Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae

RE UT RE UT RE FA MI RE"That's the "cantus firmus" - the pattern of sustained notes around which the harmony is composed - of the Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae by Josquin Deprez (1440-1521). It translates into modern pitches as "D-C-D-C-D-F-E-D". It's derived from matching the vowels of the hexachord ut-re-mi-fa-so-la with the vowels of the name hErcUlEs dUx fErrArIE. Hercules in this cryptogram is Duke Ercole d'Este of Ferrara, to whom the mass was obviously dedicated. Those eight notes form the subtle melodic basis for the entire mass composition; they are heard again and again, sometimes almost subliminally, transposed to higher pitches, inverted, stretched and condensed. Renaissance polyphony is full of such cryptic coded messages, as well as remarkably complex mathematical puzzles expressed in the notation of the era. And occasionally, whole lines of the polyphony are not notated at all, but merely implied in a Latin rubric, effectively a riddle for the performers to enjoy while earning their keep by singing luxuriantly. Josquin spent exactly one year - 1503 - living high at the Este court in Ferrara, during which time he wrote only two pieces as far as anyone knows. The larger piece, the Miserere, is included on this CD. The mass was probably written years before, when Ercole visited Rome. Josquin's patron, Cardinal Sforza, perhaps commissioned it as an elaborate compliment to the guest. Whatever the history, this is one of Josquin's grandest and most polished compositions, a work of such exquisite proportions that it ought to be broadcast to the stars as evidence of intelligent life on Earth."And that whole paragraph is repeated from my previous review of this Mass as performed by the Hilliard Ensemble. Well, amici miei, comparisons are invidious; however much I liked, and still like, the Hilliard recording, it seems to my ears that De Labyrintho's recording is better. Josquin Desprez spent a lot of time in Italy, so perhaps his Italian masses and motets need Italian interpretations. De Labyrintho, especially the tenors, sing with fine Italian "squillo". That's a term for the projective brightness of voice that characterizes Italian operatic tenors. In this case, it amounts to asserting one's polyphonic line more expressively, in effect emphasizing the rhetoric of each line rather than binding the lines into a massive choral homophony. Both ensembles perform this mass with several voices per part, but since the singers are of soloistic technical control, the singing is perfectly precise.The other Italian virtue of De Labyrintho is its "sprezzatura", its seeming effortlessness. Sprezzatura is "is an Italian word originating from Baldassare Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier, where it is defined as 'a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it.' It is the ability of the courtier [in this case, the singer] to display 'an easy facility in accomplishing difficult actions which hides the conscious effort that went into them.'" David James, of the Hilliard Ensemble, is a gorgeous counter-tenor, but he has no sprezzatura. He always seems to be straining to sing his utmost. De Labyrintho uses women sopranos, and in this case the two women seem in better balance within the ensemble than the Hilliard counter-tenors; less effort is heard in their expression, and therefore more sprezzatura. Likewise the bassi. Paul Hillier is a very fine musician and an utterly good guy, but he's a baritone, not a bass. Even paired with basso David Beavan, Paul Hillier audibly works hard to produce the tuneful but somewhat thin lowest notes of this Mass. No such effort can be heard from De Labyrintho; the three basses -- Bonci, Ferrarini, Furnari, good Italian boys! -- sing their bottom notes with magnificent resonance. English vocal ensembles, by the by, frequently lack 'risonanza in basso', making me wondering if something about the English language inhibits the development of bass sonority.How much better is De Labyrintho than The Hilliard Ensemble? Well, the difference is totally a subjective perception. If you have the Hilliard CD already, you certainly won't NEED the De Labyrintho, unless you feel, as I do, that Josquin's Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae is a grand enough composition to warrant many interpretations.

This is a wonderful recording with great liner notes. My favorite of the many Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae recording. The motets that go with it are beautiful and equally well sung. Why is their other Josquin recording (Missa Gaudeamus) not available?

after hearing the beautifully sung motets,I wish they had also included female voices in the mass. The mass performance has a bit more emotion than the similar Hilliard Ensemble performance.

Josquin DesPrez was a master of polyphonic composition, and here in the hands of Italian outfit "De Labyrintho" his work is displayed to perfection.This disc offers pieces composed by Josquin during his relatively brief period of employment by Duke Ercole I of Ferrera from 1503-04:1. Salve regina (motet à 5)2. Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae - a mass based upon a cantus firmus derived from an encoding of the syllables of the Duke's name into musical notes.3. Virgo salutiferi (motet à 5)4. Miserere mei, Deus (motet à 5) - Josquin's setting of Psalm 51 (most famously set by  Allegri ) is a relatively sparse and restrained piece in terms of its complexity by his usual standards, but this is undoubtedly amongst the most beautiful of his creations, here in an epic 17 minute performance which is probably the best individual recorded piece of Josquin I have ever heard - for this one track on its own the disc would be a must have. There is an interesting possible historical footnote to this composition, that it may have been commissioned by the Duke as a testament to the Dominican friar and fellow citizen of Ferrera Girolamo Savonarola who had been executed by the church in 1498; Savonarola had written a meditation on this Psalm while awaiting execution, and the austere style of Josquin's piece matches that of Savonarola himself and his dislike of polyphony.Digipak with booklet; notes in Italian and English, Latin lyrics included but no translation. Allegri

I have not too much to add to the previous reviewer, except to say that I agree with his opinion completely. Just to add that I think the acoustics in this recording are ideal. Sometimes we get excellent singing and dry acoustics...or, conversely, over-reverberant voices. This is as near perfection in ambience as I've ever heard, more like the interior of the Pazzi Chapel than The Florence duomo, to use a Renaissance analogy. The intimacy serves the music well, the engineers should be complemented along with the talented singers. I must confess to having an unhistorical preference for female voices in this repetoire, but this recording has it both ways by having the ladies in the motets, and the countertenors in the Mass...an acceptable compromise, methinks!

The best recording of this piece, by far. Exquisite and stunning as well as spiritually uplifting. A great shame there seems to be so little by Ensemble de Labyrintho available.