Includes work(s) for organ by Louis J.A. Lefébure-Wely. Soloist: Joris Verdin.

Born in the Principality of Liège, Lambert de Sayve spent his entire career in the service of the Hapsburgs in Vienna. His patron the Archduke Matthias was crowned Emperor in 1612; de Sayve composed splendid motets in the Venetian polychoral style for the occasion. These motets are associated with the 'Missa super Dominus Regnavit' for four choirs and forms the basis for the reconstruction of the office of Matthias' coronation.

In the time of Madame de Pompadour, the hurdy-gurdy, like the musette, enjoyed a great success. It was considered to be on a level with other instruments and, as can be seen in various paintings, was highly regarded by the ladies of the aristocracy. Several books of instruction for the instrument were published, one of which was Michel Corrette's La belle vielleuse; virtuoso players such as Danguy and Dupuits extended its playing techniques to their limits. The instrument's charm was sung by various poets whose words were then set as cantatas. The unknown works that constitute this recording place it firmly in the French court of the time with its stylized pastoral diversions.

This recording presents two Austrian requiems of totally different character. Johann Joseph Fux wrote his Requiem in 1720 for the funeral of Eleonora von Neuburg, widow of the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II. Composed by a musician reputed for his theoretical skill, it impresses with the quality of the polyphonic writing combined with a very rich instrumental fabric comprising cornetts, trombones and bassoon in addition to violins, instruments also benefiting from concertante interventions. This requiem was played on numerous occasions for official ceremonies, including again for the funeral of Karl VI in 1740. On the other hand, Johann Caspar Kerll's version is presented in a much more intimist way. As he himself stated in the preface to the edition, this requiem was written "for my soul's peace". It is scored for an ensemble of five voices backed up by a quartet of viols. In a more archaic style, its intense emotion is doubtless influenced by the music of his Roman master, Giacomo Carissimi.

Johann Bernhard Bach (1676-1749) is a relatively unknown member of the Bach family. He is more widely known by association to his famous first cousin once removed, Johann Sebastian. A disciple of Pachelbel, Johann Bernhard was in the service of the court of Eisenach and left us only instrumental music. His four Ouvertures for orchestra constitute the obvious link between French music of the Grand Siecle and the compositions that Johann Sebastian would write in Weimar and Cothen. This release is an interesting missing link to be rediscovered.

Baptiste Romain, director of the ensemble Le Miroir de Musique, has just been appointed professor at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. To mark this occasion, he enriches the 'Instruments' series on the Ricercar label with a recital devoted to the medieval vielle (bowed fiddle): troubadour songs and dances and polyphonic compositions from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries illustrate the various stages in the evolution of this instrument, the ancestor of the violin. After general musical studies focusing on violin and composition at the CNR Rueil-Malmaison, Baptiste Romain chose to specialize in the musical repertoire of the Middle Ages and Renaisance by practicing the bow vielle and bagpipes. After training at the Center for Medieval Music in Paris, notably with Marco Horvat, he studied at the Schola Cantorum in Basel, with Randall Cook, Dominique Vellard and Crawford Young, while regularly practicing ensemble music with Pierre Hamon at the National Conservatory of Lyon. He received his violin soloist diploma from the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in 2008.

Selection includes a reading of the homage to Dufay and Binchois from Martin le Franc's "Le champion de dames".
Selection includes a reading of the homage to the female form from Martin le Franc's "Le champion de dames".
Selection includes a reading of 'Love according to the Champion' from Martin le Franc's "Le champion de dames".
Selection includes a reading of 'Love according to Brief Counsel' from Martin le Franc's "Le champion de dames".
Selection includes a reading of the homage to Christine de Pizan from Martin le Franc's "Le champion de dames".
Selection includes a reading of Malebouche's attack from Martin le Franc's "Le champion de dames".
Selection includes a reading of the prologue from Martin le Franc's "Le champion de dames".

The dramaturgy of the project is inspired by the life philosophy of Hildegard von Bingen as is preserve din he rmusical an dliterary work. On the one hand we can perceive Hildegard as a mystic and saint woman, on the other hand as a strong abbess and politically gifted person. Those two points of view are the most important in the interpretation of her concept of human being. Her music and visions are full of humanity and divinity as well, it inspires me to call teh concert programme ''Ego sum homo'' (I'm the man).

