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Track(s) taken from CDA67183

Tota pulchra es

composer
author of text
Song of Songs; antiphon for Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Binchois Consort, Andrew Kirkman (conductor)
Recording details: January 2000
St Andrew's Church, Toddington, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Tony Faulkner
Release date: September 2001
Total duration: 8 minutes 32 seconds

Cover artwork: Singing Angels. Jan van Eyck (c1389-1441)
[from the left wing of the altarpiece at St Bavo’s Cathedral, Ghent] / Bridgeman Images
 

Reviews

‘This fascinating and compelling CD gives us a rare chance to explore genuine compositions by Josquin alongside several of disputed authorship’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Superb’ (Early Music)
Little known today, to Othmar Luscinius, writing in 1536, Nicolaes Craen was a model of all that was best about the modern style of composition, particularly in his Tota pulchra es: ‘Now Nicolaes Craen (a man, in truth, of outstanding natural qualities), has seemed to me, in his motet Tota pulchra es, to have very successfully ignored the practices of the old musicians: and we shall be able to learn from this how laudably he has moved beyond even the ancient laws.’ For Luscinius, Craen’s ability lay in his method and skill in ‘composing harmonies’, providing a model to be followed by all aspiring composers of his day.

from notes by Andrew Kirkman © 2001

Peu connu aujourd’hui, Nicolaes Craen incarnait aux yeux d’Othmar Luscinius, écrivant en 1536, les meilleurs aspects du style moderne de composition, notamment dans son Tota pulchra es : « Or Nicolaes Craen (homme aux qualités naturelles exceptionnelles, en vérité) me semble, dans son motet Tota pulchra es, avoir parfaitement réussi à s’affranchir des pratiques des musiciens d’autrefois ; et nous pourrons y apprendre comme il fait pour dépasser de louable façon jusqu’aux anciennes lois. » Pour Luscinius, l’art de Craen tenait à la méthode et à l’habileté avec laquelle il « composait des harmonies », proposant un modèle digne d’inspirer tous les apprentis compositeurs de son époque.

extrait des notes rédigées par Andrew Kirkman © 2001
Français: Josée Bégaud

Nicolas Craen, der heute so gut wie unbekannt ist, war für den 1536 schreibenden Othmar Luscinius ein Paradebeispiel für alles, was am damals modernen Kompositionsstil lobenswert war, insbesondere in seinem Tota pulchra es: „Nun scheint mir Nicolaes Craen (ein Mann von wahrhaft vorzüglichen Anlagen) in seiner Motette Tota pulchra es ausnehmend erfolgreich die Bräuche der alten Musiker mißachtet zu haben: Und daraus können wir lernen, wie lobenswert er sich selbst über die Gesetze des Altertums erhoben hat.“ Für Luscinius war Craens Können in seiner Methodik und Befähigung zum Setzen von Harmonien begründet, die ein Vorbild für alle angehenden Komponisten seiner Zeit böten.

aus dem Begleittext von Andrew Kirkman © 2001
Deutsch: Anne Steeb/Bernd Müller

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