Search - Johannes Ockeghem :: Ockeghem: Missa "De plus en plus"; Chansons

A truly remarkable album

Boileau0663 | Tournai, Belgique | 01/05/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This long neglected cd is one of the favorites in my Renaissance collection.
It comprises two parts: the mass, with the traditional pieces (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus) and six profane love songs in Old French and Italian. The singers are the American (?) Orlando Consort, four men with outstanding voices.What makes this recording truly remarkable is the second part, in which the countertenors (male altos) play a prominent role.
The main singing technique is the highly complex and refined canon: while the countertenor sings the couplets, the other singers simultaneously sing the refrain, weaving together a tapestry of sound that is truly enthralling in its melodic richness and rhythm.The highlight of this recording is the last piece, a Great Lament for the death of Ockeghem's teacher: Burgundian composer Jean Binchois. This song, which belongs more to the Middle Ages than the Renaissance in character, is an absolute masterwork which makes Desprez's own lament for the death of Ockeghem sound mediocre indeed. It is both immensely sorrowful and immensely dignified, a combination of sentiments we rarely, if ever, encounter in our own age, in which people tend to express their grief in a most uncivilized way.The only defect that I could find in this marvelous performance is the strange pronunciation of the Latin pieces. The oo sound of say, "agnus" is pronounced like an i in English "limp". My guess is that this is a reconstruction of the French pronunciation of ecclesiatical Latin at the time but I could find no confirmation in the accompanying booklet. This is a long cd with about one hour of delightful music. The booklet contains all the lyrics and their translation into German,(modern)French and English."

Another Orlando Consort gem

J.A. Smithers | 10/17/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Agreed with NorthernLights' review above -- while the mass (Missa De plus en plus) is beautiful, the highlight of this album is the final track, the lament -- ten minutes of melancholy bliss.



Another example of "unusual" pronunciation is in the 'Gloria in Excelsis Deo' which starts out the Gloria movement of the mass: the final 's' in 'Excelsis' is not pronounced, reminiscent of (modern) French.



As in all their work, the Orlandos do a superb job across the board -- tuning, timing, phrasing, etc.



One correction: the Orlandos are all Brits, not American."