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George de LA HÈLE (1547 - 1586): Missa Praeter rerum seriem
El León de Oro
Dir: Peter Phillipsa, Marco Antonio García de Pazb
rec: Feb 17 - 19, 2023, Cornellana, Iglesia del Real Monasterio de San Salvador de Cornellana, Sala (Asturias)
Hyperion - CDA68439 (© 2024) (64'39")
Liner-notes: E/D/ES; lyrics - translations: E/ES
Cover, track-list & booklet
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George de LA HÈLE:
Missa Praeter rerum seriem a 7-8a;
Pierre DE MANCHICOURT (c1510-1564):
Emendemus in melius a 5a;
Osculetur me a 6a;
Regina caeli a 6b;
Nicolas PAYEN (c1512-1559/60):
Virgo prudentissima a 4b;
Philippe ROGIER (c1561-1596):
Cantantibus organis a 6a;
Regina caeli a 8b
Sacred music was important in Spain during the 16th century. This period in its musical history is known as the Golden Era (Siglo de Oro), and composers connected with it are especially Cristóbal de Morales, Francisco Guerrero and Tomás Luis de Victoria. Lesser-known but no less important are Flemish composers who worked in Spain, first under the reign of Charles V, and then under his successor Philip II, who had a special preference for the style of the Franco-Flemish school. During the second half of the 16th century choirboys from Flanders were brought to Spain to sing in what was known as the Capilla Flamenca. It was directed, in succession, by Cornelius Canis (de Hondt), Nicolas Payen, Pierre de Manchicourt, Jean de Bonmarché, Geert van Turnhout, George de La Hèle and Philippe Rogier. The first disc to be reviewed here includes specimens of what was written by these maestri di capilla. Not each of them is represented; we rather get an overview, which shows the development in style: with Rogier we are close to the Baroque.
Nicolas (or Colin) de Payen was from Soignies, and entered Charles V's chapel in Spain as a choirboy. He made a career within the chapel, and in 1556 he succeeded Canis as maestro di capilla. His extant oeuvre is small: eleven motets and five chansons is all that has come down to us. Stylistically he is close to Nicolas Gombert, as the dense frabric of his motets shows. No wonder, then, that Virgo prudentissima is attributed to both.
In 1560 Payen was succeeded by Pierre de Manchicourt, who was from Béthune. He sang as a choirboy in Arras Cathedral. He was director of the choir at Tours Cathedral in 1539, master of the choirboys at Tournai Cathedral in 1545 and maître de chapelle there later that year. By 1556 he was a canon of Arras Cathedral. Like Payen he composed in the style of Gombert. Osculetur me is a motet in two parts on texts from the Song of Songs. The second section starts with the words "Trahe me post te". In both sections the tenor sings a third text from this Old Testament book: "Tota pulchra es, amica mea". Emendemus in melius is a responsory on Ash Wednesday; the text is taken from Psalm 105. Again, it is in two sections, both of which end with the same phrase: "Hear us, Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against you". The words "et miserere" (have mercy) are emphasized through repetition.
Regina caeli is one of the Marian antiphons, which were set numerous times in the Renaissance. Manchcourt's setting is once again in two parts. In both the two sopranos sing in canon. In typical Franco-Flemish fashion, he challenges the singers. "By adding the direction 'sans souspirer ne chantez poinctz' (lit. 'without breathing, and don't sing dots') at the top of the manuscript, he required the second voice to omit minim rests and remove the dot from any dotted notes that may occur in the leading voice, so that although the second soprano starts the motet four semibreves later than the first, it ends the prima pars five semibreves earlier (and in the secunda pars, seven semibreves later, the parts now reversed.)" (Peter Phillips in the liner-notes).
Manchicourt was succeeded by Jean de Bonmarché (called Beaumarchais in the booklet) in 1565, who was succeeded by Geert van Turnhout in 1571. The latter died in 1580, and the next year George de La Hèle was appointed his successor. He was born in Antwerp, where he received his first musical training at the Church of Our Lady. In 1560 he was one of a group of choirboys who went to Madrid to serve in the Capilla Flamenca. In 1570 he returned to the Low Countries, where he studied at Leuven University. He worked as choirmaster in Mechelen and Tournay, and then moved to Madrid to succeed Van Turnhout. It is notable that he extended the repertoire of the chapel with pieces by Clemens non Papa, Palestrina, Guerrero, Morales and Manchicourt as well as compositions of his own. Not that many of his works have been preserved: apart from a book with masses, we have only one motet and one chanson. One of his masses is the main work on the programme: it is based on Josquin's motet Praeter rerum seriem, that inspired quite a number of composers, among them Orlandus Lassus, who used its material for a setting of the Magnificat. Whereas Josquin's motet is for six voices, La Hèle's mass is in seven parts (SSAATBB); as many composers did, in the last Agnus Dei he adds one part, a second tenor. As Phillips explains in his liner-notes, La Hèle made an effort to keep much of the character of Josquin's motet in his mass, for instance the use of triple time at several parts of the text. He concludes: "Overall, La Hèle made the most of everything Josquin had to offer, turning it into his own music with consummate mastery."
The disc fittingly ends with the last maestro di capilla, Philippe Rogier. He was from Arras and had come to Madrid in 1572 as one of a group of choirboys, collected by Geert van Turnhout, since 1571 maestro di capilla. In 1584 Rogier was appointed vice-maestro de capilla, and succeeded De la Hèle in 1586. Rogier's oeuvre consists of about 250 compositions. He was held in high esteem: the Spanish poet Lope de Vega hailed him in 1630 as "Rogier, pride of Flanders, glory and light" who "departed this life at the height of his genius". He even called him "our beloved Orpheus". The fact that the Portuguese king João IV owned 243 pieces from his pen bears witness to his high stature. Unfortunately only about a fifth of his output has been preserved. The largest part has been destroyed in the fire in the Spanish royal palace in Madrid in 1734 and in the earthquake which hit Lisbon in 1755. It is only thanks to the fact that Rogier published some of his compositions that a part of his oeuvre has come down to us. The two pieces included here demonstrate a shift in style: they are more Venetian than Flemish, and that goes especially for Regina caeli, which is scored for eight voices in two choirs. Here Rogier makes use of the cori spezzati technique, which was a hallmark of the Venetian style. In Cantantibus organis the text is clearly illustrated in the music, and with its lively rhythms it has moved away from the austerity of Gombert and his followers.
The frontispiece of this disc focuses on the mass by the little-known La Hèle, which is interesting in itself, but the programme has more to offer. It is not the first time that a recording is devoted to the Capilla Flamenca and its maestri di capilla, but only Manchicourt and Rogier are relatively well represented on disc. There is still much to be discovered, and this disc is a good contribution. This is the second time I have encountered El Léon de Oro. Previously I have reviewed a disc with music by Guerrero, where the direction of the ensemble was also shared by Peter Phillips and Marco Antonio García de Paz. It is larger than almost any ensemble in the field of renaissance polyphony; I would prefer a smaller number of singers than the 38 that are participating in this recording. That said, the singing is excellent and stylish, especially taking into account that the choir has a wide repertoire and also takes part in symphonic repertoire. Under the guidance of Peter Phillips they are entirely convincing in the music of earlier times.
This disc undoubtedly is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the Spanish Renaissance.
Johan van Veen (© 2024)
Relevant links:
El Léon de Oro