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Post by julesd68 on Jan 4, 2023 8:57:01 GMT
I might be in a miniscule minority here with my passion for Early Music but I will persevere as a labour of love. As a boy treble I would sing it regularly and some of its masterworks are amongst my favourite of any period.
We are talking about music devoted to glorifying and bringing the listener closer to God. But don't let that put you off at all as some of the music itself is so beautiful it can feel divinely inspired if there were such a thing ...
This music was composed for male voice choirs and without the adornment of instrumentation. In recent years female voices have now joined some of the leading early music ensembles and their voices can now be very well integrated indeed. It's always interesting to compare all male recordings with boy trebles with those featuring female sopranos; there are examples of both approaches in my references below and also an all male choir without trebles!
The estimable Mr Dave Hurwitz from Classics Today has made a rather fabulous Top 10 from this early repertoire to get you started and hopefully his infectious knowledge and enthusiasm will convince you to give this ethereal music a chance and see how the style of polyphony changed in this period.
Here are some of my own preferences and other highly rated recordings as a ready reference for each of Dave's fine choice of works. These are in chronological order as per Dave's list but if I had to pick just one *short work* as an immortal aperitif for you it would have to be Tallis - Spem in Alium. One of the greatest concert memories of my life was hearing it sang by The Tallis Scholars in their 40th anniversary concert at St Paul's, whose acoustic offered us the most glorious decay that was heaven sent indeed.
Happy Listening!
NB sometimes the albums here have more than one work so make sure you are listening to the correct work. 
Machaut: Messe de Nostre Dame (before 1365)
Dufay: Missa l'homme arme (c 1450)
Ockeghem: Requiem (c 1460)
Josquin: Missa Ave maris stella (c 1490)
Taverner: Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas (c 1520)
Lassus: Prophetiae Sibyllarum (c 1555)
Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli (c 1562)
Tallis: Spem in Alium (c 1570)
Byrd: Masses for 3, 4 and 5 Voices (c1593)
Gesualdo: Tenebrae Responsoria (c 1611)
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Post by Slinger on Jan 5, 2023 17:06:14 GMT
Those are all in my collection, some of them as multiple versions by different singing groups or choirs. The Sixteeen The Tallis Scholars The Hilliard Ensemble Oxford Camerata The King's Singers and many more. You are not alone, Jules. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned Gesualdo here previously, but he's always worth a revisit. His 6 books of Madrigals for 5 voices are essential listening as a part of non-secular choral music, and I have a rather good 1965 recording of all six books by the Quintetto Vocale Italiano.Check this out, he was an " interesting" sort of bloke...  www.bbc.com/culture/article/20130905-a-16th-century-musical-badass |
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Post by julesd68 on Jan 5, 2023 17:31:26 GMT
Some years ago I went to a late night Prom of The Tallis Scholars singing Gesualdo - it was absolutely hypnotic. I was hoping we might be able to tempt those entirely new to this kind of music Paul, which is why I structured the post as purely an appetizer. Fear not, I hadn't marked you down as a novice ...  |
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Post by Slinger on Jan 5, 2023 18:48:22 GMT
It is fabulous music, Jules, but possibly the religious connotations frighten some people off; it shouldn't. Music is music, good and bad, and you don't have to sign up for the God squad to enjoy what is technically religious music. I dare say a lot of us have listened to a bit of Black Metal at one time or another, and hardly ever felt the need to sacrifice a virgin on the altar of Santa Satan. And not just because they're so hard to come by these days.
The music can be uplifting, and glorious at times, without religious affiliation being required. Let's be honest, so much of it is in Latin you won't understand the lyrics 99% of the time anyway.
All one needs is an open mind, good taste, and the willingness to immerse oneself in the sometimes luxurious voluptuousness of the music.
As an aside, I remember recording one of the Gesualdo madrigals as a string quintet some time ago (2 violins, viola, cello, and bass) just as an experiment, and being a bit surprised at how well it hung together. It might be fun to revisit that idea someday, with other composers.
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Post by julesd68 on Jan 5, 2023 19:13:10 GMT
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Post by MartinT on Jan 5, 2023 19:33:46 GMT
It is fabulous music, Jules, but possibly the religious connotations frighten some people off; it shouldn't. Music is music, good and bad, and you don't have to sign up for the God squad to enjoy what is technically r eligious music. As you know, I am the furthest thing from 'god squad', but I love much religious music (preferably sung in a different language). I think many of the Requiems, Stabat Maters, Te Deums and Masses are some of the greatest music ever written. Thanks for these, julesd68 , not all of which are familiar to me. I shall explore. |
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Post by julesd68 on Jan 6, 2023 8:26:37 GMT
 Let me know if you find anything that particularly strikes a chord, so to speak...
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