Reges Terrae: Music from the Time of Charles V [Hybrid SACD]
![Reges Terrae: Music from the Time of Charles V [Hybrid SACD]](/images/Reges-Terrae-Music-from-the-Time-of-Charles-V-Hybrid-SACD-B000REGIRI-L.jpg)
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CD Details
Composer: Pierre de ManchicourtComposer: Cristobal de Morales
Composer: Jacobus Clemens Non Papa
Composer: Francisco Guerrero
Composer: Nicolas Gombert
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD
CD Release Date: 2007-08-28
Music Label: Chandos
Soundtracks:
- I. Reges Terrae Congregati Sunt -
- II. Et Venientes Invenerunt Puerum
- I. Regina Caeli, Laetare-
- II. Resurrexit Sicut Dixit
- Laudate Dominum, Omnes Gentes-
- Plaudite Ergo, Omnes Gentes
- I. O Magnum Mysterium-
- II. Domine, Audivi Auditum Tuum
- Hei Mihi, Domine
- I. Ego Sum Qui Sum-
- II. Tulerunt Dominum Meum
- O Rigo Virginum
- I. Exaltata Est Sancta Dei Genitrix-
- II. Virgo Prudentissima
- Agnus Dei
Music reviews of Reges Terrae: Music from the Time of Charles V [Hybrid SACD]
Music Review: Exquisite Singing!
Rating: 5 Stars
The six singers of the ensemble "Nordic Voices" have taken to heart the Biblical injunction to 'make a joyful noise unto the Lord', though the Lords of the Earth - Reges Terrae - of their CD title were the 16th C Hapsburg monarchs Charles V, Maximilian I, and others. That is, the motets recorded here were all written by composers in the service of secular lords, for performance in courtly chapels; the composers are: Pierre de Manchicourt, Cristobal de Morales, Clemens 'non Papa', Francisco Guerrero, and Nicolas Gombert. Nordic Voices seem to have a special affinity for Manchicourt; the two motets and the Agnus Dei by that little-known master are the most thrilling tracks on this CD, rhythmically incisive and passionately expressive. Let me proclaim unabashedly that the selections by the two great Spaniards, Morales and Guerrero, are probably the best performances of either composer available, the only close rival being the recordings by the Concord Ensemble. So trust me, this is a CD that earnest fans of Renaissance polyphony WILL want.
With their clarino-like vibrato-free female sopranos and altos, Nordic Voices sound a lot like The Tallis Scholars. Like the Scholars, I suspect they often transpose their chosen works upwards within the rubrics of the original notation. A beautiful serenity, a luminous soul-scape of sound, is what they intend, and they have the gorgeous voices to achieve that ideal. Their tuning is impeccable and their sense of precise ensemble is, if anything, better than The Tallis Scholars. That 'ensemble' edge is most apparent on the Manchicourt "Laudate dominum", with its exuberant "perfect" (three-beat) tempus. They take more chances with dynamics than the Scholars, and the affective results are impressive. They are simply more exciting to hear.
If Nordic Voices has a weakness, it's one of choice, a clear commitment to sonorous beauty over intellectual insight into the ordered structuralism of 16th C polyphony. At times, especially in the slowest meditative passages, their musical phrases seem to become no more than lovely gestures in front of an acoustic tapestry. If I were 'coaching' the ensemble, I'd insist on each voice singing through its line with stronger rhetorical, syntactical continuity. It's the usual issue, isn't it?, for performers of this repertoire, to interpret 'horizontally' when our modern ears are accustomed to verticality. Nordic Voices is NOT, by the way, exclusively an 'early music' ensemble; their other recordings include quite a lot of contemporary vocal music by Scandinavian and Estonian composers influenced by the revival of Ren/Med polyphony. It shouldn't be too surprising, therefore, if Nordic Voices' interpretation of "O Magnum Mysterium" sounds remarkably like a work by Arvo Part or Per Norgard. Let me say again: this is an aesthetic choice. Nordic Voices sing the way they sing so well that it would be silly to fault them for how they don't sing.
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