Henri Du Mont first made provision for the performance of a number of his compositions by women's voices in his Cantica Sacra (1652) and thus made it possible for these works to be sung in convents. This recording includes not only the motets intended for these institutions but also one of the Messes Royales in plainsong and several organ pieces from his Meslanges composed for the Dames religieuses qui touchent l'orgue. This recording is the second in a systematic exploration of the several collections of music by Henry du Mont that were published in Paris. The first recording in this series was devoted to the Cantica Sacra and was released in 2010 to mark the 400th anniversary of the composer's birth.

DU MONT Cantica Sacra • Namur CCh; Les Soloistes • RICERCAR RIC 293 (72: 52 Text and Translation)


Although relatively little known, and with correspondingly few recordings of his music available, Henry Du Mont (1610–84) was a figure of pivotal importance in the music of the French Baroque. Of Belgian origins, born near Liège, he received his initial musical training in Maastricht in the Netherlands, returned to Liège, and then relocated to Paris in 1640, where he became organist at the Church of Saint-Paul. Rising rapidly in prominence, he then became harpsichordist to the Duc d’Anjou in 1652 and to the Queen in 1660, a sous-maître (one of four) of the Chapelle Royale at Versailles in 1663, sous-maître de la musique du Roy in 1672 (along with Pierre Robert), and finally Master of the Queen’s Music in 1673. He resigned his last position in 1683 and died the next year. His compositional output includes several masses and nearly one hundred petits motets.


The Cantica sacra , published in 1652, broke decisively from the polyphonic tradition previously dominant in France. Introducing novel stylistic techniques pioneered by Monteverdi and his contemporaries in Italy, it was the first musical publication in France to present motets for two voices rather than four, and only the second to have an independent basso continuo part. The use of only two voices also entailed employment of a more declamatory vocal style and the use of agréments , ornaments such as the trill and mordent placed above notes for vocal embellishment and added expressivity. The collection also includes the first published solo motet in the French repertoire, In lectulo meo ; borrowing yet another Italian device, in this piece Du Mont reduces the second voice to only an echo of certain phrases sung by the first voice. The larger-scale pieces that call for several groups of singers would later be developed by Du Mont into another of his innovations, the grand motet français . His published directions provided for the works to be performed by either high or low voices, allowed for alternatives in the type of stringed instruments to be employed, and indicated organ improvisations at specified parts of the services. Finally, the volume also includes purely instrumental pieces, four of which are featured on the present disc.


This is an exemplary production. The vocal and instrumental performances are exceptionally polished; the recorded sound is excellent; the booklet essay is unusually detailed and informative without being pedantic; the vocal texts are presented in Latin, English, French, and German; specifications are even given for the organ (built in 1742). At present there is only one other CD in print with music from this collection, also on the Ricercar label and performed by the eponymous Ricercar Consort, half of a two-disc set that also includes a Requiem by Gilles Hayne. Despite an extensive Internet search, I have not been able to ascertain the specific contents of that set, or if that CD is the same as a now deleted 1992 issue, Ricercar 120109 (still listed as an MP3 download from a few sites). In any case, this item fills a major gap in the early Baroque repertoire. Highly recommended.


FANFARE: James A. Altena

Haydn's trios are irresistible, and the artists have done everything to bring them to life.

The baryton is almost exclusively associated with Joseph Haydn. It was a much older instrument, though. Its origins go back as far as the early 17th century. In his liner-notes Jérôme Lejeune states that the descriptions of the instrument in its early stages widely differ and often have not that much in common with the baryton as we know it from Haydn's time. In the 18th century it was especially popular in southern Germany and Austria. Because Haydn's output for the baryton is so large, not that much is known about other composers' works for the instrument. What is known is that at least Johann Joseph Fux and Attilio Ariosti wrote arias with an obbligato part for the baryton.

Leopold Mozart gave this description in his Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule (1756): "This instrument has, like the gamba, six or seven strings. The neck is very wide, with the back surface hollowed out and open, under which run nine or ten brass and steel strings. These are plucked with the thumb, so that in fact whilst the main melodic line is played with the bow on the gut strings strung on the front of the instrument, the thumb simultaneously plays the bass line by plucking the strings under the neck. It is for this reason that the pieces need to be specifically composed. It is, incidentally, one of the most graceful of instruments." The German composer and author Friedrich August Weber (1753-1806) described the sound as a combination of viola da gamba and harp and wrote that its sound moved him to tears.

There is some difference of opinion about the abilities of Haydn's employer. Those are generally considered rather limited. But Jérôme Lejeune believes one shouldn't underestimate his skills. "Haydn does not hesitate to demand pizzicato playing of the sympathetic strings on a regular basis. The player is frequently required to play a melody line on the bowed strings and to accompany it with pizzicato notes; an excellent command of the instrument is clearly required".

