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Track(s) taken from CDA67749

Laus tibi, sacra rubens

composer
5vv
author of text
De sacrosancto Christi sanguine qui Brugis veneratur, from Sylvula carminum, non minus docta quam iucunda, Bruges, 1544

Cinquecento
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Recording details: June 2009
Wallfahrtskirche, St Wolfgang bei Weitra, Austria
Produced by Adrian Peacock
Engineered by Markus Wallner
Release date: June 2010
Total duration: 4 minutes 41 seconds

Cover artwork: Portrait of Adrian Willaert. An unknown artist (18th century)
Museo internazionale e biblioteca della musica di Bologna
 

Reviews

‘A dissonant motet on drunkenness and a hymn to the Holy Shroud … are among the treasures here, sung by the accomplished ensemble Cinquecento … a stimulating disc’ (The Observer)

‘A disc which combines one of the finest vocal ensembles in Europe currently at the height of its power with the richly scored and constantly inventive music of Adrian Willaert promises to be a revelation … the singing throughout is superbly blended, nuanced, tuned and expressive’ (Early Music Review)

‘A beautifully conceived and immaculately realised sequence, sung with simple directness by the six male voices of Cinquecento’ (The Guardian)

‘The magnificent Missa Mente tota … a tour de force … the fluidity and flexibilty of Cinquecento's sound means that every melodic line of the work is audible … their placement of chords, too, is absolutely precise, but the precision and suavity never come at the cost of passion—these singers know how to make abstruse polyphony sound genuinely exciting … this is a very fine disc indeed; I suspect that if Willaert could hear it he might think that he'd found his ideal performers’ (International Record Review)
Although Willaert spent a long part of his life as chapel master of the Venetian basilica di San Marco, we know that he visited his native Flanders twice. His first visit, in 1542, left a compositional trace: the five-voice Laus tibi, sacra rubens celebrates the Holy Blood, the relic of which is kept in Bruges at the eponymous chapel. The motet is based on a poem by Stephanus Comes which was published in the collection Sylvula carminum, non minus docta quam iucunda (Bruges, 1544). The text is written in elegiac distichs and offers a brief survey of the history of the Holy Blood, from Christ’s crucifixion to its arrival in Bruges. It is a very expressive poem, both in terms of content and word-sound. In his setting, Willaert intensifies these qualities by effective musical means.

from notes by Katelijne Schiltz © 2010

Willaert fut presque toute sa vie maître de chapelle de la basilique Saint-Marc de Venise, mais nous savons qu’il retourna par deux fois dans ses Flandres natales. Son premier séjour, en 1542, laissa une trace compositionnelle: le Laus tibi, sacra rubens à cinq voix, célébration du saint sang dont la relique est conservée en la chapelle brugeoise du Saint-Sang. Le motet repose sur un poème de Stephanus Comes publié dans le recueil Sylvula carminum, non minus docta quam iucunda (Bruges, 1544). Écrit en distiques élégiaques, ce texte offre un bref survol de l’histoire du saint sang, depuis la crucifixion du Christ jusqu’à son arrivée à Bruges. C’est un poème fort expressif, que ce soit au niveau du contenu ou de l’univers sonore, autant de qualités que Willaert amplifie grâce à d’impressionnantes ressources musicales.

extrait des notes rédigées par Katelijne Schiltz © 2010
Français: Hypérion

Obwohl Willaert den Großteil seines Lebens als maestro di cappella am Markusdom in Venedig verbrachte, ist überliefert, dass er zweimal in das heimatliche Flandern reiste. Sein erster Aufenthalt, der auf 1542 datiert ist, hinterließ kompositorische Spuren: das fünfstimmige Laus tibi, sacra rubens feiert das Heilige Blut, von dem eine Reliquie in der gleichnamigen Kirche in Brügge aufbewahrt wird. Die Motette entstand nach einer Dichtung von Stephanus Comes, die als Teil der Sammlung Sylvula carminum, non minus docta quam iucunda (Brügge 1544) veröffentlicht wurde. Der Text ist in elegischen Distichen verfasst und beschreibt in bündiger Form die Geschichte des Heiligen Blutes von der Kreuzigung Christi bis hin zu seiner Ankunft in Brügge. Es handelt sich dabei um eine besonders ausdrucksvolle Dichtung, sowohl was den Inhalt anbelangt, als auch den Klang der Worte. In seiner Vertonung hebt Willaert diese Eigenschaften durch wirkungsvolle musikalische Stilmittel noch mehr hervor.

aus dem Begleittext von Katelijne Schiltz © 2010
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

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