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Track(s) taken from CDA67604

Peccantem me quotidie

composer
4vv
author of text
Seventh Respond at Matins for the Dead

The Brabant Ensemble, Stephen Rice (conductor)
Recording details: September 2005
Merton College Chapel, Oxford, United Kingdom
Produced by Jeremy Summerly
Engineered by Justin Lowe
Release date: April 2007
Total duration: 7 minutes 8 seconds
 

Reviews

‘A must-have disc from The Brabant Ensemble … first-rate music stirs this young ensemble to their finest disc yet’ (Gramophone)

‘This well-selected collection places Manchicourt firmly on the musical map. The centrepiece of the recording, the Cuidez vous mass, is an inspired choice. From the clamorous lines of the opening Kyrie with their spicy harmonic clashes, through the superbly portrayed dramas of the Credo, and into the quieter realms of the Sanctus and Agnus Dei, this choir is never less than energised and sure-footed … moving and compelling’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘The brilliant Easter exultation of Regina caeli is created by Manchicourt's ingenious combination of intricate canonic writing with exciting syncopated rhythms … the Brabant Ensemble's committed and responsive performances’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘I was amazed … there is really excellent music here’ (Early Music Review)

‘Though only a few recordings of Manchicourt's music have appeared over the past decade or so, this one is a significant addition … for its contrasting interpretive aesthetic’ (American Record Guide)

‘From the ecstatic opening bars of the Regina caeli, which begins the recital, to the more austere grandeur of Manchicourt’s only setting of the Magnificat, with which it closes, there is not a less than thrilling moment on the whole disc. Non-experts will scarcely be aware of the hyper-refined contrapuntal techniques, daring use of dissonance and cross-relations, interspersed with passages of telling homophony; they will simply be swept along by the sheer aural brilliance of Manchicourt’s polyphony. With only two previous recordings to its name, The Brabant Ensemble has already established itself as perhaps England’s most accomplished interpreter of Renaissance sacred music. Its intelligent phrasing, purity of vocal production and well-judged use of pause and inflexion are simply astonishing. Its vivid presentation of Manchicourt’s shimmering, flamboyant polyphony is as moving as it is intellectually stimulating’ (International Record Review)

‘The music is typical of the high Renaissance, influenced by Josquin and close to the style of Gombert; the Brabant performances all have a wonderful fluency and rhythmic clarity’ (The Guardian)

‘The more I hear of Manchicourt's music the more impressed I am … the Brabant Ensemble here sports a confidence and sureness of purpose which is indispensable in music as meaty and ambitious as this’ (Goldberg)

‘Stephen Rice's superbly talented vocal ensemble features many members of the same family, and there's a great harmony, in all senses, about its work. Here, the Brabant does the 16th-century composer Manchicourt proud’ (FirstPost.com)

‘Recorded at Merton College, Oxford by eager, fresh young voices, singing full throatedly with a forward impetus, it has made for delightful listening. Recommended strongly’ (MusicalPointers.co.uk)
Manchicourt’s setting of Peccantem me quotidie, for four voices, is distinguished by its expressive use of homophony, a somewhat infrequent technique in the 1530s. The piece begins with a chordal statement of the opening line, ‘Sinning every day’, before reverting to Manchicourt’s more usual imitative writing. Extensive rising lines at ‘nulla est redemptio’ (‘there is no redemption’) build towards the climactic phrase ‘Miserere mei, Domine’ (‘Have mercy on me, Lord’), which is again homophonic, and set apart from the preceding line by a general pause.

from notes by Stephen Rice © 2007

Le Peccantem me quotidie à quatre voix de Manchicourt se distingue par son usage expressif de l’homophonie, une technique assez rare dans les années 1530. La pièce commence par énoncer en accords le verset liminaire, «Péchant chaque jour», avant de retrouver l’écriture imitative, plus habituelle, de Manchicourt. À «nulla est redemptio» («il n’y a pas de rédemption»), d’extensives lignes ascendantes montent vers la phrase paroxystique «Miserere mei, Domine» («Prends pitié de moi, Seigneur»), de nouveau homophonique, et séparée du verset précédent par une pause générale.

extrait des notes rédigées par Stephen Rice © 2007
Français: Hyperion Records Ltd

Manchicourts Vertonung von Peccantem me quotidie für vier Stimmen zeichnet sich durch den expressiven Gebrauch von Homophonie aus, in den 1530er Jahren eine eher seltene Technik. Das Stück beginnt mit einer akkordischen Wiedergabe der Anfangszeile „Da ich jeden Tag sündige“ bevor Manchicourt zu seiner üblicheren imitativen Schreibweise zurückkehrt. Expansiv aufsteigende Melodielinien auf „nulla est redemptio“ („es gibt keine Erlösung“) steigern sich stetig bis sie in der Phrase „Miserere mei, Domine“ („Erbarme Dich meiner, Herr“) kulminieren, die wiederum homophon gesetzt und durch eine Generalpause von der vorhergehenden Zeile getrennt wird.

aus dem Begleittext von Stephen Rice © 2007
Deutsch: Renate Wendel

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