THE BIG CHORAL RENAISSANCE BOX, VOLUME 1
9+ HOURS OF MUSIC
TRACK LISTING
Claudio Monteverdi: Vespers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 1610
Accademia Monteverdiana; Denis Stephens, conductor
1. I. Deus in Adjutorum
2. II. Dixit Dominus
3. III. Laudate pueri
4. IV. Laetatus Sum
5. V. Nisi Dominus
6. VI. Lauda Jerusalem
7. VII. Ave Maris Stella
8. VIII. Magnificat
Guillaume de Machaut: Messe de Notre Dame
Deller Consort; Alfred Deller, conductor
9. I. Kyrie
10. II. Gloria
11. III. Credo
12. IV. Sanctus
13. V. Agnus dei
14. VI. Ito missa est – Deo gratias
William Byrd: The Great Service
Chamber Chorus of Washington; Paul Calloway, conductor
15. I. Venite
16. II. Te Deum
17. III. Benedictus
18. IV. Kyrie
19. V. Creed
20. VI. Magnificat
21. VII. Nunc Dimittis
Orlando deLassus: Missa Bell’ amfirit’ altera
Prague Madrigal Choir; Miroslav Venhoda, conductor
22. I. Kyrie
23. II. Gloria
24. III. Credo
25. IV. Sanctus
26. V. Benedictus
27. VI. Agnus Dei
28. Guillaume Dufay: Hymn: Hostis Herodes
Prague Madrigal Choir; Miroslav Venhoda, conductor
29. Guillaume Dufay: Vostre bruit
Prague Madrigal Choir; Miroslav Venhoda, conductor
30. Guillaume Dufay: Vergine bella
Prague Madrigal Choir; Miroslav Venhoda, conductor
31. Guillaume Dufay: Gloria ed modum tubae
Prague Madrigal Choir; Miroslav Venhoda, conductor
32. Guillaume Dufay: Bon jour bon mois
Prague Madrigal Choir; Miroslav Venhoda, conductor
33. Guillaume Dufay: Hymn: Aurea luce
Prague Madrigal Choir; Miroslav Venhoda, conductor
34. Guillaume Dufay: Hymn: Pangue lingua
Prague Madrigal Choir; Miroslav Venhoda, conductor
35. Guillaume Dufay: Je languis en piteux matryre
Prague Madrigal Choir; Miroslav Venhoda, conductor
36. Guillaume Dufay: Hymn: Iste confessor
Prague Madrigal Choir; Miroslav Venhoda, conductor
37. Guillaume Dufay: Sanctus Papale
Prague Madrigal Choir; Miroslav Venhoda, conductor
38. Giaches de Wert: Tis pyri pyr edamase
The Desoff Choirs; Paul Boepple, conductor
The Jaye Consort of Viols; Accademia Monteverdiana; Ambrosian Singers; Denis Stevens, conductor
39. Giaches de de Wert: Cara la vita mia
The Desoff Choirs; Paul Boepple, conductor
The Jaye Consort of Viols; Accademia Monteverdiana; Ambrosian Singers; Denis Stevens, conductor
40. Giaches de de Wert: Misera, non credes
The Desoff Choirs; Paul Boepple, conductor
The Jaye Consort of Viols; Accademia Monteverdiana; Ambrosian Singers; Denis Stevens, conductor
41. Giaches de de Wert: Fantasia
The Desoff Choirs; Paul Boepple, conductor
The Jaye Consort of Viols; Accademia Monteverdiana; Ambrosian Singers; Denis Stevens, conductor
42. Giaches de de Wert: J’ai trouve ce matin
The Desoff Choirs; Paul Boepple, conductor
The Jaye Consort of Viols; Accademia Monteverdiana; Ambrosian Singers; Denis Stevens, conductor
43. Giaches de de Wert: Kyrie eleison
The Desoff Choirs; Paul Boepple, conductor
The Jaye Consort of Viols; Accademia Monteverdiana; Ambrosian Singers; Denis Stevens, conductor
44. Giaches de de Wert: Felice piume
The Desoff Choirs; Paul Boepple, conductor
The Jaye Consort of Viols; Accademia Monteverdiana; Ambrosian Singers; Denis Stevens, conductor
45. Giaches de de Wert: Datemi pace
The Desoff Choirs; Paul Boepple, conductor
The Jaye Consort of Viols; Accademia Monteverdiana; Ambrosian Singers; Denis Stevens, conductor
46. Giaches de de Wert: De que sirven ojos more ros
The Desoff Choirs; Paul Boepple, conductor
The Jaye Consort of Viols; Accademia Monteverdiana; Ambrosian Singers; Denis Stevens, conductor
47. Giaches de de Wert: Donna, tu sei si bella
