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Track(s) taken from CDA67933

Nesciens mater

composer
8vv; SSAATTBB
author of text
Antiphon during Christmastide

The Brabant Ensemble, Stephen Rice (conductor)
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CD-Quality:
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Recording details: August 2011
The Church of St Michael and All Angels, Summertown, Oxford, United Kingdom
Produced by Antony Pitts
Engineered by Justin Lowe
Release date: June 2012
Total duration: 5 minutes 37 seconds

Cover artwork: Christ's Charge to Peter. Raphael (1483-1520)
Victoria & Albert Museum, London / Bridgeman Images
 

Other recordings available for download

The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips (conductor)
The London Oratory Schola Cantorum, Charles Cole (conductor)
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers (conductor)
The Monteverdi Choir, Sir John Eliot Gardiner (conductor)
Voces 8
Armonico Consort, Christopher Monks (conductor)

Reviews

‘This gorgeous album presents all the works for eight voices which are certainly attributable to Mouton, plus one for five and two for four voices … these pieces are refreshingly airy and transparent. Mouton's exquisite music and The Brabant Ensemble's graceful performances are well-served by Antony Pitts' production and the acoustic of St Michael and All Angels, Oxford … highly recommended’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘This outstanding disc by the youthful Brabant Ensemble, accomplished specialists in this repertoire … the Brabant's singing throughout is polished, flexible, lean and—exactly what you want here—transcendent’ (The Observer)

‘Mouton is given due attention and polish in these performances by The Brabant Ensemble. Such ingeniously structured pieces as the motet Nesciens mater are impressive in their richness of texture, and the main work, the Missa Tu es Petrus, deploys the voices in expressively fluent counterpoint’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘The lucidity of both The Brabant Ensemble's singing and Rice's direction is hugely accomplished … [Missa Tu es Petrus is] a work of radiance and clarity … strikingly well sung … Hyperion is still setting the standard in this infinitely rewarding repertory’ (International Record Review)
Nesciens mater is renowned for combining one of the most ingenious canonic structures possible with complete musical mastery. The eight voices comprise a canon 8 ex 4, at the upper fifth and a distance of two breves: within this strict constraint, the composer achieves an enviable variety not only of harmony, but also of counterpoint, texture, and speed of harmonic motion, creating a musical structure that fully deserves its reputation as one of the finest masterpieces of the sixteenth century.

from notes by Stephen Rice © 2012

Nesciens mater doit sa renommée au fait qu’il marie l’une des plus ingénieuses structures canoniques possibles à une totale maîtrise musicale. Les huit voix comprennent un canon 8 ex 4, à la quinte supérieure et à deux brèves de distance: au sein de cette contrainte stricte, le compositeur atteint à une enviable diversité d’harmonie, mais aussi de contrepoint, de texture et de vitesse de mouvement harmonique, créant une structure musicale qui justifie pleinement la réputation de cette pièce, l’un des plus beaux chefs-d’œuvre du XVIe siècle.

extrait des notes rédigées par Stephen Rice © 2012
Français: Hypérion

Nesciens mater ist bemerkenswert, da hier eine der raffiniertesten kanonischen Strukturen überhaupt mit absoluter musikalischer Meisterhaftigkeit verbunden ist. Die acht Stimmen umfassen einen Oberquintkanon 8 ex 4 mit einem Einsatzabstand von zwei Breven (vier Stimmen beginnen und werden nach zwei Breven eine Quinte höher von vier weiteren Stimmen imitiert, Anm. d. Ü.): innerhalb dieses engen Rahmens gelingt es dem Komponisten, sowohl den harmonischen Ausdruck als auch Kontrapunkt, Textur und Tempo der harmonischen Bewegung mit einer beneidenswerten Vielfältigkeit zu gestalten. Daraus ergibt sich eine musikalische Struktur, die völlig zu Recht eines der größten Meisterwerke des 16. Jahrhunderts genannt wird.

aus dem Begleittext von Stephen Rice © 2012
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

Other albums featuring this work

Christmas Music from Medieval and Renaissance Europe
CDA66263
Mouton: Missa Dictes moy toutes voz pensées
Studio Master: CDGIM047Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
Noël
Studio Master: SIGCD754Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
Pilgrimage to Santiago
SDG701Download only
Sacred treasures of Christmas
Studio Master: CDA68358Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
Voces 8 Christmas
Studio Master: SIGCD291Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
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