It was Edward Wickham’s superlative 1993 recording of
Missa Ecce
Ancilla with the Clerks’ Group (Proudsound PROU CD 133) that first
introduced me to the music of Johannes Ockeghem. They went on to record
eleven masses, the Requiem, and half a dozen motets, issued on the Gaudeamus
label and boxed up into a 5 CD set which, unfortunately, I’ve not been able
to get my hands on.
This recording of the composer’s
Missa L'homme armé was
made in 2014 by the young Ensemble Nusmido – four singers/instrumentalists
who specialize in the performance of medieval and Renaissance music from
Gregorian Chant to the vocal polyphony of the early 16
th century.
They are joined for this venture by Miyoko Ito on the fiddle. In the
excellent liner notes, to which each of the four makes a contribution, they
discuss the strategy behind their performance practice. They position
themselves around a large manuscript which is seated on a lectern, and sing
from the original medieval notation. Their preference for the original
source material is based on their view that ‘it transmits a wealth of
information about phrasing that modern notation rarely offers’. The
avoidance of bar-lines enables the music to flow more freely. The technique
the group employ ‘relies less on a dynamic and affect-orientated
characterization and more on a fusion of the voices through the blending of
overtones’.
Johannes Ockeghem was the most famous composer of the Franco-Flemish
School in the last half of the fifteenth century, and many consider him the
most influential figure between Dufay and Josquin des Prez. His talents were
not only directed at composing but stretched to singing, teaching and
fulfilling the role of choirmaster. He held a position as ‘maestro di
cappella’ at the French court. He was born in the town of Saint-Ghislain,
situated in the French-speaking Belgium province of Hainaut some time
between 1410 and 1425, and died on 6 February 1497. Not particularly
prolific, some of his work is now lost and some former attributions have
been reallocated to other composers.
Missa L'homme armé is based upon an eponymous popular
fifteenth century song. Other composers who took the song as a basis for
their masses include Palestrina, Obrecht, Dufay, Morales and Busnois, whose
instrumental piece ‘In hydraulis’ is featured on this release. A setting of
the song concludes the CD. Imaginatively, the Ensemble Nusmido have
interspersed the movements of the Mass Ordinary with instrumental works that
are in some way connected with Ockeghem. Agricola was a younger colleague at
the French court. Busnois pays tribute to the composer in ‘In hydraulis’,
and ‘Ut heremita solus’ is Ockeghem’s response.
The Johanneskirche Halle provides a warm, spacious and sympathetic venue
for this unaccompanied vocal music, conferring a sense of shared intimacy
and facilitating clarity of polyphonic textures and avoidance of
congestion,. There is nothing run-of-the mill here, the Ensemble Nusmido
invest these scores with a wealth of imagination and effortless radiance.
What I find compelling from these young musicians is their instinctive
phrasing, subtle dynamics and immaculate intonation. The instrumental items
provide contrast and help sustain interest. This is a most enjoyably
release, that would grace any vocal collection.
Stephen Greenbank
