Renaissance
Date of Recording: 02/2012
Venue: Gijzegem, Kapel Zusters van Sint Vincent
Length: 7 Minutes 42 Secs.
12.
Ricercares: Ricercar 10 a 4 by Adrian Willaert
Performer:
Joris Verdin (Organ)
Period: Renaissance
Written: Europe
Date of Recording: 03/2012
Venue: Bologna, Basilica di San Petronio
Length: 5 Minutes 15 Secs.
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