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Jean RICHAFORT (c1480-c1550): Missa O Genitrix - Missa Veni Sponsa Christi

Cappella Mariana
Dir: Vojtěch Semerád

rec: Jan 9 - 10 & Feb 13 - 14, 2024, Prague, Church of St. Peter on Poříčí
Musique en Wallonie - MEW 2308 (© 2024) (68'48")
Liner-notes: E/D/F/NL; lyrics - translations: E/D/F/NL
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Loyset COMPÈRE (c1445-c1518): O genitrix gloriosa - Ave virgo gloriosa a 4; Jean RICHAFORT: Missa O genitrix gloriosa a 4; Missa Veni sponsa Christi a 4; Veni sponsa Christi a 5 [1]

Sources: [1] Jean Richafort, Modulorum quatuor quinque & sex vocum, liber primus, 1556

Hana Blažíková, Barbora Kabátková, soprano; Daniela Čermáková, contralto; Vojtěch Semerád, Filip Dámec, Ondřej Holub, tenor; Tomáš Král, baritone; Jaromír Nosek, bass

The size of the sacred repertoire which has come down to us from the 15th and 16th centuries is such that it is not surprising that a part of it is overlooked. It seems that to date only a small portion of the oeuvre of Jean Richafort has been recorded. His best-known work is his Requiem, which is available in several recordings. The rest of his oeuvre is hardly known, and it seems that only the Huelgas Ensemble devoted an entire disc to his output, including some secular works.

His biography raises many questions. It is not known, for instance, where he was born. There are conflicting documents regarding this. Some suggest that he was a French-speaking Netherlander born in Hainault, whereas another document calls him clericus Leodiensis, indicating that he had taken clerical orders in the diocese of Liège. The earliest musical activities that are documented, are from 1507, when he served at the collegiate church of St Rombout in Mechelen as zangmeester. That was the time Margaret of Austria settled there as regent of the Netherlands.

He stayed in Mechelen until 1509, and then moved to the royal court of France. Richafort was in the retinue of François I when he met Pope Leo X in Bologna in 1515. Then there is another white spot in his biography: nothing is known about his whereabouts from 1516 to 1528. In the latter year he was invited to join the choir of the church of St Gilles in Bruges as bascontre; at that time he was cantor at Notre Dame in Aardenburg. He may have moved between the two towns for some time. In 1543 he became zangmeester at St Gilles, a post he held until 1550. The year of his death is not known, but it must have been in the mid-1550s. In 1556 the Paris music publishers Le Roy et Ballard devoted an entire volume to his oeuvre.

The latter consists of the two masses recorded by the Cappella Mariana, and the Requiem mentioned above, as well as a fair number of motets and chansons. His works found a wide dissemination across the continent, and have been found in 200 sources, both printed and in manuscript. The fact that New Grove lists a substantial number of doubtful and misattributed works also testify to his reputation, as this means that scribes and publishers were keen to put his name on a work.

The two masses which are the subject of this disc are so-called 'parody masses', the new trend in sacred music in the early 16th century, replacing the older cantus firmus mass and the 'paraphrase mass'. The term refers to the way the material taken from a pre-existing work is treated. Whereas in the old cantus firmus mass one part of the model is quoted literally, in the parody mass the entire model - a motet or a chanson - is used, which is elaborated and varied and used in all the parts. Agostino Magro and Philippe Vendrix, in their liner-notes, mention that in Richafort's time this kind of mass was still in an experimental stage, and that Richafort, with his masses, contributed to its development. "In a later treatise dated 1613 the theoretician Pietro Cerone laid out the general principles underlying a mass on a polyphonic model. The start and ending of the model have to be employed to start and end each section of the mass, each time with a different contrapuntal configuration; the sub-sections of the mass have either to utilise secondary motifs from the model or to be freely composed; and, importantly, the more the composer elaborates and varies the motifs of his model, the more deserving he is of praise. This approach is exemplified by Richafort in his two masses."

The Missa O genitrix gloriosa has a motet by Loyset Compère as its model. It is a setting of texts for a Marian feast. It is scored for four voices and consists of two sections: "O genitrix gloriosa" (O glorious parent, beautiful mother of God) and "Ave virgo gloriosa" (Hail, glorious virgin, Mary, mother of grace). The first section is paraphrased in the Kyrie of the mass. In the Gloria Richafort also includes material from the second section, and in the "Amen" he turns to the final section of the motet. As in many works of the Franco-Flemish school Richafort sometimes reduces the number of voices, such as here in the Credo, where the 'Crucifixus' is set as a duet. In the Sanctus Richafort uses the old technique of cantus firmus in the upper voice. In the Agnus Dei Richafort returns to the opening of the motet. The second Agnus is for two voices.

For the Missa Veni sponsa Christi Richafort took a motet of his own pen as model. The text of this short motet is the antiphon for the Vespers of the Common of Virgins: "Come Spouse of Christ, receive the crown which the Lord has prepared for you for all eternity." Richafort's setting is based on the plainchant melody, and makes use of four thematic episodes. "The Missa Veni sponsa Christi is undoubtedly later in date of composition than the Missa O genetrix gloriosa. It undertakes a rewriting of the imitative motet throughout the length of the mass, with harmonic characteristics that anticipate the innovatory sonorities of Palestrina."

The four thematic episodes are varied in Kyrie and Gloria. In the latter the Domine Deus is in three parts. Cum Sancto Spiritu is based on the closing phrase of the motet. In the Credo the number of voices is reduced in several passages, such as Et resurrexit, a duet of two low voices. At the end of the Credo Richafort returns to the incipit of the plainchant melody of the antiphon. The Sanctus covers the entire motet; the Benedictus is set for two and three voices. In the Agnus Dei section, the second Agnus is a duet, whereas in the third the number of voices is extended to six, with two additional canonic parts.

With this disc Richafort's entire output in the genre of the mass is available on disc. Given the status of the composer in his time and the quality of the music, this is well deserved. One has to hope that his motets and chansons may be performed and recorded at some time. The performances are excellent, as one may expect from the Cappella Mariana, which in the course of its existence has developed into one of the foremost interpreters of renaissance polyphony. It is especially satisfying that it usually performs music that is not that well-known. This disc is a perfect example. The interpretation is well thought-over, for instance in the French pronunciation of Latin, which is undoubtedly in accordance with the practice in Richafort's time in the area where he was active. The Cappella Mariana's performances take advantage of the fine voices it has in its ranks, which manifest themselves in particular in the episodes for reduced forces.

This is a major contribution to the discography of sacred music of the Renaissance.

Johan van Veen (© 2025)

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