Customer Reviews

Lassus

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'd count this as among the best "classical" albums I've ever heard. The Hilliard Ensemble is inspired in their interpretation and flawless in their execution - David James'countertenor is particularly noteworthy.

The Missa pro defunctis which leads the album is a good piece of music, but the second piece, Prophetiae Sibyllarum is incomparable - complex, ethereal, inspired, and perhaps most of all, timeless. All of this is superbly captured by the Hilliard Ensemble.

Most of my interests lie in 18th century music, but I feel this is a must have for any "classical" and/or choral music lover.

I bought this CD for the Prophetiae Sibyllarum, a work I had never heard before. The Prophecies form a large scale work of Lassus's relatively brief chromatic period. Chromatic means that these pieces do not stay centered around a certain key, like D minor, but rather move rapidly from key to key, an approach to harmony that essentially disappeared from music after this period until Wagner. The chromatic approach fits the texts, which are poems that are Christian but with a strong pagan influence. (It would be an interesting problem to decide whether any of them would be acceptable as an anthem in a Roman Catholic Tridentine Latin mass). But they seem less chromatic than Gesualdo madrigals. I was actually disappointed that they did not sound more exotic. I managed to get a copy of the score, and when a group of us read through some of them, we found them fairly easy to sight-read, because the harmonic transitions are fairly natural to the ear, and like much of Lassus, their tempi are mostly on the slow side (which makes sense for Lassus because he wrote for cathedrals with long reverberation times). On balance, I found the Prophecies less musically inspired than I had hoped. But this is a fine recording of rare music, and I'm glad I own it.

I'm afraid I disagree with Westphal. After listening to the album a dozen or so times, I think it ranks among Hilliard's best. Yes, the performances are pristine and aloof--qualities that make their Gesualdo Tenebrae Responsories (ECM) a marvellous album. There is a place for the dramatisations of, for example, the Concerto Italiano, but for me these autere and musically serious pieces are not that place. The Prophetiae definitely do not lose interest for me, and part of the reason is Hilliard's superb intonation and phrasing. I like the performance of the Requiem (which at least at first glance sounds like the same one) as well as the performance by Bruno Turner and the Pro Cantione Antiqua (DHM), but Hilliard's inclusion of the plainchant intonations is a real plus. There is also good reason to pair the Requiem and the Prophetiae Sybillarum: though not going nearly as far as the Prophetiae, the Requiem does engage in some startling changes of mode and key (for example, near the start of the Offertory). The recorded sound is excellent, though with a fair amount of room reverberation.

I also disagree with the Amazon review. This is one of the finest CDs I've heard in a long time. The vocal intonation is perfect yet not sterile, and the music is soaring and beautiful. I also like the surprisingly chromatic yet consonant Prophetiae (and I also like Gesualdo): it's really interesting to see that composers were experimenting with this kind of tonality over three centuries before "modern" composers.

--Orlandus Lassus--
A composer of the late Renaissance period, Orlandus Lassus was born in 1532. Franco-Flemish in background, there is a legend that he was kidnapped three different times during his boyhood for his exquisite choir voice. Lassus produced over 2,000 works in Latin, Italian, French, and German vocal genres, practically every one known in his time. His versatility is virtually unmatched. Among the 2000 pieces were 530 motets (on religious and secular themes) and over 60 masses. His career was spent in the Low Countries, in Italy, and in Germany, and he traveled extensively throughout other European countries. He died in 1594 one of the most celebrated composers of the age.

--Requiem--
The mass here consists of the classic parts - Responsorium: 'Memento mei Deus', Introitus, Kyrie, Gradulae, Offertorium, Sanctus and Benedictus, Agnus Dei, Communio and an antiphon closing, 'In paradisum'. There are definite pieces here that introduced new standards to the way the requiem is structures in the Renaissance, leading to Baroque times. This is a very good example of a Requiem, with power and strong tones of spirit and joy.

--Prophetiae Sibyllarum--
The piece begins with the item entitled 'Carmina Cromatico', which no doubt refers to the kind of dissonant song that follows throughout this working of the Sibylline prophecies into music. Lassus wrote this piece in his early days as a gift to his patron, and it was not published during his lifetime. It incorporates a kind of compositional technique that Lassus in general did not employ in most of is work. There are twelve motets done in this style, and perhaps Lassus had in mind the dissonance of the pagan prophet in the age of Christendom when composing this piece. In any event, it is unlike most of Lassus' other work, and is a nearly unique offering in this time period, as the inspiration to write in chromatic style faded rather quickly.

--Hilliard Ensemble--
The Hilliard Ensemble was formed in 1974, and have been performing worldwide as well as recording extensively ever since. They have been described as 'the Rolls-Royce of vocal ensembles'; being a consort of only four men, the sound is remarkable. The singers are David James (countertenor), Rogers Covey-Crump, tenor, John Potter, tenor, and Gordon Jones, baritone. Their voices are remarkably well attuned to each other, and there is a solid but not overpowering intensity in their performances.

This is superb work, and a real treat for the listener.

I purchased this CD after hearing it reviewed on NPR. I was very happy with what I got. The music is beautiful, complex, and haunting. Something perfect to listen to when laying in front of a fire on a Saturday evening.

Here we have the greatest vocal ensemble of all time performing some of the greatest music ever written. This is not a choir, it's 4 guys. One person per part. It's rich, intimate, and as close to perfection as you can get.

The Hilliard Ensemble's Lassus is recorded, as you might expect from ECM, with an enveloping atmosphere of space and reverberation. I am not even going to pretend to be knowledgeable about this music by the 16th-century composer Orlando di Lasso; all I can do is say in simple-minded mid-Ohio honesty, "gee, it's really pretty and I really like it." Those familiar with previous recordings by the Hilliard Ensemble already know how disciplined yet expressive their voices sound, and with ECM giving them a warm, rich acoustic space, the end result is sonic and musical joy.

The Hilliard Ensemble really brings this glorious music to life, and you can't do better than Lassus.

My summary is: a very good recording. The Requiem is a great piece. The performance throughout ranges from the very good to the excellent. The only drawback I can cite is that the Prophetiae Sybill., despite its fame, is an unsuccessful piece (although it is exotic, intruiguing and adventurous). The amazon.com reviewer criticized the performance. Perhaps a more dramatic performance would have been more engaging, because the piece sounds like a group of radical modulations of limited melodic and textural interest. BUT ... I would recommend this recording because the Requiem is obviously a masterpiece and the performance is terrific.