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Lassus: Le Nozze In Baviera / Rice, Ensemble Origo
Naxos

Lassus: Le Nozze In Baviera / Rice, Ensemble Origo

$9.99
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Details

Composer
LASSUS, ORLANDE DE
Artist
Rice
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Jan 15, 2021
Catalog #
8579063
UPC
747313906376

About

The wedding in 1568 of Renate of Lorraine to Wilhelm V, heir to the throne of the Duke of Bavaria, was a sumptuous, 18-day spectacular designed to rival those of the Italian courts. Orlande de Lassus had been the court’s maestro di cappella since 1556. Using an eye-witness account of the event, Ensemble Origo presents a hypothetical reconstruction of some of his musical contributions – a Te Deum, the moresca (a genre related to the villanella), and an improvised comedy – thereby shedding light on some of the various meanings that the music had for its 16th-century listeners. Ensemble Origo is an early music ensemble founded in 2010 and directed by Connecticut-based musicologist and conductor Eric Rice. Its aim is to present vibrant performances and recordings of early music – from the Middle Ages through to the Baroque – that reflect the context in which the repertory was originally produced and heard; ‘Origo’ is Latin for ‘earliest beginning’, ‘lineage’, or ‘origin’. The ensemble draws on a roster of musicians from Connecticut, Boston, and New York.

From Eric Rice, Director of Ensemble Origo: "This recording originated from my curiosity about the moresca, an Italian musical genre that caricatured Black Africans. I wanted to know where, how, and for whom these pieces were performed; this recording of four vignettes from a 16th-century wedding is the result."

"Like most scholars and performers of early European music, I am a white person of privilege, and among the many things such privilege has afforded me is the opportunity to study and perform this music. While I do not claim any first-hand knowledge of exclusion due to my race, my gender, or the traditional beliefs of my ancestors, I am fervently interested in understanding racism, oppression, and their manifestations in cultures past and present. Oppression in music of the past is often simple erasure on the part of music historians and performers: the tacit denial that people of other races even existed in a particular time and place, either through neglect or refusal to bring their documented presence to light. Such erasure, in turn, has resulted in a lack of understanding of how music was used to perpetuate the myth of white European superiority."

"In this recording, I aim to show the presence of Black Africans in several 16th-century European musical works, to demonstrate how these works were used, and to invite our listeners to consider their various purposes, including the perpetuation of the white superiority myth. While I could have demonstrated such uses solely in the context of scholarly articles, these have less currency and immediacy than the act of listening – of bearing witness with the ears – to this music, which must first be performed by modern musicians. Indeed, many of these representations have to be heard in order to gain a robust understanding of how they function. This performance of Lassus’s moresche in something like their original context does not constitute an endorsement of the views expressed in them, nor does it represent unambiguous advocacy for them as works of art. Though these pieces have been recorded before, little regard has been paid to the original context in which they were created and performed. This recording seeks to address that."

Le Nozze In Baviera: Sung Text

REVIEW:

In the early spring of 1568 the wedding took place in Bavaria of Renate of Lorraine to Wilhelm V, heir to that Southern German dukedom. Lassus had by then travelled extensively (there are claims that he also visited England and France) from his native Mons at least to Germany and Italy. He was Duke Albrecht V’s (Wilhelm’s father) maestro di cappella and so provided the music for a celebration which Albrecht was determined to make an occasion to be remembered. The following year Massimo Troiano wrote a description of the event(s) in a form sufficiently detailed and vivid to allow Rice to attempt a hypothetical reconstruction of how the music may have sounded.

There its humour (Lucia, celu [tr.6], for instance), piety (the Te Deum [tr.1]), uninhibited celebration (Cathalina, apra finestra [tr.8]), parody and Burlesque (Álla la pia calia [tr.3]), bawdy (O Lucia, miau [tr.7]), ceremony (Chi chilichi [tr.9]), and pathos (Chi passa per 'sta strada [tr.12]). This last is actually by a contemporary of Lassus, Filippo Azzaiolo, who was born between 1530 and 1540 and lived until after 1570 and gets just that one track on the CD.

In fact there is all the fun, frolicking and abandon of a wedding—especially one lasting as long as this one did… at least a fortnight. So the guests (here the performers of Ensemble Origo) realise that they had better behave themselves and hold their drink, and temper their abandon with lucidity and a measure of decorum which mustn’t sound too reluctant. The performers here get this just right.

For many new to Lassus, Le nozze in Baviera will give a slice of his non-sacred works that ought to delight and invite further exploration. For those who value this—yes—still much underrated composer, the CD may show something new. In all cases, it is one to revel in.

