Lassus wasn’t the only composer with a musical family. 7 generations of the Bach family kept the musical tradition going, including this gem by Johann Michael Bach, first cousin once removed (and father-in-law) of J.S. Bach.
Clemens: Ego flos campi
Sometimes it’s best to take a break from the research and just listen to a beautiful motet. There’s some fantastic backstory to Clemens non Papa’s “Ego flos campi”, but the music and text speak for themselves.
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
Widor: Symphonie Romane
Chant melodies inspired instrumental works as well as vocal. Check out the chant melody below (the “Haec dies” for Easter Day) and then listen to how Widor used it in his magnificent Symphonie Romane (performed in the very building for which it was written).
Leonin and Perotin
Many know the names Leonin and Perotin from music history and appreciation classes. Bud do you remember why they were important? Here’s an Early Music Monday in honor of Notre Dame polyphony.
Guillaume Dufay: Bridge between Medieval and Renaissance
Today! Music by Dufay (and Horwood and Wylkynson) at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum with Vox Vocal Ensemble! Want to read more about Dufay?
Vruechten - Sacred or Secular?
An Early Music Monday post for Easter Monday - have you ever noticed how many of the songs used in religious liturgies have Renaissance or Baroque origins? Or aren’t actually sacred at all? This is one of those, and my personal favorite of all the hymns for Easter.
From Mark Dwyer, Organist and Choirmaster:
VRUECHTEN is originally a seventeenth-century Dutch folk tune for the love song "De liefde Voortgebracht." It became a hymn tune in Joachim Oudaen's David's Psalmen (1685) as a setting for "Hoe groot de vruechten zijn." The tune is distinguished by the rising sequences in the refrain, which provide a fitting word painting for "arisen." Sung with athletic enthusiasm by the congregation of The Church of the Advent, the organist provides an improvisation as the altar is censed at the Offertory of the First Mass of Easter.
Lassus: Tristis est anima mea
My soul is sorrowful even unto death;
stay here a while, and watch with me:
now you shall see the mob that will surround me.
You shall take flight, and I shall go to be sacrificed for you.
You can hear Lassus’ beautiful setting of this text in the Tenebrae service on Wednesday night at the Church of the Advent, or below in the video (complete with non-relevant theory analysis).
A Pilgrim's Solace
Dowland’s “A Pilgrim’s Solace” is an interesting mashup of dark Lenten pieces and more lighthearted dances (like this one!). Come hear this fantastic program with Long & Away on Saturday night for more!
Can you hear the difference?
Wondering if performance practice actually makes a difference? Listen to these two very good, but very different performances of the same piece and decide for yourself!