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Track(s) taken from CDA68076

Miserere nostri

composer
7vv MMTTBarBB; Cantiones, quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur, 1575
author of text
Psalm 122

The Cardinall's Musick, Andrew Carwood (conductor)
Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
CD-Quality:
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Recording details: November 2013
Fitzalan Chapel, Arundel Castle, United Kingdom
Produced by Jonathan Freeman-Attwood
Engineered by Martin Haskell & Iestyn Rees
Release date: January 2015
Total duration: 2 minutes 24 seconds

Cover artwork: A young lady aged 21 (possibly Helena Snakenborg, later Marchioness of Northampton) (1569).
16th-century British School / © Tate Gallery, London
 

Other recordings available for download

The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips (conductor)
Chapelle du Roi, Alistair Dixon (conductor)
The Rodolfus Choir, Ralph Allwood (conductor)
Jesus College Choir Cambridge, Mark Williams (conductor)

Reviews

‘This very enjoyable series continues its sequence of motets and hymns, with a Mass as the centrepiece—this time the setting for four voices, the most direct and pared down of Tallis's output … The Cardinall's Musick give a very well-judged account of one of Tallis's most economical works … for the rest, there are splendid performances here: with O salutaris hostia, Laudate Dominum and Euge caeli porta the composer is in his essential idiom, to which The Cardinall's Musick respond with poise and precision, and they are equally at home in the settings from Archbishop Parker's Psalter, where a forthright unanimity is required. A very welcome issue, then; and it's always nice to known that there's more to come’ (Gramophone)

‘The Cardinall's Musick is vastly experienced in English repertory of the sixteenth century, and this is its fourth disc devoted entirely to Thomas Tallis … the wonderful 'Ave, rosa sine spinis' with its missing sections in the cantus part [is] admirably reconstructed here by Nick Sandon’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More
PERFORMANCE
RECORDING

‘Not only are the performances unimpeachable in intonation and general ensemble discipline, but they unfold with an impressive coherence of phrasing that does not rely on the imposition of artificial dynamic shadings. They are performances that are engaging but not either excessively subjective or coldly dispassionate. Listeners who have been collecting the series will not be disappointed’ (American Record Guide)

‘As in the first three issues, the quality continues—if you are collecting, no time to stop!’ (Audiophile Audition, USA)» More

‘Well-judged, vigorous singing flares up in the Gloria from the Mass for Four Voices. In that work, incredibly stellar chordal writing is intelligently balanced: a clear hierarchy in chordal notes is reflected in the tuning and volume of each note’ (Limelight, Australia)» More

‘As always with Hyperion the notes contribute considerably to the overall excellence … the new recording can hold its head high in [other labels'] company. Carwood takes all but the Sanctus and Benedictus faster than Summerly without sounding at all hurried … Even if you already have the complete Signum/Brilliant Classics set or many of the individual albums from it, the new Hyperion and its predecessors should be on your wish list. The four volumes issued to date cover almost half of Tallis’s extant output. Roll on the rest’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘The music is … very fine and full of interest. The singing is as excellent as we’ve come to expect from this ensemble. The ambience of the Fitzalan Chapel in Arundel Castle and the singing itself has been beautifully captured in the recorded sound’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘The Cardinall's Musick deliver a crystalline purity and direct aural sound from the 13 singers on this recording … an exemplary recording’ (The Toronto Early Music Newsletter, Canada)» More

«Dans la clarté des intentions, l'assurance des phrasés, cette lecture apparait efficace et rend pleinement justice à chacun des styles représentés que Thomas Tallis a pratiqués avec un égal génie» (Classica, France)» More

