In 1559 a remarkable collection of compositions by Adrian Willaert
was published under the title
Musica Nova. This title suggests that
it comprised new compositions but that is not the case. They all date from
the 1540s but had never been published before. A contemporary musician
stated that they unfortunately had been "hidden and buried" for many years.
This is remarkable considering the status of Willaert who was one of the
most celebrated composers of his time. It was not without reason that he was
maestro di cappella of St Mark's in Venice from 1527 until his death.
Also remarkable is the fact that the collection included motets and
madrigals. This was quite unusual: collections of motets were purchased by
court and cathedral chapels to be sung during liturgy but they had no use
for madrigals. However, the music in
Musica Nova was not written for
the church. It is likely that in the years before publication the motets and
madrigals were performed in the circle of Florentine
fuorisciti who
had been exiled from their native city because of their resistance to the
rule of the Medici family. One of them was Neri Capponi, at whose musical
soirées Willaert was a regular guest. Another participant was a
Florentine singer, Polissena Pecorina; she was the first owner of the
collection. In 1554 she sold the scores to the Ferrarese nobleman Alfonso
d'Este. She was aware of the value of the material as she asked and received
a high price. The printer was one of Venice's most famous, Antoine Gardane,
who performed his job with utmost care. The format and layout of the
partbooks was exceptional and the print contains a portrait of the composer,
the only seemingly authentic portrait which has come down to us. Moreover,
the connection between the notes and the syllables is very precise, which
leaves no doubt about which note should be sung on which syllable.
In 2009 the German ensemble Singer Pur started the project of
recording the whole collection as a remembrance of the first publication 450
years ago. The first part was a set of two discs which included the 25
madrigals, all but one on texts from the
Canzonieri by Petrarca. I
reviewed this recording
here.
Three years later the second part was released, comprising the 27 motets.
Like the madrigals they are scored for four to seven voices. These use
biblical and liturgical texts; there are no motets devoted to single saints,
except for the Virgin Mary. The lyrics in the booklet include references to
the time of the ecclesiastical year for which they were conceived, for
instance
Dominica Resurrectionis (Easter). I assume that these
references are part of the original edition. Most motets are in two parts,
some in three.
O admirabile commercium is unique in that it comprises
seven parts, which explains its exceptional length.
Willaert's motets are supreme representatives of the
stile
antico and were widely admired. There are no madrigalisms in the motets
from
Musica Nova, although here and there one can detect some modest
examples of text illustration.
Aspice Domine is on a text from the
Lamentations of Jeremiah, and that could explain its dark mood: it is
performed here with tenors, baritones and basses. On the other hand, many
motets are on texts about penitence and sin and have a more 'conventional'
scoring. Moreover, the pitch is mostly left to the performers.
Singer Pur consists of singers who are former members of the
Regensburger Domspatzen. The five men were joined by a soprano and they won
an important prize in 1994. Since then they have made an impressive career
with repertoire which goes from the renaissance to avant-garde and jazz. It
is remarkable that they do not include an alto. That is the reason the
ensemble is extended by guest singers in projects like this. Even so, in
some cases I miss the alto voice. There is sometimes a kind of gap between
the soprano and the male singers. That is partly due to the fact that the
highest tenors seem a little overstretched now and then and are lacking in
presence. In this recording the motets in which the alto David Erler is
involved generally come off best. Actually, the top voice could have been
sung by him as well as its tessitura is well within his grasp, at least in
the pitch chosen here.
The recording is good, but the miking is a bit too close for
comfort. It allows the listener to follow the individual lines, but a little
more distance would have resulted in a better ensemble effect. The last
issue is the pronunciation of Latin. In my reviews I often complain about
the Italian pronunciation of Latin in compositions by German composers. Here
the reverse is the case: the singers pronounce Latin following common
practice in Germany, and that is quite odd.
These points of criticism shouldn't hold anyone back from purchasing
this set and the previous volume with the madrigals. Overall these
performances are very good. This project is of major importance and a worthy
tribute to one of the greatest composers of the 16th century. The booklet
includes all lyrics with a German and an English translation. It is a shame
that the original texts and the translations have not been printed side by
side; rather than one below the other. That is quite inconvenient if you
want to follow the original text and read the translation at the same time.
The liner-notes are informative and include everything one would wish to
have.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
Track listing
CD 1
Huc me sidereo a 6 [9:25]
Dilexi, quoniam exaudiet a 4 [6:20]
Audite insulae a 6 [6:23]
Haec est domus Domini a 6 [6:43]
Verbum supernum prodiens a 7 [8:16]
Confitebor tibi Domine a 4 [8:51]
Te Deum Patrem ingenitum a 7 [6:36]
Beati pauperes spiritu a 5 [7:43]
Sustinuimus pacem a 5 [6:14]
Praeter rerum seriem a 7 [7:15]
CD 2
Alma redemptoris mater a 6 [7:46]
Mittit ad virginem a 6 [12:35]
Benedicta es coelorum Regina a 7 [7:03]
Salve Sancta parens a 6 [7:06]
Inviolata, integra, et casta a 7 [7:04]
Sub tuum praesidium confugimus a 5 [4:48]
O admirabile commercium a 5 [27:35]
CD 3
Aspice Domine a 6 [8:38]
Peccata mea a 6 [6:22]
Domine, quid multiplicati sunt a 4 [7:12]
Pater, peccavi a 6 [7:25]
Miserere nostri Deus omnium a 5 [6:29]
Avertatur obsecro a 6 [6:52]
Omnia quae fecisti a 5 [7:56]
Recordare Domine a 4 [8:44]
Victimae paschali laudes a 6 [6:48]
Veni Sancte Spiritus a 6 [9:29]
