Guillaume de machaut motets the hilliard ensemble torrent

He is regarded by many musicologists as the greatest and most important composer of the 14th century. Machaut utilises opportunities presented by polyphony better than anyone else of his time. Worldfamous english a cappella quartet, the hilliard ensemble, gave its first. It bears the seal of an epoch, the 14th century, as well as that of a man who was a poet, a diplomat, a canon and a composer. He was famous not only as a musician but also as a poet. New editions of the motets by nicky losseff from the machaut manuscript a, paris, biblioteque nationale, ms fonds francais 1584.

We have decided to launch ourselves into the adventure of recording it in its. On another program ensemble musica nova sing all 23 motets, but three are not sung as written and others are accompanied by instruments. Among his compositions were a number of narrative poems dits that chronicled his relationship with some of the most illustrious nobles of his day, nobles who in turn commissioned the sumptuous manuscripts whose survival ensured machauts posthumous fame. Music profile for the hilliard ensemble, formed 1974. The hilliard sing 18 of the 23 motets by machaut that survive, in the order that the composer himself determined more than 600 years ago. The hilliard ensemble used a new edition of the motets by nicky losseff, who also wrote the fourpage essay machaut and the language of pain. It is probably the first devoted to machaut s motets, containing no fewer than 18 of the 23 that survive. Today his fourvoice mass of notre dame is a textbook example for medieval counterpoint, and has served sufficiently to maintain his reputation across shifts in fashion. In the service of king john of bohemia he traveled through europe on chivalric expeditions. Certainly the space one hears, tonally, around the voices themselves serves to heighten mood, and to emphasise the harmonies and layering again. Guillaume dufay was a transitional figure in this regard. The numbering scheme, from the classic edition of machauts works by leo schrade, does not represent chronology, since few of machauts works can be reliably dated since many titles are merely the first lines of the texts used, in different sources individual pieces may be. The hilliard sing 18 of the 23 motets by machaut that survive, in the order that the composer himself determined more.

His musical works include examples of most of the forms that were current in his time, and show him as a composer of mingled conservative and progressive tendencies. The motet was preserved in the transition from medieval to renaissance music, but the character of the composition was entirely changed. You get the feeling that the countertenors are sometimes maybe a little bit too weighty in the mix compared to the tenors and baritone, but then evening it. Het is dat het praktisch onmogelijk is, maar anders zou je zeggen dat het hilliard. Yet we can hear four other motets from their collection. This group, with its seamless legatos, impeccably executed phrasing, perfect blend, and beguiling vocal quality always has epitomized ensemble performance, and these singersfive this timedo it again here in a ravishing collection of 18 machaut motets that at once incorporate the emotions identified with love, longing, passion, rejection. It is probably the first devoted to machauts motets, containing no fewer than 18 of the 23 that survive. Discover more music, concerts, videos, and pictures with the largest catalogue online at. Patronised by the ruling families of france, bohemia, and navarre, he bequeathed a large legacy of lyric poems, several lengthy narrative dits, and an unparalleled corpus of monophonic and polyphonic songs, motets, and a mass ordinary setting. He worked for several lords, ladies, adventurers and conquerors, as well as pope benedict xii.

Machaut texts and english translations by colleen donagher taken from. With his prolific output of motets and songs, machaut was the single most important figure of the french ars nova. Free guitar sheet music machaut, guillaume quant je. This is not surprising, for to build newlywritten polyphony on a foundation of plainsong was not only a common compositional process, it reflects the general. Motets et chansons the hilliard ensemble emi reflexe.

A purely vocal performance of this material is, of course, as justifiable as any other performance practice we can surmise for this fourteenth century music. The hilliard ensemble seems to want to treat these secular machaut motets, whose lyrics all involve courtly love themes, as sacred music. Machauts chansons i recommend orlando consorts machaut. In the early 20s he entered the service of john, duke of luxembourg and king of bohemia, who secured for machaut various ecclesiastical posts, documented in. It is certainly the first to present them in the order in which. In a performers note, baritone gordon jones discusses performance practice questions, and his approach to singing a single word over the course of a threeminute piece. Motets the hilliard ensemble on allmusic 2004 the motets of.

Even casual listeners will notice that each of the three lines of music has its own text one rapid and wordy, one moderate in speed, and one just a few words long. The hilliard ensemble sang 18 of the 23 motets, unaccompanied. Cd, album ecm new series, ecm new series, ecm records, ecm records. They also performed three pieces by guillaume dufay. So i am dubious about the supposed date of the early 50s my guess is that someone transferred a 70sera lp to reeltoreel tape, that got stretched out in a couple of places and slowed down considerably in the digitization process. The five they omit belong to the first phase of his motet. The hilliard ensemble was a british male vocal quartet originally devoted to the performance of.