Taken from the Cantiones sacrae of 1575, the publication which Tallis undertook jointly with his friend William Byrd, the exquisite canonic Miserere nostri uses the same scoring as the Missa Puer natus est nobis and Suscipe quaeso Domine (which might imply it was written with Philip II’s Chapel Royal in mind) and it follows a tradition found on the Continent of complex canonic writing. The two highest voices are in canon at the unison separated by just one beat. Four other voices are involved in this technical tour de force. The discantus and contra tenor parts have the same music at the same pitch but the notes in the contra tenor part are four times longer. The two bassus parts are also in canon at the unison with the discantus part but ‘per Arsin et Thesin’ which means that for every upward interval in the tenor part, the basses have a downward interval and vice versa. In bassus I the notes are eight times longer than in the discantus part, and in bassus II the note values are doubled. There is one free voice!

from notes by Andrew Carwood © 2015

Emprunté aux Cantiones sacrae de 1575, que Tallis coédita avec son ami William Byrd, l’exquis Miserere nostri canonique, qui utilise la même distribution que la Missa Puer natus est nobis et Suscipe quaeso Domine (il pourrait donc avoir été écrit en pensant à la Chapelle royale de Philippe II), suit une tradition d’écriture canonique complexe pratiquée sur le continent. Les deux voix les plus aiguës sont en canon à l’unisson, séparées par un seul temps. Quatres autres voix sont impliquées dans ce tour de force technique. Les parties de discantus et de contra tenor présentent la même musique, à la même hauteur de son mais avec, pour le contra tenor, des notes quatre fois plus longues. Les deux parties de basse sont également en canon à l’unisson avec le discantus, mais «per Arsin et Thesin» (pour chaque intervalle ascendant au tenor, les basses ont un intervalle descendant et vice-versa). Au bassus I, les notes sont huit fois plus longues qu’au discantus; au bassus II, les valeurs de note sont doublées. Il y a une voix libre!

extrait des notes rédigées par Andrew Carwood © 2015
Français: Hypérion

Das exquisite kanonische Miserere nostri (Cantiones sacrae, 1575) hat dieselbe Anlage wie die Missa Puer natus est nobis und Suscipe quaeso Domine (was ein Hinweis darauf sein könnte, dass es für die Chapel Royal von Philipp II. entstanden war) und folgt einer Tradition des komplexen Kanons, die vom europäischen Kontinent stammte. Die zwei Oberstimmen erklingen im Einklangskanon und sind nur einen Schlag voneinander entfernt. Dieser technischen Glanzleistung treten noch vier weitere Stimmen hinzu. Die Discantus- und die Contratenor-Stimme haben dieselbe Musik in derselben Tonlage, doch sind die Notenwerte der Contratenor-Stimme viermal länger. Die beiden Bass-Stimmen stehen ebenfalls im Einklangskanon mit der Discantus-Stimme, sind jedoch „per Arsin et Thesin“ gesetzt, was bedeutet, dass wenn die Tenorstimme ein aufwärts gerichtetes Intervall singt, die Bässe ein abwärts gerichtetes Intervall haben, und umgekehrt. Im Bassus I sind die Notenwerte achtmal länger als in der Discantus-Stimme, und im Bassus II sind die Notenwerte verdoppelt. Es gibt eine freie Stimme!

aus dem Begleittext von Andrew Carwood © 2015
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

Il Miserere nostri, a 7 vv., è tecnicamente un tour de force, raro in Tallis. Esso appartiene—un po’ distanziato, giacché non ha cantus planus—alla tradizione inglese dell’intonazioni canoniche del Miserere, pure dimostrazioni di perizia tecnica. E’ un canone doppio a 6 vv. Sur un tenor libero, cioè impiega 2 temi diversi non preesistenti, dei quali uno è cantato dai 2 means e l’altro è ripartito tra le 4 voci restanti. I 2 means eseguono un normale canone rigido a distanza di 4 battute, facilmente percepibile. Al countertenor I è affidata una melodia cantata anche dall’altre 3 vv. Che attaccano simultaneamente: una (il countertenor II) in aumentazione doppia, un’altra (il basso II) in imitazione inversa ed in aumentazione semplice, la terza (il basso I) in imitazione inversa ed in aumentazione tripla. La composizione è anche un omaggio efficacissimo alla potenza immaginativa di Tallis.

Peter Phillips © 1994
Italiano: Bruno Meini

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