Dufay: O gemma lux

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Music appreciation textbooks and timelines in magazines often name Guillaume Dufay as the first great composer of the European Renaissance, but one might equally call him the last great composer of the Middle Ages. This disc presents all 13 of Dufay's isorhythmic motets--the final masterpieces of a very medieval-minded genre. During the Middle Ages, music was considered a science (just like mathematics), and isorhythmic motets are constructed according to strict arithmetical principles. In addition, each voice generally has a different text, while the fundamental voice (called the tenor) usually has no text at all and is often (as here) performed by instruments. As this description might indicate, isorhythmic motets are among the most intellectualized and least emotive works in the entire pre-20th century repertory--yet Paul van Nevel and the Huelgas Ensemble achieve an impressive range of expression from such seemingly poker-faced music. Apostolo glorioso (composed for the consecration of a church) and Ecclesie militantis (written for the coronation of a Pope), performed by choir and (antique) brass, are ornate and imposing, while Magnanime gentes laudes, done by one soprano, one tenor, and one trombone doubled by recorder, is intimate and delicate. The director's excellent program notes explain how isorhythmic motets are constructed and what to listen for. Van Nevel also offers wise advice: Don't listen to this disc straight through--rather, listen carefully to one or two motets several times until you recognize the structural markers, then move on to other motets later. Following that advice will make this CD somewhat more work than most, but the listener's effort will be richly repaid by these splendid performances. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews:

The Ars subtileor rules........2006-11-21

Even though the title is a slight misnomer as more than half of the tracks are post-ars subtileor, this is an absolutely marvellous CD. Starting with Philipoctus de Caserta (ca.1370) and ending with Antoine Busnoys (d.1492), this CD surveys some of the best polyphonic secular and sacred music of the post-Ars nova Middle Ages.
The pieces are superbly performed by some of the very best early musicians of our day including the Orlando Consort, Ensemble organum and the Hilliard Ensemble. I highly recommend this CD for pleasure or instruction.
Dr. Joseph Baldassarre
Professor of Music History
Boise State University

Noel, Noel!: Noels Francais/French Christmas Music (1200-1600)

Average customer rating:

refreshingly traditional
Beautiful
This is excellent work
My favorite Christmas album.
This is an outstanding recording

Noel, Noel!: Noels Francais/French Christmas Music (1200-1600)

Manufacturer: Erato
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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A French Christmas
En la Fete de Noel/O Holy Night
A Renaissance Christmas / Cohen, Boston Camerata
Chansons Pour Noel: Mon Beau
Medieval Christmas

ASIN: B000000SCC
Release Date: 1991-09-13

Tracks:

I - Midnight In Bethlehem: Oyez Seigneur comment parla (The Sybil's Prophecy)
I - Midnight In Bethlehem: O oriens, splendor lucis aeternae
I - Midnight In Bethlehem: Kyrie 'Le jour de Noel'
II - Christmas Week In Beauvais: Lux Hodie - Orientis Partibus
II - Christmas Week In Beauvais: Quem vidistis pastores
II - Christmas Week In Beauvais: Magnum nomen domini
II - Christmas Week In Beauvais: Lux optata claruit
II - Christmas Week In Beauvais: Virgo gemma virginum
II - Christmas Week In Beauvais: Quando decet honore
III - To The Virgin: Ave regina celorum
III - To The Virgin: In tua memoria
III - To The Virgin: Magnificat
IV - Noel, Noel: Noe, Noe
IV - Noel, Noel: Noe, noe, magnificus est rex pacificus
V - A Renaissance Bouquet Of Carol And Dances: Conditor en francais
V - A Renaissance Bouquet Of Carol And Dances: Chantons Noel, menons joyeuse vie
V - A Renaissance Bouquet Of Carol And Dances: Bransle de Bourgogne
V - A Renaissance Bouquet Of Carol And Dances: Or vous tremoussez, pasteurs de Judee
V - A Renaissance Bouquet Of Carol And Dances: Et d'ou venez-vous, Madame Lucette?
V - A Renaissance Bouquet Of Carol And Dances: Bransle de Bourgogne - Bransle double
V - A Renaissance Bouquet Of Carol And Dances: Disons nau a pleine teste
V - A Renaissance Bouquet Of Carol And Dances: Ronde And Saltarello
V - A Renaissance Bouquet Of Carol And Dances: Nouvelles, nouvelles
V - A Renaissance Bouquet Of Carol And Dances: Pres Bethleem dans une estable
V - A Renaissance Bouquet Of Carol And Dances: Sur le mont de Sion
V - A Renaissance Bouquet Of Carol And Dances: Dona nobis pacem (From The 'Missa sur le Point d'Avignon')
V - A Renaissance Bouquet Of Carol And Dances: O l'heureuse journee
V - A Renaissance Bouquet Of Carol And Dances: Bransle de Champagne
V - A Renaissance Bouquet Of Carol And Dances: Venez ouyr la trompette
V - A Renaissance Bouquet Of Carol And Dances: Bransle de Champagne (Reprise)