– MusicWeb International

Tracklist 15 tracks

  1. 1 Selectissimae cantiones: Te Deum laudamus a 6 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble) 15:21
    Track
    1
    Title
    Selectissimae cantiones: Te Deum laudamus a 6 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble)
    Duration
    15:21
    Composer
    Orlande de Lassus
    Ensemble
    Ensemble Origo
    Conductor
    Eric Rice
  2. 2 Cantiones aliquot: Gratia sola Dei a 6 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble) 09:00
    Track
    2
    Title
    Cantiones aliquot: Gratia sola Dei a 6 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble)
    Duration
    09:00
    Composer
    Orlande de Lassus
    Ensemble
    Ensemble Origo
    Conductor
    Eric Rice
  3. 3 Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Álla la, pia calia a 4 02:15
    Track
    3
    Title
    Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Álla la, pia calia a 4
    Duration
    02:15
    Composer
    Orlande de Lassus
    Ensemble
    Ensemble Origo
    Conductor
    Eric Rice
  4. 4 Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Canta, Giorgia, canta a 6 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble) 02:23
    Track
    4
    Title
    Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Canta, Giorgia, canta a 6 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble)
    Duration
    02:23
    Composer
    Orlande de Lassus
    Ensemble
    Ensemble Origo
    Conductor
    Eric Rice
  5. 5 Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Hai, Lucia, bona cosa a 4 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble) 02:42
    Track
    5
    Title
    Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Hai, Lucia, bona cosa a 4 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble)
    Duration
    02:42
    Composer
    Orlande de Lassus
    Ensemble
    Ensemble Origo
  6. 6 Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Lucia, celu, hai biscania a 4 03:27
    Track
    6
    Title
    Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Lucia, celu, hai biscania a 4
    Duration
    03:27
    Composer
    Orlande de Lassus
    Ensemble
    Ensemble Origo
  7. 7 Il terzo libro delle villotte alla napoletana: O Lucia, miau a 3 (arr. E. Rice for 2 voices and treble viola da gamba) 02:28
    Track
    7
    Title
    Il terzo libro delle villotte alla napoletana: O Lucia, miau a 3 (arr. E. Rice for 2 voices and treble viola da gamba)
    Duration
    02:28
    Composer
    Orlande de Lassus
    Ensemble
    Ensemble Origo
  8. 8 Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Cathalina, apra finestra a 6 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble) 04:46
    Track
    8
    Title
    Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Cathalina, apra finestra a 6 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble)
    Duration
    04:46
    Composer
    Orlande de Lassus
    Ensemble
    Ensemble Origo
    Conductor
    Eric Rice
  9. 9 Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Chi chilichi a 6 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble) 03:10
    Track
    9
    Title
    Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Chi chilichi a 6 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble)
    Duration
    03:10
    Composer
    Orlande de Lassus
    Ensemble
    Ensemble Origo
    Conductor
    Eric Rice
  10. 10 Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Matona, mia cara a 4 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble) 02:53
    Track
    10
    Title
    Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Matona, mia cara a 4 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble)
    Duration
    02:53
    Composer
    Orlande de Lassus
    Ensemble
    Ensemble Origo
    Conductor
    Eric Rice
  11. 11 Il terzo libro di madrigal: Se si alto pôn gir mie stanche rime a 5 02:46
    Track
    11
    Title
    Il terzo libro di madrigal: Se si alto pôn gir mie stanche rime a 5
    Duration
    02:46
    Composer
    Orlande de Lassus
    Ensemble
    Ensemble Origo
  12. 12 Il primo libro de villotte alla padoana con alcune napolitane: Chi passa per 'sta strada (arr. E. Rice for voice and lute) 01:53
    Track
    12
    Title
    Il primo libro de villotte alla padoana con alcune napolitane: Chi passa per 'sta strada (arr. E. Rice for voice and lute)
    Duration
    01:53
    Composer
    Filippo Azzaiolo
    Performer
    Lawrence Jones, Nathaniel Cox
  13. 13 Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Mi me chiamere a 5 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble) 02:22
    Track
    13
    Title
    Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Mi me chiamere a 5 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble)
    Duration
    02:22
    Composer
    Orlande de Lassus
    Ensemble
    Ensemble Origo
    Conductor
    Eric Rice
  14. 14 Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Par ch'hai lasciato a 4 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble) 03:01
    Track
    14
    Title
    Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Par ch'hai lasciato a 4 (arr. E. Rice for vocal and instrumental ensemble)
    Duration
    03:01
    Composer
    Orlande de Lassus
    Ensemble
    Ensemble Origo
  15. 15 Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Zanni! Piasi, patrò? a 8 02:18
    Track
    15
    Title
    Libro de villanelle, moresche, et altre canzoni: Zanni! Piasi, patrò? a 8
    Duration
    02:18
    Composer
    Orlande de Lassus
    Ensemble
    Ensemble Origo
    Conductor
    Eric Rice