Nikolaus continuously urged Haydn to compose music which he could play at his beloved instrument. The result is a huge corpus of more than 160 pieces for or with baryton. The largest part of this output comprises 126 trios for baryton, viola - or violin in a handful of trios - and cello. Almost all of them are in three movements: a slow movement, a fast movement and a menuet, mostly in that order. But Haydn would not be Haydn if he hadn't changed the order of movements now and then. Because of their character the trios rank among the genre of the divertimento. That was also their function: Prince Nikolaus played them for his own entertainment. That doesn't mean Haydn sticks to what one may expect from a divertimento. The slow movements are often quite expressive. And although the large majority of the trios are written in D, G or A, Haydn also has written some trios in other keys, even some in the minor, like the Trio in b minor (H XI,96). As a result it has a considerably darker colour than most trios and is the most 'serious' piece of this disc.

The artists have made a nice and imaginative choice from Haydn's large output. Fortunately they have largely avoided the most frequently recorded trios. Haydn's complete oeuvre with baryton has been recorded by the Esterházy Ensemble (Brilliant Classics). As good as Haydn's music and these performances are, many will find this too much of a good thing. For them this disc offers an excellent alternative. The playing is technically immaculate, and the interpretation goes to the heart of Haydn's music. There is no lack of expression in the slow movements, whereas the fast movements are playful and explore Haydn's subtleties. Although the recording was made in a church, it has the right atmosphere. The balance within the ensemble is optimal.

In the English translation of the liner notes Jérôme Lejeune writes about the Trio No. 107 which is remarkably written for baryton solo. "We have of course not been able to resist the temptation to add it to our programme". Apparently the artists had second thoughts: the trio has not been included, and the whole passage from the liner-notes is absent in the original French version and in the German translation. Maybe on a later disc?

Let's enjoy what is on offer here. Haydn's trios are irresistible, and the artists have done everything to bring them to life.

-- Johan van Veen, MusicWeb International

Includes work(s) for organ by Felix Alexandre Guilmant. Soloist: Joris Verdin.

Awards: Diapason d'Or Choc from the French magazine Classica This Guide to Period Instruments endeavours to answer the questions that every lover of early music has about the instruments used in these periods of music history. Text and recorded excerpts describe the origin and the development of every musical instrument from the Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century and place them in their historical context. There is a completely new presentation booklet, over 200 pages long and abundantly illustrated, as well as eight CDs of recorded examples of the instruments that shed new light upon major periods of music history. These excerpts have been drawn from the Ricercar catalogue for the most part and are completed by new recordings made for the purpose as well as by material made available to us by other specialist recording labels. This Guide to Period Instruments is a perfect synthesis of the music lover's thirst for knowledge with the sheer pleasure of hearing these historical instruments.

Only a few years were needed before Grétry became one of the most prominent personalities of the French musical world. The successes that he booked after his first opéra comique Le Huron (1769) won him the high esteem and personal friendship of the Dauphine, after which the Court also opened its doors to him and several of his works were performed there in succession. Official confirmation of his status came in 1773, when Louis XV and his court commissioned him to write a large-scale work for a special occasion: this was to be Céphale et Procris.

"The father of the symphony"; "bard of the Revolution": these two phrases sufficed to describe Gossec from the beginning of the 19th century onwards and created a reputation for him that musicographers and music historians of the following century made almost unalterable. Gossec had, however, always been interested in the operatic stage, as can be seen from his works in the more modern genre of opéra comique as well as in the more traditional tragédie en musique. Appointed to provide music for the largest musical institutions of his time, Gossec created more than twenty theatrical works; these enjoyed varying degrees of success but nonetheless reveal a dramatic composer of the first water. They were inspired by various sources, the diversity of which can be seen by their titles: Le Périgourdin, Le Tonnelier, Le Faux Lord, Les Pêcheurs, Toinon & Toinette, Le Double Déguisement (opéra comique), Alexis & Daphné, Philémon & Baucis, La Fête de Village (operas in one act), Berthe, Rosine ou l'Épouse abandonnée (opera semiseria), Les Scythes enchaînés (an addition to Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride), Les Petits Riens, Mirza (ballets in collaboration with Gardel and Noverre), intermezzi for Racine's Athalie and, when the moment arrived, operas of the Revolution such as L'Offrande à la Liberté and Le Triomphe de la République. His operatic masterpieces, however, are indisputably the two tragédies lyriques Sabinus (1773) and Thésée (1782). Thanks to a superb cast and the talent of Guy Van Waas in this repertoire, Gossec's tragedy here reveals its full dramatic power.