The Desoff Choirs; Paul Boepple, conductor
The Jaye Consort of Viols; Accademia Monteverdiana; Ambrosian Singers; Denis Stevens, conductor
48. Giaches de de Wert: Vaghi boschetti
The Desoff Choirs; Paul Boepple, conductor
The Jaye Consort of Viols; Accademia Monteverdiana; Ambrosian Singers; Denis Stevens, conductor
49. Giaches de de Wert: Ecco ch’un altra volta
The Desoff Choirs; Paul Boepple, conductor
The Jaye Consort of Viols; Accademia Monteverdiana; Ambrosian Singers; Denis Stevens, conductor
50. Giaches de de Wert: In qual parte
The Desoff Choirs; Paul Boepple, conductor
The Jaye Consort of Viols; Accademia Monteverdiana; Ambrosian Singers; Denis Stevens, conductor
Jacob Obrecht: Mass. Sub tuum praesidium
Vienna Chamber Choir; Hans Gillesberger; Musica Antiqua of Vienna; Rene Clemencic, conductor
51. I. Kyrie eleison
52. II. Gloria in excelsis deo
53. III. Credo in unum deum
54. IV. Sanctus
55. V. Agnus dei
Orlando deLassus: Missa “In die tribulationis”
Prague Madrigal Choir; Miroslav Venhoda, conductor
56. I. Kyrie
57. II. Gloria
58. III. Credo
59. IV. Sanctus
60. V. Benedictus
61. VI. Agnus Dei
Josquin Des Pres: Missa “L’Homme Arme”
The Josquin Choir; Jeremy Noble, conductor
62. I. Kyrie
63. II. Gloria
64. III. Credo
65. IV. Sanctus
66. V. Agnus Dei
67. Josquin Des Pres: Motet “Regina coeli laetare”
The Josquin Choir; Jeremy Noble, conductor
68. Josquin Des Pres: Motet “Absalon fili mi”
The Josquin Choir; Jeremy Noble, conductor
69. Josquin Des Pres: Motet “Illibata Dei Virgo”
The Josquin Choir; Jeremy Noble, conductor
70. Thomas Morley: Magnificat
Washington Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys; Paul Calloway, conductor
71.Thomas Tallis: If ye love me
Washington Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys; Paul Calloway, conductor
72. William Byrd: Sing joyfully
Washington Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys; Paul Calloway, conductor
73. Orlando Gibbons: Nunc dimittis
Washington Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys; Paul Calloway, conductor
74. Giovanni Palestrina: Exaltabo te
Washington Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys; Paul Calloway, conductor
75. Tomas Luis de Victoria: Jesu dulcis memoria
Washington Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys; Paul Calloway, conductor
76. Heinrich Schutz: Cantate Domino
Washington Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys; Paul Calloway, conductor
77. Johann Sebastian Bach: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
Washington Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys; Paul Calloway, conductor
Josquin desPres: Missa Hercules Dux Ferraraie
Weiner Kammerchor; Rene Clemencic; Hans Gillesberger
78. I. Kyrie
79. II. Gloria
80. III. Credo
81. IV. Sanctus
82. V. Benedictus
83. VI. Agnus Dei I, II and III
84. Josquin desPres: Motet – Et incarnates est (from “Missa Da Pacem” for wind instruments)
Weiner Kammerchor; Rene Clemencic; Hans Gillesberger
85. Josquin desPres: Motet – De Profundis (Psalm 129)
Weiner Kammerchor; Rene Clemencic; Hans Gillesberger
Guillaume Dufay: Missa se la face ay pale
Vienna Chamber Choir; Hans Gillesberger; Musica Antiqua of Vienna; Rene Clemencic
86. I. Kyrie eleison
87. II. Gloria in excelsis deo
88. III. Credo in unum deum
89. IV. Sanctus
90. V. Agnus dei
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Motets for Five Voices on Textsfrom “The Song of Songs”
Prague Madrigal Choir; Miroslav Venhoda
91. I. Osculetur me
92. II. Trahe me: post te
93. III. Nigra sum, sed formosa