Customer Reviews:

refreshingly traditional.......2006-11-10

If you are as tired as I am of canned Christmas muzak, you will find this to be refreshing, beautiful, and uplifting for the season of Christ's birth.

Beautiful.......2001-12-22

I was looking for something different from all the popular American Chirstmas music that has been re-done so many times. Here is a collection that satisfied me, and will delight both Franco-phones and Anglo-phones (English speakers) Some of the pieces are very chant like, but others are lively songs with lots of energy. Especially notable are tracks # 18, Or vous trémoussez, pasteurs de Judée, # 13, Noe, Noe, and my personal favorite, # 27, O l'heureuse journée. You likely will not recognize any of the tunes, so it may take a bit for this album to sound like Christmas, but it quickly did for me. The ancient instruments employed also give the music a unique sound that is really neat. This is a CD worth purchasing

This is excellent work.......1999-11-19

I am a musician and a medieval history buff, and first heard the Beauvais segments of this recording over the car radio, as I parked intending to do some Christmas shopping. I could not leave the car until the last note was sung and immediately began a search for the recording. The music is so...right, like a little time trip, haunting, triggering the imagination.

My favorite Christmas album........1999-09-04

Beautifully clear voices mix with period instruments and voices of character to present a lively, touching, and thoroughly enjoyable mix of music of centuries past.

This is an outstanding recording.......1998-12-26

Joel Cohen and the boston Camerata have recorded an outstanding collection of French Christmas carols.

Average customer rating:

Majestic music. Not to be missed
A Dufay recording with irresistable communicative vitality
I'll admit it: this is my favorite CD of music pre-1600
Perfect melting of voices and instruments
Good music, good CD

Dufay: O gemma lux
Guillaume Dufay , Huelgas Ensemble , and Paul Van Nevel
Manufacturer: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Dufay: Missa L'homme armé; Supremum est mortalibus bonum
Dufay: Chansons

ASIN: B00004TC4W
Release Date: 2000-06-13

Tracks:

Guillaume Dufay: Vasilissa ergo gaude
Guillaume Dufay: O sancte Sebastiane
Guillaume Dufay: O Gemma, Lux es speculum
Guillaume Dufay: Apostolo glorioso
Guillaume Dufay: Rite majorem Jacobus
Guillaume Dufay: Ecclesie militantis
Guillaume Dufay: Balsamus et munda cera
Guillaume Dufay: Supremum est mortailbus
Guillaume Dufay: Nuper rosarum flores
Guillaume Dufay: Salve flos tusce gentis
Guillaume Dufay: magnanime gentes laudes
Guillaume Dufay: Fulgen iubar ecclesiae dei
Guillaume Dufay: Moribus et genere

