Lassus' version of this text might be my favorite, but there's a reason Bach parodied the one by Kuhnau! (P.S. H+H is doing this piece this week in a program of all vocal music! Come if you're in town!)
Lassus Tristis est anima mea
Kuhnau's setting of "Tristis set anima mea" is gorgeous (and on a concert I'm singing next weekend), but Lassus' version is my favorite. Extra points if you follow the translation (in the description box) and catch how Lassus used the music to emphasize the meaning of the words!
Ludwig Daser
Student of Ludwig Senfl, later replaced by Orlando di Lasso in Münich, but a tremendous composer whose music doesn't get the attention it should! Meet Ludwig Daser!
Massimo Troiano
Music History should never be a boring class! For example:
Massimo Troiano
- Italian Renaissance composer
- worked in the Bavarian Court in Munich (for Lassus)
- disappeared in 1570 after being accused of murdering one of his colleagues
Lamentations
The service of Tenebrae has been my favorite Holy Week experience since I first experienced it in 2010, though I've never sung any of the exquisite settings of the Lamentations (Dear Universe... *hint*). Check out this awesome video from Early Music Sources about the Lamentations and how Lassus and Cavalieri wrote their settings!
Audite nova
Missed the concert last weekend? One of my favorite pieces was this hilarious one by Lassus about feasting on a very fat goose (Gans).
Audite nova - Lassus (Spotify)
Hear ye, hear ye!
That farmer from Eselkirchen?
He has a plump goose, a [goose noises] goose!
It has a long, plump, fat, willowy neck:
Bring the goose here!
You’ve got it? - my trusty Hans!
Shear it, pluck it, scald it, roast it, tear it, and devour it!
That is St. Martin’s bird, to whom we can’t be an enemy!
Servant Heinz, bring us some good wine and pour for us bravely;
let it all go around, and in God’s name let us drink good wine and beer
to the boiled, roasted, young goose
that it may do us no ill.
Burmeister and rhetoric
The term "rhetoric" is thrown around frequently when discussing early music - but what does it really refer to? Check out this awesome video by Early Music Sources (and epic motet by Lassus)!
Sibylla Cimmeria
There are many pieces for the feast of the Epiphany (coming up this Wednesday), but my favorite straddles the line between sacred and secular with a healthy dose of mysticism!
The Family of Orlando Gibbons
Music was a tradition in the Bach and Lassus families, but did you know Orlando Gibbons also had a musical family? Read more about The Life, Work, and Family of Orlando Gibbons
Lassus and his sons
Lassus was one of the most prolific and gifted Renaissance composers, but did you know his sons helped keep his works in print and were talented musicians in their own right?
This fantastic article has all the information: Orlande de Lassus and His Two Musical Sons
