Fortune Infortune - A Portrait of Margaret of Austria / Elgersma, Seldom Sene

$6.99
Label
Brilliant Classics
Release Date
October 27, 2023
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      Benedictus Appenzeller, Loyset Compere, Josquin Desprez, Jean Richafort, Pierre de la Rue, Johannes
    • PERFORMER
      Seldom Sene, Daniel Elgersma
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      October 27, 2023
    • UPC
      5028421965130
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      BRI96513
    • LABEL
      Brilliant Classics
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Classical
    Works ⌄

    1. Maria, mater gratie - Fors seulement [a5, Songbook of Margaret of Austria, MS 228, Bibliothéque Royale de Belgique, Brussels, 16th century] (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for voice and recorder quintet)

      Composer: Anonymous

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

      Performer: Daniel Elgersma

    2. Fors seullement [a5, Musiksammlung, MS Mus 18746, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, Austria, 16th century] (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for recorder quintet)

      Composer: Anonymous

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

    3. Plaine de duel et de melancolie (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for voice and recorder quintet)

      Composer: Josquin des Prez

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

      Performer: Daniel Elgersma

    4. Plusieurs regretz a 5 (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for recorder quintet)

      Composer: Josquin des Prez

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

    5. Se je souspire - Ecce iterum [a3, Songbook of Margaret of Austria, MS 228, Bibliothéque Royale de Belgique, Brussels, 16th century] (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for voice and recorder quintet)

      Composer: Anonymous

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

      Performer: Daniel Elgersma

    6. Consideres mes incessantes … - Fortuna desperata [a5, Musiksammlung, MS Mus 18746, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, Austria, 16th century] (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for recorder quintet)

      Composer: Anonymous

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

    7. Je me complains a 5 (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for recorder quintet)

      Composer: Josquin des Prez

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

    8. Je ne dis mot [a6, Songbook of Margaret of Austria, MS 228, Bibliothéque Royale de Belgique, Brussels, 16th century] (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for voice and recorder quintet)

      Composer: Anonymous

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

      Performer: Daniel Elgersma

    9. Quand il advient choses [a5, Songbook of Margaret of Austria, MS 228, Bibliothéque Royale de Belgique, Brussels, 16th century] (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for recorder quintet)

      Composer: Anonymous

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

    10. Brunette (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for recorder quintet)

      Composer: Johannes de Stokem

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

    11. La jonne dame (va au moulin) [a5, Musiksammlung, MS Mus 18746, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, Austria, 16th century] (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for recorder quintet)

      Composer: Anonymous

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

    12. Changier ne veulx, c'est mon plaisir [a4, Songbook of Margaret of Austria, MS 228, Bibliothéque Royale de Belgique, Brussels, 16th century] (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for voice and recorder quintet)

      Composer: Anonymous

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

      Performer: Daniel Elgersma

    13. Ne vous chaille, mon cueur (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for voice and recorder quintet)

      Composer: Jean Richafort

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

      Performer: Daniel Elgersma

    14. Douleur me bat (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for recorder quintet)

      Composer: Josquin des Prez

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

    15. Va t'en, regret, celuy qui me convoye (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for voice and recorder quintet)

      Composer: Loyset Compère

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

      Performer: Daniel Elgersma

    16. Je my levay un matin (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for recorder quintet)

      Composer: Benedictus Appenzeller

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

    17. Qui vult aymer il fault estre joieux [a5, Musiksammlung, MS Mus 18746, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, Austria, 16th century] (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for recorder quintet)

      Composer: Anonymous

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

    18. Ne vous chaille mon cueur [a3, Musiksammlung, MS Mus 11239, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, Austria, 16th century] (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for recorder quintet)

      Composer: Anonymous

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

    19. Dueil et ennuy [a5, Songbook of Margaret of Austria, MS 228, Bibliothéque Royale de Belgique, Brussels, 16th century] (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for voice and recorder quintet)

      Composer: Anonymous

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

      Performer: Daniel Elgersma

    20. Tous nobles cueurs [a3, Songbook of Margaret of Austria, MS 228, Bibliothéque Royale de Belgique, Brussels, 16th century] (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for recorder quintet)

      Composer: Anonymous

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

    21. Cueurs desolez / Dies illa (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for voice and recorder quintet)

      Composer: Pierre de La Rue

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

      Performer: Daniel Elgersma

    22. Petite camusette (arr. M. Martínez Ayerza for voice and recorder quintet)

      Composer: Josquin des Prez

      Ensemble: Seldom Sene

      Performer: Daniel Elgersma


The Amsterdam-based recorder quintet has done it again: an original concept, featuring several first recordings, and superb performances which confirm them among the top-tier of today’s early-music chamber ensembles. The present album arises from a concert devised in 2018 for a festival in Bruges celebrating notable female figures from history.

Seldom Sene chose to focus on Margaret of Austria (1480–1530), who was governor of the Habsburg Netherlands for almost 20 years. Margaret had grown up with the benefits of a first-class education afforded to very few of her female peers: she was adept in all the humanities, and her library of books was reckoned one of the most extensive and learned at the time, a fit place to welcome distinguished guests such as Albrecht Dürer. From around 1515, one of the volumes in Margaret’s library was her newly commissioned personal songbook: a collection of 55 chansons and motets, richly decorated with high-quality miniatures and initials.

Many of the song texts speak of loss, sorrow and loneliness, perhaps reflecting her status at the time as a noble widow, following the death of her second husband, Philibert II of Savoy, in 1504. Margaret herself seems to have written several of them, and may also have been involved in their musical setting. Marian devotion is another theme of the songbook reflected in this selection made and transcribed and recorded by Seldom Sene. Sacred hymns are balanced out by secular laments, but also lighter and more cheerful numbers such as ‘Brunette m’amiette‘ and ‘La jonne dame’. Many of the composers are now lost to us and effectively anonymous, but the names that survive are worthy of Margaret’s elevated status, including Josquin and Pierre de la Rue.

‘Like Margaret,’ concludes María Martínez Ayerza in her booklet note, ‘like her courtiers and visitors, we see and hear the music and texts in this songbook and we are moved, stirred. These artworks make us change, as we relate the texts, even the titles, and the rather abstract beauty of the music to ourselves.’ Ayerza and her colleagues in Seldom Sene bring this music and Margaret’s world back to life with intense sympathy. The album is sure to receive the glowing reviews accorded to the group’s discography on Brilliant Classics. ‘Commitment, technical versatility, unanimity of ensemble and near-immaculate tuning on display.’ (Gramophone) ‘An excellent release from an ensemble I hope we’ll hear a lot more from in the future.’ (Fanfare)