Amazon.com

Music appreciation textbooks and timelines in magazines often name Guillaume Dufay as the first great composer of the European Renaissance, but one might equally call him the last great composer of the Middle Ages. This disc presents all 13 of Dufay's isorhythmic motets--the final masterpieces of a very medieval-minded genre. During the Middle Ages, music was considered a science (just like mathematics), and isorhythmic motets are constructed according to strict arithmetical principles. In addition, each voice generally has a different text, while the fundamental voice (called the tenor) usually has no text at all and is often (as here) performed by instruments. As this description might indicate, isorhythmic motets are among the most intellectualized and least emotive works in the entire pre-20th century repertory--yet Paul van Nevel and the Huelgas Ensemble achieve an impressive range of expression from such seemingly poker-faced music. Apostolo glorioso (composed for the consecration of a church) and Ecclesie militantis (written for the coronation of a Pope), performed by choir and (antique) brass, are ornate and imposing, while Magnanime gentes laudes, done by one soprano, one tenor, and one trombone doubled by recorder, is intimate and delicate. The director's excellent program notes explain how isorhythmic motets are constructed and what to listen for. Van Nevel also offers wise advice: Don't listen to this disc straight through--rather, listen carefully to one or two motets several times until you recognize the structural markers, then move on to other motets later. Following that advice will make this CD somewhat more work than most, but the listener's effort will be richly repaid by these splendid performances. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews:

Majestic music. Not to be missed.......2006-07-09

The thirteen isorhythmic motets of Guillaume Dufay (c. 1400-1474) mark a high point, as well as a turning point, in Early Music. According to the CD notes, an isorhythmic motet "is a composition in which a rhythmic formula, or period, is constantly repeated in one or more parts while the melodic material changes." These works were composed over a period of twenty years during the first half of Dufay's career and are played in chronological order on this CD, so that the listener can appreciate the development of Dufay's style.

Much in the same way that it can be argued that Mahler took the symphony to the max, Dufay uses the models of the previous generation (ex. Machaut) and elevates the material to such a level that a nothing new really can be added. Dufay's subsequent compositions took off a different direction, and can probably be considered the first music of the Renaissance. It is fascinating to note the importance of proportion within these works. The conductor, Paul Van Nevel, notes "Not a single change in tempo has been applied so as not to cause any imbalance in the mathematical ratios."

But don't worry; you don't even have to be good at math to enjoy these beautiful, majestic works. Although the texture can get a little complicated (there can be up to three different texts being sung simultaneously), there is a certain permeating splendor to these works that is immediately accessible. The motet "Salve flos Tusce gentis" is among the most beautiful pieces of music I have heard - in the entire history of music. Despite the immediate accessibility of these pieces, my appreciation grows upon each listen.

These are choral pieces, but there is often accompaniment by sackbuts, vieles (early version of the violin) and flutes a bec (early version of a wooden flute) in this recording, which is probably consistent with the original performances of these motets. The singing by the Huelgas Ensemble is great, and I am really amazed by the singers' ability to fit a great number of notes in relatively small space in order to preserve the "mathematical ratios."

The CD is accompanied by very detailed notes and instructions on how to listen to these pieces. It is pretty rare indeed for a CD to come with listening instructions, but the conductor has good advice. Listen to each work as a standalone piece, listen to each motet several times, and be attentive. This will ensure that you get the most out of this music.

Highly recommended. This CD is a must for Early Music fans, but the beauty of these works will reach anyone who appreciates good music. Dufay's mastery is unparalleled, get this CD.

68:44

A Dufay recording with irresistable communicative vitality.......2005-07-09

This is definitely one of van Nevel's finest recordings - and that is praise indeed for he has made many fine ones. What an excellent idea to bring together these isorythmic motets like this. I can scarcely think of a finer place to start with Dufay than here with all the wonderfully poetic, expressive lyrical communicativeness that the Huelgas Ensemble unfailingly brings to Renaissance polyphony.

