Josquin
Nicholas Routley has made a speciality of this Renaissance repertoire, and the Sydney Chamber Choir sings it magnificently. Recorded in a small chapel with a perfect acoustic, Josquin's music has rarely sounded so alive.
The programme centres on Josquin's Missa Pange lingua, framed by four motets: Illibata Dei virgo nutrix, Ave Christe, Absalon fili mi, and Inviolata, integra et casta es Maria.
The performances were recorded in the Chapel of St Scholastica's Convent, Glebe, in August and November 1993.
Reviews
This group would be a distinguished discovery anywhere: 23 mixed voices, nicely balanced and carefully trained… Routley leads them in clear and stylistically sensitive performances, reverberantly recorded in a churchly ambience. As the centrepiece of this release, Routley tackles the most famous and most recorded of Josquin's Mass settings. Out of four current recordings…best of all is Peter Phillips's recording for Gimmell (009) with his Tallis Scholars… In that company I would place Routley second only to Phillips – an honest performance just slightly short of the latter's intensity and compelling insight… Perhaps the chief interest of the release, however, is the four motets… Full texts and translations, with good annotations.
Although it's certainly possible to imagine a more expressive account of the music, and one in which the text is more cleanly articulated, conductor Nicholas Routley's feel for the way this music breathes is practically faultless (as is his choir's intonation). All the pieces seem phrased to perfection, the musical articulation is good, and while I think the choir could do with a couple more tenors and basses, the balance, too, is mainly satisfactory.
Artists
Nicholas Routley
Nicholas Routley is a conductor, pianist and composer who founded the Sydney Chamber Choir in 1975 and has shaped its work in Renaissance polyphony and new Australian choral music.
Josquin des Prez
Josquin des Prez shaped Renaissance vocal polyphony into something keenly expressive: independent voices that imitate, answer and lock around the text. Masses, motets and chansons still sound alive in the throat.
Sydney Chamber Choir
Widely recognised as one of Australia's finest choirs, the Sydney Chamber Choir marked its 25th anniversary in 2000. The Choir continues to inspire and enchant Sydney audiences with its versatility and brilliant performances.
Tracks
- Illibata Dei, Virgo Nutrix Josquin des Prez 8:11
- Ave, Christe Josquin des Prez 8:31
- Plainchant: 'Pange Lingua' 2:23
- Kyrie 3:13
- Gloria 4:31
- Credo 7:58
- Sanctus 8:00
- Agnus Dei 7:50
- Absalon, Fili Mi Josquin des Prez 4:16
- Inviolata, Integra, Et Casta Es Maria Josquin des Prez 3:15
Missa, "Pange lingua" Josquin des Prez
Performers
- Nicholas Routley · musical director
- Sydney Chamber Choir · choir
Contributors
Typesetting and design
Belinda Webster
Belinda Webster is the founder of Tall Poppies Records and a leading Australian producer and recording engineer whose work has documented classical, contemporary and jazz performance across decades of catalogue releases.
Liner Notes
Nicholas Routley
Nicholas Routley is a conductor, pianist and composer who founded the Sydney Chamber Choir in 1975 and has shaped its work in Renaissance polyphony and new Australian choral music.
Cover Art
Ross Harvey
Where to listen
Josquin is available for streaming through Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.
Josquin is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.
Product details
- Catalogue number
- TP054
- Total playing time
- 58 minutes 8 seconds
- Producer
- Belinda Webster
- Recording Engineer
- Belinda Webster
- Venue
- Chapel at St Scholastica's Convent, Glebe, Sydney
- Credit
- Belinda Webster
Nicholas Routley
Ross Harvey - Release date
- 24 May 1994
- Label
- Tall Poppies
- Musical work
copyright - © 1994 Tall Poppies Records
- Sound recording
copyright - ℗ 1994 Tall Poppies Records
- Categories
- Great Classics, Voice / Soundscape
- Genres
- Early Music, Choral & Sacred
- Barcode
- EAN 9399000005421
Related recordings
Osanna
A second Tall Poppies disc of Clare Maclean’s a cappella choral music. Few Australian composers have built so sustained a body of unaccompanied sacred and poetic works, shaped by her faith and her years singing with the Sydney Chamber Choir.
Christmas to Candlemas
Ensemble Gombert is one of Australia’s finest choral groups. Directed by John O’Donnell – organist, harpsichordist and highly respected academic – the ensemble is known for historically informed performances of Renaissance and later choral repertoire.
Landscape's Creatures
A collection of recent Australian choral music, mostly by younger composers. It is good to see that choral writing is alive and well in Australia. Each work makes a strong statement, with a variety of choral techniques and styles.
The Ockeghem Legacy
A celebration of Ockeghem’s life and work. His death prompted many elegies, the most famous being Josquin’s Nimphes des bois. Every composer on this disc is said to have been present at his funeral in 1497.
Crossing a Bridge of Dreams
This CD gathers some of Anne Boyd's most enduring works, mostly from the 1980s. Many pieces reflect her passion for Asian music, heard especially in the flute writing. Premiere performers return for the recording, among them John Harding on viola in My Name Is Tian.
Raft Song at Sunrise: Chamber Music, Vol. 2
Following the best-selling first volume of Ross Edwards’s chamber music (TP051), this disc gathers some of his most enduring works, recorded here for the first time.