Isaac: Missa Wohlauff gut Gsell von hinnen & Other Works

Cinquecento

Released on 28/05/2021 by Hyperion
Main artists: Cinquecento
Genre: Klassiek

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The music of Heinrich Isaac is much less well known than that of his contemporary Josquin Desprez, although, in his day, he was very highly regarded and had no trouble lining up job offers when the fundamentalist Savonarola put the brakes on Florence's flourishing music scene. He was extraordinarily prolific, and it's possible that the lack of exposure of his music is the result of performers simply not knowing where to start. Consider this release from the group Cinquecento, featuring the Missa Wohlauff gut Gsell von hinnen. This mass is based on a popular song that was also known in French as Comment peult avoir joye and set as a polyphonic chanson by Josquin; that piece is also included here. Isaac subjects it to an exceptionally complex atomization, breaking the mass up into small sections that each treats a small fragment of aspect of the song, many in scoring reduced from the full six-part complement. It's a bravura piece of writing that makes one understand why Anton Webern was fascinated by this composer, yet the tunefulness of the basic material pervades the mass and makes it attractive listening for anybody. The question for some listeners will be the madrigalistic, one-voice-per-part treatment here of music that was manifestly choral, but those willing to accept this leap will find a strong performance, with an international group of singers contributing varied vocal timbres, and an excellent sound environment from an Austrian monastery. The program is filled out by a group of Isaac motets that suggest other forms of the composer's mastery; for a wonderful piece in the somber Josquin mode, listen to the motet Parce, Domine, populo tuo. It is to be hoped that this release stimulates a new Isaac "Renaissance." Extra points to Hyperion for the truly striking Albrecht Altdorfer cover art.

© TiVo

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Isaac: Missa Wohlauff gut Gsell von hinnen & Other Works

Cinquecento

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Missa Wohlauff gut Gsell von hinnen: Ia. Kyrie I

00:01:11

Anonymous, Author - Heinrich Isaac, Composer - Terry Wey, Counter-Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Jan Petryka, Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Cinquecento, Choir, MainArtist - Tore Tom Denys, Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Tim Scott Whiteley, Baritone, AssociatedPerformer - Ulfried Staber, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Achim Schulz, Tenor, AssociatedPerformer