Lament for Constantinople & other songs - The Orlando Consort - Guillaume Dufay (c1400-1474)

Classical Music

Choral Music (Sacred) - PALESTRINA, G.P. da / JOSQUIN DES PR

Like many of his contemporaries, Guillaume Dufay was greatly devoted to the Virgin Mary. His Marian works comprise liturgical pieces sung during the Mass or the Office, but also religious motets written to new poems. It was probably during his first period in the chapel of the dukes of Savoy that Dufay produced a complete cycle of polyphonic hymns for the Office of Vespers of the principal feasts. Their interpretation obeys the principle of alternatim chant, that is to say alternation between monophonic odd-numbered verses, sung in plainchant, and even-numbered polyphonic verses. Dufay employs here the techniques of composition already in use in the fourteenth century. The liturgical melody is sung in the highest voice but appears transformed according to the principles of paraphrase: the composer's inventive contribution, in this context, resides in the flexibility of the mensuration (often ternary) and the grace of his ornamentation. The other two, lower voices accompany it in a virtually homophonic style. The influence of the improvisatory practice known as 'fauxbourdon' is manifest. In it's simple form, the melody of the cantus is doubled by the tenor and the contratenor, respectively a sixth and a fourth lower. The result is a succession of highly characteristic chords, interrupted only for the cadences.

DUFAY / COMPERE / ARNOLD DE LANTINS: Songs and Dances from t

Following its Gramophone Editor’s Choice album Echoes of an Old Hall, Medieval expert Gothic Voices has recorded The Splendour of Florence, a collection of Franco-Flemish music that was found in or associated with Florence. Occupying pride of place, Dufay’s motet Nuper rosarum flores is widely thought to reflect the proportions of the newly completed dome of Florence cathedral, for which it was written at the cathedral’s consecration in 1436. The other works – by Franco-Flemish composers Ockeghem, Busnois, Tinctoris, van Ghizeghem and others – are taken from a couple of Florentine chansonniers, which in turn document the wide dissemination of their music in the thriving Tuscan city. This album thus showcases Florence in all its splendour and lavishness, a city that proved a creative magnet for the highly-skilled and inventive compositional work of the outstanding composers of the Burgundian tradition.

A Franco-Flemish composer and music theorist of the early Renaissance, Dufay was the central figure in the Burgundian School and was the most famous and influential composer in Europe in the mid-15th century. His music was copied, distributed and sung across Europe and almost all composers of the succeeding generations absorbed some elements of his style. The Hilliard Ensemble is one of the world's finest vocal chamber groups, and is probably unrivalled for its formidable reputation in the fields of both early and new music. Its distinctive style and highly developed musicianship engage the listener as much in Medieval and Renaissance repertoire as in works specially written for the group by living composers. 'Guillaume Dufay' is the final disc in the Hilliard 'Live' series to be released on CORO. The first disc - Pérotin and the Ars Antiqua - won a Diapason d'Or. '...eloquence of worshipful music, winding through some amazing counterpoint.' - The Times 'Supremely musical and overflowing with food for thought.' - The Guardian

Although the music of Dufay is no stranger to CD--groups such as Pomerium, the Binchois Consort, Gothic Voices, and Orlando Consort all have devoted discs to his masses and motets--this offering by The Clerk's Group, featuring selections from an important Italian manuscript known as Bologna Q15, provides a fascinating overview of both early and later works from this illustrious 15th century French composer. The hour-long program focuses on motets and mass movements that reveal a progression in Dufay's compositional style, from the rather square motet Vasilissa, ergo gaude (the composer's "earliest datable work") to the complex rhythms and free ornamentation of O gemma, lux et speculum and the sophisticated structure and highly developed melodic/harmonic relationships of the Credo (manuscript No. 108).

If you're an early music fan, you'll be right at home with this mostly male ensemble's finely focused, reedy sound (there's one woman among the group's six members, veteran alto Lucy Ballard), and there's no letting down of energy or concentration throughout the longest phrases within individual motets or across the more extended mass movements. The closely recorded voices and overall bright sonic quality wears a bit after 15 or 20 minutes, but you can't fault the singing, which brings a vibrant, assured presence to these ancient works; and if you're looking for fine, clearly sung, stylistically conscientious performances, you really can't go wrong here.

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

DUFAY: Missa L' homme arme

Dufay: Chansons

In this debut release, the ensemble Alta Bellezza traces the footsteps of 15th century composer Guillaume Dufay through Italy, Savoy and his Burgundian homeland. Considered the most illustrious composer of his generation, Dufay was employed by several popes, and by noble families including the Malatesta, the Este and the court of Savoy while maintaining close ties to the court of the Burgundian duke Philip the Good, renowned in its day as the finest court in Europe. Alta Bellezza brings Dufay’s music to vibrant life on wind instruments of his day such as shawms, slide trumpets and bagpipes - the standard instrumental ensemble of the 15th century. This formation, known today as the “Alta Capella”, projected elegance, pomp and splendor at courts and in cities throughout Europe. Alongside refined renditions of chansons by Dufay and his contemporaries Binchois and Vide, the trio graces the 21st century with music from the Brussels Basse Danse manuscript in their own distinctive arrangements, rooted in improvisatory practices of the era.

After the success of the Red, Yellow, Blue and Pink collections (a total of 56 reissues), which brought the pearls from the Baroque catalogues of the house labels back into the spotlight, here are fourteen new titles offering a chance to rediscover more Baroque treasures and rarities. Like the last series, this fifth installment also opens up to the Classical (Mozart) or Renaissance (Dufay) repertories – recordings that are an integral part of Alpha’s identity and history. This series’ reissues are performed by the finest musicians in the field; most of these recordings received one or more awards on their first release. The albums come with proper booklets, including notes in three languages (French, English, German). Photographers from many different backgrounds illustrate the covers of the series with their works: this time the main theme is the color white. The present album features Guillaume Dufay’s Missa Se la face ay pale, performed by Antoine Guerber and Diabolus in Musica.