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Track(s) taken from CDA67694

Gaude et laetare, Ferrariensis civitas

composer
6vv; first performed in Ferrara Cathedral on 9 March 1539
author of text
in honour of Ippolito II d'Este (1509-1572)

The Brabant Ensemble, Stephen Rice (conductor)
Recording details: September 2007
Merton College Chapel, Oxford, United Kingdom
Produced by Jeremy Summerly
Engineered by Justin Lowe
Release date: September 2008
Total duration: 6 minutes 11 seconds

Cover artwork: Virgin Annunciate (1450/5). Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro) (c1387-1455)
Detroit Institute of Arts, USA, Bequest of Eleanor Clay Ford / Bridgeman Images
 

Reviews

‘This is The Brabant Ensemble at their most vigorous and confident … in a fast-growing discography, this is a valuable addition’ (Gramophone)

‘Rice and his ensemble reveal a composer of warmth and passion who could also write resplendently joyful music when required … the whole recital is marked by an extraordinary unanimity of ensemble, security of intonation and intelligence that surpass all rivals in the repertory. In short, this is a valuable and exquisitely sung addition to the Morales discography’ (International Record Review)

‘Music of astonishing beauty and rapt polyphonic intensity, which the voices of the Brabant Ensemble unfold with perfect poise’ (The Guardian)

‘The Magnficat setting glows with power, and the three Lamentations have a grave beauty impossible to resist with the radiant tone and golden blend of Stephen Rice's Brabant Ensemble. The wise selection focuses on material underexposed elsewhere’ (The Times)

‘The young Oxford choir turns its immaculate ensemble, lucid diction and faultless tuning to the Spanish composer Morales. His Lamentations flow with exquisite sadness … the lines blend like threads in a tapestry … the selection of motets is rich with dynamic contrast, expressivity and downright beautiful singing’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘This first-rate recording makes an important contribution not only for its exceptional performances, but in its thoughtful programming … essential’ (Classics Today)
Many of Morales’s motets employ a structural device such as cantus firmus, canon or ostinato. One such is the state motet Gaude et laetare, Ferrariensis civitas, performed in Ferrara Cathedral on Sunday 9 March 1539 to celebrate the award of a cardinal’s hat to Ippolito II d’Este, younger brother of the then Duke of Ferrara, Ercole II. Here the first alto part sings the same text throughout: ‘I shall magnify your name for ever’, which forms the last line of the main motet text. As is common for Morales, the ostinato is presented at two pitches a fifth apart, alternating between C and G in the original notation; it appears five times in the first half of the piece and six in the second, with a (perhaps inaudible) intensifying effect of reducing the number of bars’ rest between statements such that one ostinato takes sixteen bars in the first half and fifteen in the second.

from notes by Stephen Rice © 2008

Dans ses motets, Morales recourut souvent à des procédés structurels comme le cantus firmus, le canon ou l’ostinato—ainsi dans le motet cérémoniel Gaude et laetare, Ferrariensis civitas, exécuté le dimanche 9 mars 1539 en la cathédrale de Ferrare pour célébrer l’élévation au cardinalat d’Ippolito II d’Este (frère cadet d’Ercole II, alors duc de Ferrare). Ici, la première partie d’alto chante les mêmes mots de bout en bout, «Je magnifierai ton nom à jamais», qui constituent le dernier vers du texte principal. Comme souvent chez Morales, l’ostinato apparaît à deux hauteurs de son distantes d’une quinte, alternant entre ut et sol dans la notation originale; il survient cinq fois dans la première moitié de l’œuvre et six dans la seconde, avec un effet intensificateur (peut-être inaudible) de réduction du nombre de silences par mesure entre les énonciations, si bien qu’un ostinato prend seize mesures dans la première moitié et quinze dans la seconde.

extrait des notes rédigées par Stephen Rice © 2008
Français: Hyperion Records Ltd

Viele von Morales’ Motetten verwenden ein strukturelles Mittel wie Cantus firmus, Kanon oder Ostinato. Zu diesen gehört die Staatsmotette Gaude et laetare, Ferrariensis civitas, die am Sonntag, den 9. März 1539 in der Kathedrale von Ferrara zur Feier der Verleihung eines Kardinalshuts an Ippolito II. d’Este, dem jüngeren Bruder des damaligen Herzogs von Ferrara, Ercole II., aufgeführt wurde. Der erste Alt singt hier durchweg den gleichen Text, die letzte Zeile des Motetten-Haupttextes „Ich werde deinen Namen auf ewig verherrlichen“. Wie üblich für Morales wird das Ostinato in zwei Tonhöhen, um eine Quinte versetzt (in der Originalnotation zwischen C und G wechselnd), präsentiert. In der ersten Hälfte des Stückes erscheint es fünf Mal und in der zweiten sechs Mal; mit (womöglich unhörbarer) intensivierender Wirkung durch die Reduktion der Anzahl der Pausentakte zwischen seinen Wiederholungen, so dass ein Ostinato in der ersten Hälfte 16 Takte dauert und nur 15 in der zweiten.

aus dem Begleittext von Stephen Rice © 2008
Deutsch: Renate Wendel

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