Janequin: Elegiac & Pictoresque Songs / Patenaude, Et Al

This CD's attraction rests partly on the novelty of hearing this repertoire sung by a choir with boy trebles. From an English perspective this will seem rather surprising, but there is nothing at all 'churchy' in the singers' delivery or in the recording. There is a freshness about these performances that lend them considerable charm. Most of Janequin's descriptive pieces are here (with La chasse, alas, shorn of its second half, for registral reasons), and Gilbert Patenaude controls this 30-strong choir sufficiently fluently for the naturalness of the illusion to take hold — most of the time, at any rate. The most successful performance is perhaps Les cris de Paris, though as a group they all work well.

The other novelty is in Read more the choice of songs. Perhaps in order to spare the sensibilities of the young boys (or perhaps those of their audience, some of whom might feel uncomfortable hearing children singing smutty ditties), Janequin's chansons grivoises get short shrift here. That, though, has prompted a wider selection from his later, more poetic, text settings, which are full of delicacy. Many are new to me in recording. This is the surprise of the recital, and it excuses not a few quibbles (the irritating habit of cutting off final chords secco; the brevity — less than 50 minutes is very little when the music is out of copyright; and the texts are not all complete, while the English translations are far from reliable).

There's no doubt that the performances of the Ensemble Clement Janequin, spread over many releases, are in nearly every way more secure, and get closer to the heart of the music. But before they came along, Janequin was a common feature of French choral programmes, and it is good to be reminded that he can still sound convincing that way, even (or especially?) in the mouths of children.

-- Fabrice Fitch, Gramophone [3/2005]
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1. Réveillez vous cueurs endormis "Le chant des oiseaux" by Clément Janequin

Conductor: Gilbert Patenaude
Orchestra/Ensemble: Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal
Period: Renaissance
Written: 16th Century; France
Language: French

2. Bel aubépin verdissant, M 4 no 251 by Clément Janequin