Customer Reviews

Magnificats 5-8

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--Nicholas Gombert--

Like many of his generation, details of his life are somewhat hard to come by - it is believed Gombert was born in 1490 in southern Flanders. He probably studied with the great composer Josquin during his retirement in the years leading up to 1520. Employed by emperor Charles V as a singer in his court chapel in 1526, he later became master of the boys for the royal chapel. He traveled with the emperor, and eventually was appointed chorus master at Tournai, and probably he spent much of his life there after 1534.

Records indicate Gombert was convicted of molesting a boy and sentenced to hard labor; later pardoned, he returned to Tournai by the 1550s (when his Magnificat settings were published). By 1561, he was dead, but it is not certain exactly when that happened, either.

--Magnificats 5-8--

It is said that Gombert wrote the eight Magnificat settings (four of which are on this disc, and four of which are on a companion disc) as an offering to the emperor to gain his favour; Charles V was apparently so moved by them, he granted Gombert's release. Gombert was highly influenced by Josquin, but is rather more fond of dissonance than he. Gombert is a strong link in the chain of composers between Josquin and the later, great Palestrina. Strong polyphony is present in the Magnificat, traditional pieces of liturgy derived from the Song of Mary, the prayer of the Blessed Virgin Mary after the Annunciation.

There is variety as the verses in the Magnificats vary - even verses in polyphonic, odd verses in chant. There is also a momentary clash or dissonance at the end of a cadence, intentionally, and that can be heard in this recording.

All of these pieces are glorious complex polyphonic compositions of extraordinary power and grace. Taken as a set, they make a wonderful snapshot of Roman Catholic sensibility of the time, and greatly representative of the state of liturgical/religious music of the time.

This CD includes antiphonal pieces between the Magnificat settings. These give the tones upon which each Magnificat is based.

--The Tallis Scholars-

The Tallis Scholars are a group dedicated to the performance and preservation of the best of this type of music. A choral group of exceptional ability, I have been privileged to see them many times in public, and at almost every performance, their work is stunning and delivered with near-flawless grace. Directed by Peter Phillips, the group consists of a small number of male and female singers who have trained themselves well to their task.

This recording deserves more than five stars; it deserves a place on the shelf of anyone who loves choral music, liturgical music or Gregorian chant, classical music generally, or religious music. This particular recording was made during 2002 in the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Salle, Norfolk, one the Tallis Scholars' regular recording sites.

When listening, fair warning: prepare to be moved.

On the stunning qualities of Gombert's masterly set of eight Magnificats, and of this recording by the Tallis Scholars, I would refer customers first of all to Kurt Messick's excellent review. I've also posted a review of the companion disc containing Magnificats 1-4 Gombert: Magnificats 1-4, commenting on the set as a whole. But this second volume, covering nos. 5-8, also deserves a few lines to itself. The last work recorded here, Magnificat 8 or 'Octavi toni', is the setting which has tended to appear most often in other recordings and concerts. And deservedly so, because it is a truly marvellous work, its simple but uplifting initial chant motif generating the soaring melodic lines that pervade Gombert's glorious polyphony throughout the piece. But no. 5 is another of my favourites here - for, as I've no doubt other listeners will find, it's difficult to maintain a genuinely short list of your favourite Magnificats once you get to know all of these wonderful pieces.

On both these discs, each Magnificat setting is introduced by the chant on which the principal motif is based - which makes recognition of each work, and familiarisation with its polyphonic development, a lot easier. The four works on each disc are also divided by plainsong antiphons, which not only are liturgically appropriate but add variety and a welcome change of pace when you are listening to the whole disc or series. A couple of reviewers in various places have mentioned that they find it a bit too much to listen to eight Magnificats all at once, and prefer to hear them one at a time. Personally, I can happily take them either way. Listening to both discs from beginning to end is an intense, deeply absorbing experience; you can be making continual and fascinating comparisons, or else just get carried away. If I were a significant musician instead of an ordinary bloke, I would love to prove it by staging a performance of the whole bunch of eight in a row. Would the concentrated wealth of great music prove too oppressive? Surely no more than in Monteverdi's Vespers, the B minor Mass or Beethoven's 9th, let alone a few hours of Wagner? On the other hand, I also love to select and listen to one work at a time. For some reason, I find it wonderful music for driving to - a trip to the shops, stick in a Magnificat, and by the time I get home I'm feeling quite exhilarated and, I'm told, wearing a silly grin on my face.

Grins apart, though, it's also worth noting that these eight Gombert marvels are also available as part of vol. 3 in the Tallis Scholars' series of reissues of their finest recordings, together with works by Josquin, Palestrina and John Browne: Sacred Music in the Renaissance, Vol. 3 - and at a very fair price. Finally, I've been listening to these Gombert recordings for quite a few years now, and I've always known how hard it was going to be to write a review and to find adequate words to express the brilliance, beauty and intensity of these great renaissance masterpieces. But the performances by Peter Phillips and the Tallis Scholars achieve this far better than any words can - so I would simply urge you once more, early-music fans, to treat yourselves to these wonderful works.