94. IV. Vineam meam non custodivi
95. V. Si ignoras te
96. VI. Fasciculus myrrae
97. VII. Ecce tu pulcher es
98. VIII. Tota pulchra es
99. IX. Vulnerasti cor meum
100. X. Sicut lilium inter spinas
101. XI. Indroduxit me rex
102. XII. Vox dilecti mei
103. XIII. Surge, amica mea
104. XIV. Dilectus meus mihi
105. XV. Surgam et circuibo civitatem
106. XVI. Adjuro vos filiae Jerusalem
107. XVII. Dilectus meus descendit
108. XVIII. Descendi in hortum nucum
109. XIV. Quam pulchri sunt
110. XX. Duo ubera tua
111. XXI. Veni, veni dilecte mi
112. Nicola Vicentino: Amor, ecco ch’io moro
Accademia Monteverdiana; Denis Stevens; The Jaye Consort of Viols
113. Nicola Vicentino: L’aura che il verde lauro
Accademia Monteverdiana; Denis Stevens; The Jaye Consort of Viols
114. Nicola Vicentino: Poichè il mio largo pianto (madrigal)
Accademia Monteverdiana; Denis Stevens; The Jaye Consort of Viols
115. Nicola Vicentino: Passa la nave mia
Accademia Monteverdiana; Denis Stevens; The Jaye Consort of Viols
116. Nicola Vicentino: Canzona, La bella
Accademia Monteverdiana; Denis Stevens; The Jaye Consort of Viols
117. Nicola Vicentino: Fiamma gentil
Accademia Monteverdiana; Denis Stevens; The Jaye Consort of Viols
A Guide to Gregorian Chant
Schola Antiqua; John Blackley
118. Introit: Rorate coeli
119. Troped Kyrie “Fons bonitatis”
120. Gloria in excelsis
121. Gradual: Tecum principium
122. Tract: Absolve Domine
123. Alleluia and Sequela “Adest una”
124. Credo
125. Offertory: Jubilate Deo universa terra
126. Praefatio and Sanctus
127. Pater noster
128. Agnus Dei
129. Troped Communion: Pascha nostrum
130. Troped: Ite, missa est
131. Responsorial hymn: Ante thronum
132. Antiphon: Zelus domus tuae, with Psalm
133. Responsory: Spiritus sanctus
134. Hymn: Iste confessor
135. Troped Benedicamus Domino: “Iste est Johannes”
136. Antiphon: Salve regina
This box is a special compilation - created with a combination of respect for the Bach Guild/Vanguard catalog and an eye toward our faithful customers who have supported the Bach Guild since we first released our first digital boxed set in 2013.
In working with the Bach Guild catalog, and in our brainstorming phase, we looked at creating a Big Bach Set that focused on the vast amount of choral recordings in our catalog. We knew what was in the catalog, but it wasn't until we sat down and started to compile the master audio files that it became clear what we could put together. Rather than creating a "greatest hits of choral music" boxed set, we decided to create a box based on two criterion. First we whittled the time frame down to the Renaissance time period, and secondly, we wanted to present a box that drew on recordings that had not been available in a very long time.
We didn't set out that way but in the process of developing the box, it soon became clear that these two guidelines could be met and could create one heck of an interesting Big Bach Set. And it would clearly show off the tremendous catalog of The Bach Guild, and we'd give our loyal listeners a real treat, because several of the most recent boxes have focused on quite a bit of previously released material - and this box is perhaps the largest collection of unreleased material that we have put together.
The genesis of this recording is the drive to finally release the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 in the Denis Stevens edition. At the time this edition was published, Mr. Stevens had established himself as (perhaps) the leading scholar in the music and performance practice of Monteverdi.
