Sacred and Secular Music from Renaissance Germany
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Composer: Nicolas GrenonComposer: Buxheimer Orgelbuch Anonymous
Composer: Guillaume Dufay
Composer: German Anonymous
Composer: Heinrich Finck
Composer: Heinrich Isaac
Composer: Jacques Barbireau
Composer: Adam von Fulda
Composer: Johannes Beham
Composer: Anonymous
Composer: Adam [1] Gilbert
Composer: Gregorian Chant
Composer: Christmas Traditional
Performer: Ciaramella
Performer: Mahan Esfahani
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2006-01-17
Music Label: Naxos
Soundtracks:
- Nova Vobis Gaudia
- Se La Face Ay Pale
- Se La Face Ay Pale
- Se La Face Ay Pale
- Textless
- Gaude, Virgo, Mater Jesu Christe
- We Ich Eyn Falkc/Invicto Regi Jubilo
- Kyrie
- Gloria
- Fille, Vous Avez Mal Garde
- Alma Chorus/O Du Arme Judas
- Mein Herz In Hohen Freuden Ist
- Gespiele, Liebe Gespiele Gut
- O Plebs Quae Deum Amas
- Een Vroylic Wesen
- O Jupiter/O Diva Sollers Virgo
- Sancta Maria Wohn Uns Bei
- Komm Heiliger Geist
- Komm Heiliger Geist
- Komm Heiliger Geist
- So Steh Ich Hie Auf Dieser Erd
- Uf Dieser Erd
- Mein Herz In Hohen Freiden Ist
- Fanfare Wer Ich Eyn Falck
- Dies Est Laetitiae
- Dies Est Laetitiae
- Pleni Sunt Caeli
Music reviews of Sacred and Secular Music from Renaissance Germany
Music Review: Stunning!
Rating: 5 Stars
I can only add to the praises this disc has already received. There are many gems within the Naxos Early Music catalogue, and this disc is certainly among them. This is an excellent and varied program of polyphonic works from Renaissance Germany. About half of the works on the program are from anonymous sources, but there are compositions by Heinrich Isaac (c.1450-1517) and Adam von Fulda (c.1445-1505) included as well. If you are not familiar with this type of music, you should know that the layering and combination of different melodic lines makes this music seem complex at first listen; however there is often an underlying simplicity to the melody that is both beautiful and haunting.
The Ciaramella Instrumental and Vocal Ensemble is fantastic in this crystal clear recording. The ensemble itself consists of recorders, shawms, bagpipes, sackbuts, slide trumpets, an organ and sopranos. Their playing is clean, and the intonation is perfect as far as I can tell. The individual pieces are scored for varying instrumental forces, as to keep the listener engaged. The pieces for recorder ensemble are, of course, lovely (Track 9), while those for the brass instruments are regal (Track 24). But surprisingly, some of the more interesting selections are the highly contrapuntal organ pieces. Listen to the intricate passages within "Dies est laetitiae" (Track 25) or Isaac's "Fille, vous avez mal garde" (Track 10) for instance.
The most stunning pieces on this program, however, are those that combine the instrumentalists with the sopranos. As an example, listen to the heavenly combination of recorders and sopranos in "Wer ich eyn falk" (Track 7). But best of all is Fulda's rendition of "Dies est laetitiae" (Track 26) in which the sopranos, in their highest register, soar above the dense contrapuntal texture provided by the shawms. Amazing.
Given the orchestration, the comparison to the Piffaro ensemble will be inevitable here. The primary differences are the inclusion of an organ and sopranos within the Ciaramella ensemble, while the percussion that occasionally accompanies Piffaro is not to be found here. Both ensembles are excellent, but perhaps the sound of the Ciaramella ensemble is more blended and clean, while the Piffaro ensemble is more full-bodied. Piffaro has previously released a disc of German Renaissance music called "Stadtpfeiffer" which features the compositions of Ludwig Senfl, among others. As there is no overlap, that disc would be an excellent companion to this one.
My one reservation about this release, and this is a minor one, is when the sound is so clear you run the risk of picking up the mechanism clicking of early music instruments. Indeed this does happen in certain of the tracks (ex: Track 16), but this wasn't enough to distract me from this captivating music.
This release is highly recommended to early music fans and to those whom are even remotely curious. I eagerly anticipate this ensemble's next release!
65:34
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