Posts tagged vocal music.
Title: Manchicourt: Long Temps Mon Cueur Languissoit Artist: Huelgas Ensemble 59 plays

Pierre de Manchicourt (c. 1510-1564): Long temps mon cueur languissoit (performed by the Huelgas Ensemble, directed by Paul Van Nevel)

Finally got round to listening to Manchicourt.  This brief, delightful chanson is a gem with the sweetest harmonies!  And the Huelgas Ensemble is impeccable.

~ ~ ~

Long has my heart languished in sadness,
fearing that word ‘Go!’ from its mistress.
Yet, wanting to keep her humanity,
She said to it softly, ‘Return to me;
Your goodly desires I, myself, will redress.’

#huelgas ensemble  #pierre de manchicourt  #renaissance music  #vocal music  #love  #renaissance  
∞  September 17, 2012
4 notes

For your listening pleasure: a few golden oldies

The following is a current playlist available on my Tumblr music player.  At the moment, it the focus is on Medieval and Renaissance music though I intend to extend it out an extra 150 years just so I can include Bach as well. 

The pieces listed below are in roughly chronological order, though the music player is set to play randomly.  I believe it is about two and a half hours of music.  Hopefully the Internet Police won’t take the tracks down as these uploads are from my own personal CD collection (I imagine they are far more concerned with Justin Bieber or whoever it is that is popular these days, certainly not obscure sacred music from the 13th century). 

Here I provide the title of the piece, the performer and the album.  Most of these should be available at Amazon and other online stores.  Unfortunately, some are out of print and aren’t even available for downloads and I often had to pay a pretty penny for the discs (almost all which are imports from Europe).  But I can wholeheartedly recommend any of the albums listed below, Ensemble PAN and the Huelgas Ensemble especially.  It was very difficult keeping the playlist down to thirty tracks!

Enjoy…

Hildegard von Bingen: Et imago
Anonymous 4
The Origin of Fire: Music and Visions of Hildegard von Bingen

Godefrey de St. Victoire: Planctus ante nescia
Hilliard Ensemble
Sacred and Secular Music from Six Centuries

Anonymous: Iacobe sancte tuum (from Codex Calixtinus)
Anonymous 4
Miracles of Compostela: Plain-chant et polyphonies du Codex Calixtinus

Anonymous: Portum in ultimo (from Codex Calixtinus)
Anonymous 4
Miracles of Compostela: Plain-chant et polyphonies du Codex Calixtinus

Anonymous: De la Mere au Sauveor
Anonymous 4
La Bela Marie: Songs to the Virgin from 13th Century France

Anonymous: Verbum bonum et suave (from Codex Las Huelgas)
Anonymous 4
Secret Voices: Chant and Polyphony from the Las Huelgas Codex

Guillaume de Machaut: De souspirant cuer
Hilliard Ensemble
Guillaume de Machaut: Motets

Guillaume de Machaut: Ma fin est mon commencement
Hilliard Ensemble
Guillaume de Machaut: Messe de Notre Dame

Guillaume de Machaut: Joie, plaisance (from Remede de Fortune)
Ensemble PAN
Guillaume de Machaut: Remede de Fortune

Guillaume de Machaut: De toutes flours (from Remede de Fortune)
Ensemble PAN
Guillaume de Machaut: Remede de Fortune

Anonymous: Puisque je suis fumeux (from Codex Chantilly)
Ensemble PAN
Ars Magis Subtiliter: Secular Music of the Chantilly Codex

Anonymous: A mon pouir (from Codex Chantilly)
Ensemble PAN
Ars Magis Subtiliter: Secular Music of the Chantilly Codex

Anonymous: Armes, amours o flour (from Codex Chantilly)
Ensemble PAN
Ars Magis Subtiliter: Secular Music of the Chantilly Codex

Jacob Senleches: La harpe de mélodie
Ferrara Ensemble
Ars Subtilior and Pré-Renaissance (disc 7 of Harmonia Mundi’s La Musique des Siècles series)

Johannes Ciconia: Io crido amor
Ensemble PAN
Homage to Johannes Ciconia, ca. 1370-1412

Anonymous: Contre dolour (from Codex Cyprus)
Ensemble PAN
The Island of St. Hylarion: Music of Cyprus, 1413-1422

Anonymous: Tousjours (from Codex Cyprus)
Ensemble PAN
The Island of St. Hylarion: Music of Cyprus, 1413-1422

Anonymous: Qui n’a le cuer (from Codex Cyprus)
Ensemble PAN
The Island of St. Hylarion: Music of Cyprus, 1413-1422

