Hyperion originally
launched this double album in 1997 when
the all-male group Henry’s Eight were
still relatively new and little known.
Although there is no doubt that they
have moved on even further from this
impressive achievement, and the music
has probably matured in their system,
if you failed to pick this disc up on
first issue then you should certainly
not fail to do so now. These works constitute
some of the greatest choral pieces of
the period and amongst them are quite
a number of masterpieces.
But what are these
Penitential Psalms? And for whom were
they written.
The latter question
first. Duke Albert V of Bavaria for
whom Lassus worked around 1560 was apparently
so moved by their beauty that he had
them especially copied onto parchment
and illustrated with miniatures.
We are here offered
all seven of the Psalms on two CDs (for
the price of one) with the two Laudate
Psalms - the psalms of praise - that
is Psalms 148 and 150 - added as an
extra at the end of CD 1. Each is in
a different mode and the mode corresponds
to the mood of the psalm. All of this
is clearly explained in the brilliant
booklet notes by Jon Dixon. To give
a couple of examples: the first psalm
is in the Dorian mode basically D-D
slightly sombre being mostly akin to
our D minor and very suitable for the
text ‘O Lord rebuke me not in thine
anger’. The second psalm, ‘Blessed is
he whose transgressions are forgiven’
is therefore in the lighter Hypodorian
mode A-A, which Lassus transposes up
a fourth. This continues up to Psalm
78 which is in the mixolydian mode i.e.
G-G, the 7th and last Penitential
psalm ‘Hear my Prayer O God’.
In the Laudate Psalms
Lassus completes the symmetry by setting
them in Mode 8, the hypomixolydian mode,
which is C-C. This obviously suits the
mood required by the words.
The psalms are suitable
for the Advent and also the Lenten periods
culminating in Holy Week. For example
the Seventh Psalm is sung at Lauds (the
first service of the day) on Good Friday.
Some psalms are also therefore suitable
for burial services and Requiems. Except
for the Laudate Psalms the mood is generally
sombre and emotional throughout. The
structure of the music is in a similar
pattern. Each psalm is divided into
sets of double verses and each comes
to a full cadence with a brief silence
before the next two lines. Lassus needs
therefore to create contrast. This he
does by allowing tutti passages to contrast
with duets and trio sections. Some sections
are set in strict polyphony with much
close imitation and other sections set
more homophonically. The Glorias will
be tutti, often in six parts. With a
huge structure like the third Psalm
these contrasts are particularly important
both for the listener and for the performer.
Speaking of the singers, considerable
stamina is involved and there is a constant
need to consider dynamics and to a certain
extent pacing. This is where I find
Henry’s Eight to be so successful. A
close hearing of this huge psalm will
display such care as in the words beginning
‘Afflictus sum’, ‘I am feeble and sore
broken’ and ‘Ego autem’, ‘But I as deaf
man, heard not’.
This brings us to the
subject of Lassus’s word-painting, or,
as Jonathan Brown in another very interesting
booklet essay describes it ‘word sensitivity’,
a rough translation of the renaissance
term ‘musica reservata’. Brown gives
various examples such as the "disjointed
portrayal of the words ‘and let my cry
come unto thee’ with upward leaps in
all parts to the top of vocal ranges".
It is unnecessary to say more in this
review but I need to add that mostly
Henry’s Eight bring these moments out
wonderfully too.
Recently I reviewed
a volume of these psalms recorded by
an all-male choir including boys, the
Tolzer Knabenchor (Capriccio 67 130).
I commented, in that review, that there
are "woodcuts of Lassus at work
... and there is also an illustration
by Nikolaus Solis of the Wedding Banquet
in the George-Saal in Munich with, in
the foreground Lassus surrounded by
members of the ‘Kapelle’ and it is interesting
to notice that there are boys, an organ,
sackbuts, a bass viol and a handful
of men and quite a few strings".
In other words Lassus is just about
to present his music with voices and
instruments and this is how the Capriccio
version allows us to hear it. It is
an impressive sound and I think a truly
authentic one. Henry’s Eight are entirely
a capella in the true English
Oxbridge tradition. The German choral
sound is very continental and the intonation
of the boys - who also sing a gloriously
vibrato alto - seems to strain at times,
possibly as they came to the end of
the recording session. Henry’s Eight
have no such trouble but have sterilized
the music for the British taste; surely
Lassus should not always sound like
Byrd. What do you think? Anyway I can’t
at this moment say which version I prefer.
You could incidentally also consider
the Hilliard Ensemble at a lower pitch
(all male) on Virgin (61216). They are
accompanied by Kees Boeke’s mixed instrumental
ensemble. Another advantage of the Capriccio
disc is that the verses are indexed
meaning that the long fifth psalm has
twenty-five index points within track
two.
So I will try to sum
up. There is some superb singing on
these CDs and everything is thoughtfully
interpreted. I have reservations about
whether or not I am hearing the music
as it was intended to be heard, but
does it matter? Great music always wins
through and that is certainly the case
in all three of these versions but Henry’s
Eight will not disappoint you.
Gary Higginson
Henry’s Eight 
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