When I call Dufay a 'Renaissance' composer this is the result of degree of musical complexity displayed in his music which is so remarkably advanced that the term 'Medieval' sits rather poorly with him, although there is still the argument that he is the last great Medieval composer rather than the first Renaissance one. In fact if the complexity of his musical thought is a way of gauging things, then Dufay deserves to be called a Renaissance man more than Nikolaus Copernicus whose basis for claiming that the sun was the center of the solar system was in fact because he was part of a sun-cult that felt that the sun was so God-like that it HAD to be the center, even though the model of the solar system with the planets circling the sun in circular orbit mathematically fails pretty miserably compared with having the sun going around the Earth in circular orbit: You have to have the planets circling elliptically for that 'post-Copernican' model to work at all. Clearly we all need to do some rethinking about the history of these times with this CD being a perfect place to start.

An isorhythm (iso=same) consists of an order of durations or rhythms, known as the 'talea' (literally "cutting"), which is repeated within a tenor melody whose pitch content known as the 'color', varied from the talea. The isorhythmic construction was often varied through the use of strict or free rhythmic diminution in the repetition of the color. The term was coined in 1900 by Friedrich Ludwig to describe this practice in 14th and 15th century polyphonic motets but is also found in motets of composers of the Middle Ages such as Machaut, in Indian Classical Music, and in modern composers such as Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Olivier Messiaen, John Cage, Harrison Birtwistle, and Pierre Boulez. It may be used in all voices or only a few voices. In motets, it began in the tenor voice but was then extended to higher ones. Ars nova composer Philippe de Vitry has been credited with the invention of the technique, but it was neither an invention of Philippe de Vitry nor his exclusive property in the early fourteenth century.

Each one of these motets is a world of rhythmic, melodic and contrapuntal riches unto itself and richly rewards discovering. The Huelgas Ensemble also has greater warmth of sound compared to the English choirs who always strictly only ever use head voice, whereas van Nevel allows his singers to subtly color the music using a voice that comes from deeper down. Further adding to the color of the works is the discreet use of instruments - a practice that has recently regained acceptance in historical practice. The end result is a recording that presents Dufay with irresistable communicative vitality that makes this beautiful CD a real must for any music lover.

Very highly recommended!

I'll admit it: this is my favorite CD of music pre-1600.......2004-04-14

Very beautiful, soaring performances of some very complex music. I appreciate the fact that all Dufay's isorhythmic motets have been included. In general, I'd say that the earlier motets are more successful and inspiring than the later ones. The Huelgas Ensemble uses instruments to play the long droning "tenor" lines, with beautiful effect. I believe using instruments for that part is legitimate historically but who really cares? It sounds great. The recording was also done in a very resonant acoustical environment. Ecclesia militans is maybe my favorite motet of them all.

Highly recommended. If you like 15th-century music even a little bit, this is a must buy.

Perfect melting of voices and instruments.......2001-05-14

There are not much recordings of Dufay's splendid music, the most impressive are surely some chansons scattered on differents discs of Gothic Voices. Regarding motets, there are some interesting recordings by Pomerium and Hilliard Ensemble. All three feature, among other highlights, the marvellous motets "Nuper rosarum", "Alma redemtoris mater" and "Ecclesiae militans". I would say that this recording is the best of the three: in the Huelgas Ensemble's recording you may feel best the medieval -exotic- caracter of these isorythmic motets, as for example their structural clearness and complexity as well as harmonic surprises which seem to come from another planet. The other recordings, although technically perfect as well, tend to smoothen these essential caracteristics. Although this music is caracterized by a mathematical rationalism, I find it very emotional, especially in the mentioned pieces with their monumentality complying with the special historic occasions. Huelgas expresses these emotional side perfectly, in part due to the perfect interweaving of the instrumental and vocal parts (normally I am not a fan of instrumental parts in this kind of music, here it's different). With this recording together with Gothic Voices' excellent chanson recordings you may feel why Dufay is one of the greatest composers ever.

Good music, good CD.......2000-10-11

This CD features the beautiful motets of Dufay. Although Dufay is considered to be one of the greatest composers of the millenium, like J. S. Bach, extant recordings are really meager. I am a collector of Dufay's, and I think this is one of ten best recordings of Dufay's, but not the best.

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