musica Dei donum
CD reviews
"Scorrete lagrime mie"
Maximilien Brisson, sackbut;
Christophe Gauthier, harpsichord, organa;
Luc Beauséjour, organb
rec: Jan 17 - 20, 2023, Saint-Lambert (QC), St Andrew's Presbyterian Church
Passacaille - PAS 1153 (© 2024) (59'07")
Liner-notes: E/F; lyrics - translations: E
Cover & track-list
Spotify
Bartolomeo BARBARINO (fl 1584–1624):
Ohimè questi sospiri [4];
Giovanni BASSANO (c1560–1617):
Anchor che col partire (Rore) [1];
Giovanni Battista BOVICELLI (c1550–1627):
Io son ferito (Palestrina) [2];
Maximilien BRISSON:
Il bianco e dolce cigno passeggiatto alla bastarda (Arcadelt);
Recercada sobre La Spagna;
Sonata per il Trombone solo. Grave;
Francesca CACCINI (1587–after 1641):
Ferma Signore, arresta [6];
Sigismondo D’INDIA (c1582–1629):
Da l’onde del mio pianto [3];
Piangono al pianger mio [3];
Girolamo FRESCOBALDI (1583–1643):
Canzon per basso solo detta La Tromboncina (F8.06a) [7];
Heinrich SCHEIDEMANN (c1595–1663) (attr):
Pavana Lachrymae (WV 106);
Barbara STROZZI (1619–1677)
L’Eraclito amoroso [8];
Lagrime mie [9];
Lodovico Grossi DA VIADANA (c1560–1627):
Et absterget Deus [5];
Quæmadmodum desiderat [5]
Sources:
[1] Giovanni Bassano, Motetti, madrigali e canzoni francese diminuiti, 1591;
[2] Giovanni Battista Bovicelli, Regole, passaggi di musica, 1594;
[3] Sigismondo d'India, Le musiche di Sigismondo d’India, 1600;
[4] Bartolomeo Barbarino, Orfeo. Musiche de diversi autori, Barolomeo Magni, 1613;
[5] Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Centum sacri concentus ab una voce sola, 1615;
[6] Francesca Caccini, Il primo libro delle musiche a una e due voci, 1618;
[7] Girolamo Frescobaldi, Il primo libro delle Canzoni, 1628;
Barbara Strozzi, [8] Cantate, ariette e duetti, op. 2, 1651;
[9] Diporti di Euterpe, op. 7, 1659
Much changed in the music world in Italy around 1600, and soon also elsewhere in Europe. The stile nuovo resulted, among others, in a more virtuosic style of writing for instruments. Most of them played already an important role in the stile antico, such as the cornett and the sackbut. They played instrumental music, for instance canzonas, but also participated in the performance of sacred vocal music. They either supported singers (playing colla voce) or played one or several of the parts, replacing singers. This indicates that they were thought to be able to imitate the human voice. This aspect inspired Maximilien Brisson to record a programme of vocal music from the early 17th century, which consists mainly of vocal works.
At first that may seem a little odd, considering that one of the hallmarks of the new style was a close connection between text and music. According to the ideals, as promoted especially by Francesco Caccini, the text came first, and the music had to be its obedient servant, expressing the affetti the text wanted to communicate. However, if vocal music is performed instrumentally, what is left of that ideal? For the performer, the challenge is to try to express the affetti with instrumental means, exploring the possibilities of his instrument. One of the ways to do so, is making use of vocal techniques, as far as the instrument allows, and playing in a 'vocal' style.
The cornett and sackbut were still used in the way described above, but apparently could also be used in a solo role in the new music that was written after 1600. Brisson, in his liner-notes, refers to Lodovico da Viadana, who explicitly mentions the possibility to perform vocal music on instruments. He also quotes Silvestro Ganassi (1535) who wrote that "just as the worthy and perfect painter imitates everything created by nature with the variation of colours, so can wind and string instruments imitate the sound of the human voice. (...) If the painter imitates the effects of nature with various colours, the instrument imitates the voice with variations of the breath and of the movements of the tongue, and with the use of various fingerings."
One of the features of this recording is that Brisson not only selected sacred monodies, but also a number of secular counterparts. He admits that this practice may have been less likely, "although it takes but a small leap of the imagination to picture a gifted trombonist picking up a print of the monodies of Barbara Strozzi or Sigismondo D’India and playing them, if only for their practice or their own pleasure." A feature of quite a number of secular monodies from this period is that they have theatrical traits. Often opera is not far away. The pieces by Barbara Strozzi are perfect examples.
It is admirable how Brisson is able to perform them with the use of some of the vocal techniques which singers at the time had at their disposal. That goes especially for those used to articulate the text in such a way that it was intelligible. An important tool was also the messa di voce. This is where the sackbut has its limitations. Although it certainly is able to create quite some dynamic contrasts, its dynamic range is not comparable to that of the human voice. Although I admire Brisson's brilliant technique and the way he performs the secular items, for me they represent the least convincing part of this recording. I would have preferred more sacred pieces.
The few sacred items that are performed, are mostly less theatrical, although that may also be due to the fact that they are of the pen of Viadana, whose music represents an early stage of the seconda pratica and are rather modest in the application of its principles regarding the connection between text and music. I suspect that sacred pieces by other composers dating from somewhat later may cause the same problems with regard to an instrumental performance. In the case of some pieces by the likes of Monteverdi or Grandi I find it hard to imagine a convincing performance on sackbut.
It is nice that the booklet includes the lyrics of the vocal items. That gives at least some idea of what they are about. But it does not compensate for the lack of text in the performance. It is impossible to identify the connection between text and music, as - for instance - one does not know when a part of the text is repeated to different music.
The programme also includes original instrumental music. Obviously a specimen of a major genre of the time - diminutions on a pre-existing melody - could not be omitted. Various treatises attest to the importance and popularity of the genre, and they include many examples of the diminutioln technique. One of them is Giovanni Battista Bovicelli's treatment of Palestrina's madrigal Io son ferito. An interesting development of recent years is that performers are making their own diminutions, using the treatises as how they were meant. On this site I have reviewed several recordings including such modern diminutions. Here Brisson offers an example: he plays diminutions on Jacques Arcadelt's madrigal Il bianco e dolce cigno. Notable is that they are an example of a special way of diminuting a pre-existing piece: he applies the technique known as alla bastarda. This means that not a single line from a piece - mostly the upper part - is used for diminutions, but the entire piece.
He closes the programme with another piece of his own. "There is no known sonata for solo trombone [sackbut] in the Italian stil moderno", although some pieces may be suitable for a performance on the sackbut. Therefore he decided to compose a Sonata per il Trombone solo, which is inspired by music of some of the famous masters of the time, such as Biagio Marini and Dario Castello. Although it is marked grave, it is a specimen of the stylus phantasticus, in which sections of contrasting character follow each other attacca. At the end it even includes echo effects - a device that was very popular at the time.
As I have written, I don't find the programme completely convincing. My reservations concern the secular items. That said, the playing of Brisson is admirable, and this disc offers an excellent opportunity to hear the sackbut, as it was used in the time around 1600, in full glory. In most recordings it plays a subservient role; here it is the star of the show, and that is one of the attractions of this disc. The repertoire is of high quality, which anyone can see by looking at the track-list. The participation of harpsichord and organ, sometimes one of them and sometimes both, adds to the quality of these performances.
Lovers of the sackbut need not hesitate; they will enjoy this disc if only for the sound of the instrument and the way it is played. Those who are interested in the music of this period should at least investigate this disc. They may not share my reservations.
Johan van Veen (© 2025)
Relevant links:
Maximilien Brisson