Three Renaissance Recordings: Secular

 

The musicians of La Rossignol write of their impetus to record this album: "At the and of a concert with music and dances of the Italian Renaissance, given in a large capital city abroad, some illustrious ladies approached us and told us that, after what they had seen and heard, they had felt ''...a great desire to visit Italy to see the places where this music had been conceived, sung, played and danced...'' By itself, this motivation could justify the effort needed to record an album, quite apart from the history, the philology, the study of old instruments and all the rest."           La Rossignol is an ensemble that specializes in Early music and dance. Their performances are exciting and entertaining, and above all true to the performance practices of pre-classical musicmaking.

• Cara, Marchetto (c.1465-1525)—Non è tempo d’aspettare
• Caroso, Fabritio (c.1527-c.1605)—Chiara stella; Spagnoletta
• Ebreo da Pesaro, Guglielmo (c.1425-80)—Cupido
• Gastoldi, Giovanni Giacomo (c.1554-1609)—Il ballerino
• Gervaise, Claude (fl.1540-60)—Pavane d’Angleterre
• Mainerio, Giorgio (c.1535-82)—La Parma; Putta ner
• Negri, Cesare (c.1536-a.1604)—Alemana d’amore; So ben mi chi ha bon tempo
• Phalèse, Pierre (c.1507-c.1574)—Almande; gavotte
• Piacenza, Domenico da (c.1400-c.1470)—Fortunosa
• Tromboncino, Bartolomeo (1470-after 1534)—Su su leva alza le ciglia 

 

The enchanting pieces for recorder and period instruments on the CD “Tabarinades” invite the imagination to picture the town square in seventeenth-century Paris, with crowds passing by and encountering the sport and song of the entertainment troupe. Soon the harangue begins, exhorting the crowd to buy the elixirs and tonics of the charlatans, while they enjoy the jokes and pranks playing on the stage in front of them.

There is much symbolism and rich appeal for the scene created, inviting the listener to the commedia della arte of half a millennium ago. The perky, impish tunes are re-imagined and performed by Les Boreades under the direction of creator Francis Colpron. The derivation of the names Tabarinades and Les Boreades are an enticement to acquire this CD just to learn about the clever naming of the collection and performers.

What was the world like in the century 1550-1650, the time represented by the compositions heard here? Elizabeth I came to power; the Spanish Armada sailed and was defeated; Cervantes and Shakespeare wrote their masterpieces; Magellan, Decartes, and Galileo made the universe more understandable and accessible. Paris was a new city, and the careers of the Tabarin players prospered during this age. Drama began its renewal, and music expanded into the public arena.

Francis Colpron has for a score of years been polishing and performing this very appealing music, and has promulgated it to the world on period instruments. His international teaching, awards, and performances assure his place among world-famous achievers. Even his picture promises a personality full of fun and enjoyment. Twenty-first century Montreal is a time warp away from 17th-century Paris. But Mr. Colpron and Les Boreades have performed and rejuvenated this music in their home city and internationally, winning grants and awards for their work.

These pieces are “street music” and “court music” for fun, satire, and enjoyment; while some are quite lovely, they are not the serious music of Tallis, Schutz, and Frescobaldi. This collection will be a favorite for listening, for education in period music, for learners of period instruments, or even for background during a party.  

 

Alfonso Ferrabosco the Younger, viol player at the court of Elizabeth I and Charles I, was the most innovative and influential composer of viol consort music of his generation. Following the steps of his father, composer Alfonso Ferrabosco the Elder, he continued the specifically English « In Nomine » tradition for viol consort into the seventeenth century while adding his own special touch in the « In Nomine through all parts » in using the cantus firmus in all voices with various rhythms and transpositions. His greatest achievement was the development of an imitative counterpoint perfectly adapted to the viol. The particular character of Ferrabosco's music was determined by his love for architecture and symmetrical forms which were integrated in all possible ways into his Fantasies: flexible motives, augmentations and diminutions of themes and a clear harmonic structure.

 

Fantasia No.2 à 6 (MB 81/30) [4:23]
Fantasia No.15 à 4 (MB 62/15) [2:00]
Pavan No.2 on Seven Notes à 5 (MB 81/7) [4:48]
Almaine No.10 à 5 (MB 81/24) [2:03]
Galliard for two viols in the first tuning [3:23]
Almain for two lyra viols in the first tuning [2:40]
Fantasia No.9 à 4 (MB 62/9) [3:18]
Fantasia No.13 à 4 (MB 62/13) [3:07]
In Nomine No.1 à 5 (MB 81/3) [3:01]
A Pavin for three viols in the second tuning [4:42]
Almain for one lyra viol [3:54]
Coranto for one lyra viol [1:46]
Fantasia No.4 à 6 (MB 81/32) [3:29]
Ut re mi fa sol la – La sol fa mi re ut à 5 (MB 81/2a & b) [7:38]
Fantasia à 4 (MB 62 App. / VdGS No.24) [2:13]
Fantasia No.6 à 6 (MB 81/34) [3:18]
A Fancie for three viols in the third tuning [2:25]
Fantasia No.11 à 4 (MB 62/11) [2:49]
In Nomine No.3: Through All Parts à 6 (MB 81/28) [4:54]
Prelude for one lyra viol [1:28]
Pavin for one lyra viol [5:12]
Fantasia on the Hexachord à 6 (MB 81/25) [3:47]