Anonymous: Pia Mater (from The Old Hall Manuscript)
Hilliard Ensemble
The Old Hall Manuscript

John Dunstable: Salve scema sanctitatis
Hilliard Ensemble
John Dunstable: Motets

Johannes Ockeghem: Deo gratias
Huelgas Ensemble, Paul Van Nevel
Utopia Triumphans: The Great Polyphony of the Renaissance

Josquin Desprez: Dulces exuviae
Huelgas Ensemble, Paul Van Nevel
Le Chant de Virgile: Classical Poetry in Renaissance Music

Mabriano de Orto: Dulces exuviae
Huelgas Ensemble, Paul Van Nevel
Le Chant de Virgile: Classical Poetry in Renaissance Music

Ludwig Senfl: Petti nihil me sicut antea juvat
Huelgas Ensemble, Paul Van Nevel
Le Chant de Virgile: Classical Poetry in Renaissance Music

Spirito l’Hoste da Reggio: Oime il be viso - Discolorato hai, Morte
Huelgas Ensemble, Paul Van Nevel
In Morte di Madonna Laura: Madrigal Cycles after texts of Petrarca

Cipriano De Rore: Calami sonum ferentes
Huelgas Ensemble, Paul Van Nevel
Missa Praeter Rerum Seriem, Madrigaux and Motets

Cipriano De Rore: Dissumulare etiam sperasti
Huelgas Ensemble, Paul Van Nevel
Missa Praeter Rerum Seriem, Madrigaux and Motets

Thomas Tallis: Spem in alium
Huelgas Ensemble, Paul Van Nevel
Utopia Triumphans: The Great Polyphony of the Renaissance

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Peccantem me quotidie
Capella Musicale di S. Petronio di Bologna
Palestrina: Missa sine nomine; Missa l’homme armé; three motets

Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon quarti toni a 15 (from Sacrae Symphoniae)
His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts
The Canonas and Sonatas from Sacrae Symphoniae, 1597

#music  #music player  #renaissance music  #medieval music  #ars nova  #ars subtilior  #vocal music  #early music  
∞  September 08, 2012
6 notes
Title: Five Mystical Songs: The Call Artist: Northern Sinfonia of England & Richard Hickox 10 plays

Ralph Vaughan Williams: ‘The Call’ from Five Mystical Songs (Richard Hickox conducting the Northern Sinfonia of England; Stephen Roberts, baritone)

~ ~ ~

THE CALL

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a Way, as gives us breath:
Such a Truth, as ends all strife:
Such a Life, as killeth death.

Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a Light, as shows a feast:
Such a Feast, as mends in length:
Such a Strength, as makes his guest.

Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a Joy, as none can move:
Such a Love, as none can part:
Such a Heart, as joyes in love.

George Herbert

~ ~ ~

One of my favourite pieces I sang back in my music school days.

#ralph vaughan williams  #classical music  #vocal music  
∞  June 15, 2012
1 note
Title: Symphonia - Tempro la Cetra 10 plays

Claudio Monteverdi: Symphonia: Tempro la Cetra from Madrigals, Book VII (Delitiae Musicae, directed by Marco Longhini)

#claudio monteverdi  #madrigal  #classical music  #renaissance music  #baroque music  #vocal music  
∞  June 14, 2012
10 notes

Gabriel Fauré: Pie Jesu from Requiem (Agnès Mellon, soprano; Philippe Herreweghe conducting)

#gabriel faure  #requiem  #pie jesu  #vocal music  #classical music  
∞  May 07, 2012

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Kyrie from Missa de Beata Virgine I (1567) performed by soloists of the Cappella Musicale di S. petronio di Bologna (Sergio Vartolo, director)

Hands down the best Palestrina recording I’ve encountered—sadly there are very few one-voice-per-part recordings of Palestrina available of which I am aware.  As I get older, I have become much more selective of recordings of classical music.  I finally became a convert to H.I.P. a few years ago…

FYI: This lovely recording of Palestrina is available on Amazon HERE.

#palestrina  #vocal music  #renaissance music  #classical music  
∞  May 06, 2012
3 notes

Franz Schubert: ‘Nacht und Träume’ (Ian Bostridge, tenor)

English translation (of the German text, by Matthäus von Collin):

Holy night, you sink down;
Dreams, too, drift down
Like your moonlight through space,
Through the quiet hearts of men;

They listen with delight
Calling out when day awakens:
Return, holy night!
Fair dreams, return!


#lieder  #schubert  #ian bostridge  #art song  #romantic period  #vocal music  #classical music  
∞  March 31, 2012
1 note