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The King’s Singers: Renaissance—The Music of Josquin Desprez

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Program: #94-21   Air Date: May 23, 1994

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NOTE: All of the music on this program is from the recording Renaissance: Josquin Desprez, featuring The King’s Singers. Two of the Singers, Bob Chilcott and Bruce Russell, were our guests for this program. RCA Victor Red Seal CD 09026-61814-2.

Preservation of this program is made possible by a generous grant by David Hamel.

From Fr. Jerome Weber, Fanfare:  This program of five motets and sixteen chansons is presented as a collection of the composer's six-part works. In fact, besides its acknowledged omission of Praeter rerum seriem, it ignores ten more six-part motets in the Smijers edition, of which The New Grove works-list downgrades four to the doubtful category (the others have more or less claim to authenticity, a big debate among Josquin scholars). On the other hand, only nine of the chansons are six-voice pieces, and one of those is doubtful. 


The King's Singers, who have recently moved to their new label, offer music more rarefied than their usual popular collections, demonstrating an affinity with other Oxbridge graduates who currently dominate the English early-music scene. The six male voices are nicely balanced, as usual, and their idiomatic interpretations are quite satisfactory. The five-voiced lament for Ockeghem and the four-voiced Mille regretz are among the more familiar items, while O virgo prudentissima seems to be a first recording. The sound is clear, the notes by David Fallows are useful, and texts come with translation. This is a good addition to the Josquin shelf, hardly too crowded anyway.

  1. Benedicta es Josquin Desprez 6:16
  2. Vous l'arez s'il vous plaist Josquin Desprez 1:41
  3. Vous ne l'arez pas Josquin Desprez 1:43
  4. A la Mort - Monstra Josquin Desprez 1:35
  5. O Virgo Virginum Josquin Desprez 5:59
  6. Nymphes nappees Josquin Desprez 3:07
  7. En l'ombre d'un buissonet Josquin Desprez 1:35
  8. Regretz sans fin Josquin Desprez 6:47
  9. Allegez moi Josquin Desprez 1:21
  10. Absolve quesumus Josquin Desprez 3:41
  11. Pour souhaitter Josquin Desprez 1:37
  12. Mille regretz Josquin Desprez 1:48
  13. Si congié prens Josquin Desprez 3:05
  14. Ce Povre - Pauper Sum Ego Josquin Desprez 1:31
  15. O Virgo Prudentissima Josquin Desprez 8:03
  16. Petite camusette Josquin Desprez 1:05
  17. Nymphes des boys Josquin Desprez 5:31
  18. A l'ombre d'un buissonet Josquin Desprez 1:47
  19. Basiés moy Josquin Desprez 1:32
  20. Basiés moy Josquin Desprez 1:45
  21. Pater noster Josquin Desprez 7:38
 
 

Composer Info

Josquin Desprez

CD Info

RCA Victor Red Seal CD 09026-61814-2

Note: The contact information in this episode may be out-of-date. You can contact us at this current link.

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