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Josquin Desprez
Missa D’ung aultre amer | Motets & Chansons
CD701
Alamire
Andrew Lawrence-King
Directed by David Skinner
Josquin Desprez is widely recognized as the greatest of the Renaissance master musicians. He set the standard for the various compositional techniques borrowed and utilized by most composers of his generation and beyond, and became an iconic figure whose art captivated musicians and scholars for centuries.
This recording centres around some of Josquin’s earliest works, and, in particular, his fascination with the D’ung aultre amer rondeau composed by his teacher Johannes Ockeghem. Also included are some of his most popular motets and chansons performed here by a solo voice (Clare Wilkinson) with renaissance harp (Andrew Lawrence-King).
5* review, BBC Music Magazine
EDITOR’S CHOICE, Gramophone Magazine
Track listing
1. D'ung aultre amer (Johannes Ockeghem)
2. Kyrie
3. Gloria
4. Credo
5. Sanctus / Tu solus qui facis mirabilia
6. Agnus dei
7. De tous beins plaine
8. Mille regretz
9. Ave Maria
10. Fortuna d'un gran tempo
11. Planxit autem David
12. Cela sans plus
13. Qui belles amours
14. Sanctus 'D'ung aultre amer'
15. Tu lumen, tu splendor patris
16. La Bernardina
17. Victimae paschali laudes / D'ung aultre amer
18. Adieu mes amours
19. Ile fantazies de Joskin
20. Tu solus qui facis mirabilia / D'ung aultre amer
In the press
“Alamire's singing is glorious. Confident, precise and with an almost urgent concision which suits the compactness of the Gloria and Credo.”
- BBC Music Magazine | 5* review
“This is a most ingeniously devised Josquin recitals. Laying emphasis on works of his early maturity, it records the composer's apparent obsession with Ockeghem's rondeau D'ung aultreamer. Josquin reworked it several times, including a Mass that generated several minor 'spinoffs', which are also presented here. The Mass is reckoned to be one of his earliest. It is certainly his shortest, and arguably the least well-known (and some scholars in fact dispute Josquin's authorship). But it has an immediate appeal that links it (in attitude, at least) to the songs that make up the rest of the disc. These are engagingly sung by Claire Wilkinson, accompanied on the harp by Andrew Lawrence-King, who gets a few solo spots of his own. The combination of harp and voice works very well and offers a new way of hearing some old favourites: that said, the sound recording seems to make the harp a touch louder than it might be.
The recital is ingenious because alongside this relatively neglected Mass it seamlessly works in a few sacred works that count among Josquin's most popular: the ubiquitous Ave Maria, virgoserena, and above all Planxit autem David, which receives a particularly moving account. This is the first recording by Alamire, a new ensemble boasting familiar English singers under the guidance of David Skinner. Their approach is direct and unaffected, and to judge by the results they appear to have enjoyed these recording sessions.”
- Gramophone Classical Music Guide
“This is the first recording by Alamire, a new ensemble boasting familiar English singers under the guidance of David Skinner. Their approach is direct and unaffected…”
- Gramophone Magazine