Many of our readers and listeners will know of Mr. Stevens, and he is instrumental in the history of the Bach Guild's recordings of choral music through the 1950s and early 1960s. Mr. Stevens had a prestigious career as a writer in England - he became the editor of The Grove Encyclopedia - and worked with Seymour Solomon (who loved the interaction with the academics when creating his recordings) as Vanguard grew quickly and proved its bona fides as pioneers of early music performance.
However, Mr. Stevens was also a bold and outspoken writer who differed greatly with the techniques of the nascent early music movement - and he used his pulpit to rail against the developing attitudes of the leading lights of the movement, many of whom were recording with The Bach Guild, and whose talents were much in demand. And his sarcastic descriptions of the early instrument movement were very much at odds with the early music tastemakers, as you might tell from the tone of an excerpt from "On Performing Monteverdi's Vespers", which set in motion Stevens' departure from the Vanguard/Bach Guild circle:
1. Instruments. It is generally assumed that your first move, as conductor, would be to join an "auncient ynstrument clubb" in order to organize exponents of "baroque" string instruments, harpsichords, lutes, theorboes, and sackbuts. Nothing could be further from the true aim and object. Not one of these flukes ever formed part of the instrumentarium of St. Mark's Venice, where Monteverdi was director of music from 1613 until 1643. They were never used in the basilica for the simple reason that the size and acoustic would make any one of them sound like a mouse breaking wind, and that is not what the composer wanted.
Now, reading this in 2014 seems quaint and charming, and very funny. The entire essay, which is very informative and entertainingly written, is available on www.scholaantiqua.net, but its publication set in motion a series of problems that ultimately led to The Bach Guild and Mr. Stevens parting ways.
Mr. Stevens' albums stayed in the Vanguard vaults for a long time - as noted in readers' reviews, the albums were released in the late 1960s but were completed long before that. And none of these titles, despite their focus on very rarely recorded repertoire, were ever considered for release on compact disc during the Vanguard "Omega" years, and this release marks their first public availability in probably 40 years.
There is so much other history here, as this shows the voracious desire for this music exhibited by performers and by The Bach Guild. But the depth is what is amazing - frankly, we cut off this box at the Renaissance - there is easily another box just for Baroque and Classical era music that has a bit more visibility in the marketplace, but would still be about 10 hours long and about half of those recordings have not been available since their LP release.
Just to rattle off the names and projects - and to fill in some gaps:
1. Nicola Vincentino - by our research there is no LP or CD length recording of the music of Vincentino (fascinating to scholars, he invented a microtonal system of his own). Unfortunately, the masters available to us have sound issues that would not allow us to release the entire LP (we do NOT master from LPs, only from approved digital sources which contain problems that are traced to the master tape).
2. The DeLassus masses were originally issued on BG 651 or in stereo as BGS 5063, but only the Missa Bell'amfitrit'altera is listed in official Vanguard catalog listing, but in the original matrix card listings (which list the running order of each master tape) the second mass was listed. And as far as we can discover, there are no other recordings of this mass (and we have authenticated it is a work by DeLassus).
3. The Josquin de Prez "L'homme arme" recording was never released on CD but was released on LP as HM 3.
4. The Palestrina 5 Motets was released on LP originally as BG 647, which would indicate that it was recorded in the mid 1950s.
5. In response to an earlier post, the Dufay/Obrecht LP number is BG 653 or BGS 70653. We have used what we believe is the stero master (BGS 70653). The LP indicated 5 Marian hymns were also available, but our masters did not include these works, or we would have included them in this compilation.
6. The original LP release for the Giaches deWert was entitled "Music from the Court of Mantua", on Vanguard's budget label "Cardinal", VCS 10083, to confirm the accurate guess made by an earlier reviewer.
7. The hymns from Washington Cathedral were from a Vanguard LP VRS 1036, or stereo LP VCS 2021. Half of this LP is music of the Renaissance, the second side was all contemporary composers. One contemporary track was released on a music devoted to the music of Samuel Barber. None of the other tracks have been released.
And a couple of points to leave - there may be some sonic glitches on these tapes, we have tried to eliminate as many flaws as we could, but many of the masters were problematic. Major flaws disqualified an issue from release, some pops were allowed to allow this music to see the light of day after 50+ years.
Tracks 22 and 23 are duplicates – they have different file names but they are the same music. Please fix this.