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CD reviews
Marc'Antonio INGEGNERI (c1535/36 - 1592): Masses & motets
[I] "Volume Two: Missa Voce mea a 5"
Choir of Girton College, Cambridgea;
Historic Brass of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Dramab
Lucy Morrell, Gareth Wilson, organ
Dir: Gareth Wilson
rec: July 15 - 17, 2021, Cambridge, St George's, Chesterton
Toccata Classics - TOCC 0630 (© 2022) (62'44")
Liner-notes: E; lyrics - translations: E
Cover, track-list & booklet
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Paolo ANIMUCCIA (c1500-1569) (attr):
Voce meaa;
Marc'Antonio INGEGNERI:
Ave verum corpusab;
Beata visceraab;
Domine exaudib;
Exultate Deoab;
Hodie assumpta est Mariaab;
Missa Voce mea a 5ab;
O pretiosumb;
O quam suavisb;
Vidi montesa
[HBGS] Jennifer Armitage, Emily Ashby, Bethany Chidgey, Alexander Duncan, Jeremy West, cornett;
Mark Choi, Daniel Dennis, Malachi Taylor, Peter Thornton, sackbut
[II] "Volume Three: Missa Susanne un jour a 5"
Choir of Girton College, Cambridgea;
Historic Brass of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Dramab
Felix Elliott (soloc), Emily Nott (solod), organ
Dir: Gareth Wilson
rec: July 14 - 16, 2021, Cambridge, St George's, Chesterton
Toccata Classics - TOCC 0677 (© 2023) (62'44")
Liner-notes: E; lyrics - translations: E
Cover, track-list & booklet
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Giovanni BASSANO (c1561-1617):
Susanne un jour (Lassus);
Marc'Antonio INGEGNERI:
Cantate Domino a 8ab;
Exaudiat te Dominus a 9b;
Laudate Dominum a 12ab;
Missa Susanne un jour a 5ab;
Non mi togli' il ben mio a 4d;
O sacrum convivium a 6ab;
Omnes sitientes a 9ab;
Qual grazia, o qual beltate a 4c;
Regnum mundi a 8b;
Salve Regina a 6a;
Victimae paschali laudes a 8b
[HBGS] Bethany Chidgey, Tamsin Cowell, Alexander Duncan, Jeremy West, cornett;
Mark Choi, Andrew Cowie, Owain Davies-McCrorie, Ben Holford, Susan Smith, sackbut
Scores
The two discs which are the subject of this review are the second and third in a project devoted to the sacred oeuvre of a composer who has received little interest in the past. Carlos Rodríguez Otero, the author of the liner-notes to both recordings, discusses the causes of this neglect. "[Some] composers may suffer neglect owing to good or bad fortune in their publishing attempts, (un)favourable reception or simple changes of fashion. Perhaps writers of textbooks did not like their music as much as that of another composer; perhaps it is just a case of bad luck." He believes that in the case of Marc'Antonio Ingegneri it is just a case of bad luck. Part of that is that two composers have overshadowed him for different reasons. On the one hand that is Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, an almost exact contemporary, who was a towering figure in the realm of sacred music, in his lifetime and long after his death. On the other hand, Ingegneri had a pupil, who was to become one of the main representatives of a style that would quickly conquer most of Europe: Claudio Monteverdi.
In our time, one may add a certain prejudice, in that Ingegneri was active in a time that this new style casted its shadow before it, and scholars labelled him as 'conservative', which is mostly not meant as a compliment. However, the recordings made under the direction of Gareth Wilson, show that the label of 'conservatism' does not do him real justice. The fact that Monteverdi mentioned him with great respect in the prefaces of his four first publications is telling. And in the preface of the Scherzi musicali (1607), his brother Giulio Cesare included Ingegneri in his list of pioneers of the seconda pratica.
Cremona played a crucial role in Ingegneri's life: there he was born, and there he worked for most of his life. He was educated as a violinist, and in this capacity he worked in Venice at the Scuola Grande di San Marco. He may also have worked as such in Padua, and certainly spent some time in Parma at the Farnese court. There he became acquainted with Cipriano de Rore, who also taught him a thing or two. It is not far-fetched to assume that he played a role in Ingegneri's activities as a composer of madrigals. His first publication was a collection of madrigals, which has been lost. Eight further collections were to follow, the last of which was published as late as 1606. The madrigals are considered the most 'modern' part of his oeuvre. Some are attributed to both Rore and Ingegneri.
By the mid-1560s Ingegneri settled in Cremona. At some time between 1566 and 1578 he was appointed praefectus musicae of the Cathedral; he is mentioned as such for the first time in his book of motets of 1573. This was one of probably eighteen collections of music of which sixteen have been preserved. A key role in his career in Cremona was played by Nicolò Sfondrati, who was Bishop of Cremona from 1560 to 1590; he later became Pope Gregory XIV. Ingegneri dedicated four publications to him, and another four to people from his circle. Among other dedicatees were patrons in several cities in Italy, and the Holy Roman Emperor. The fact that his music has been found in libraries and archives across Europe attests to Ingegneri's status. Whereas between 1576 and 1586 he only published madrigals, he almost completely turned to sacred music in the remaining years of his life.
Sfondrati seems to have been very much aware of the importance of music for the church. During his episcopacy music and the musical establishment at the cathedral flourished, also thanks to Ingegneri. "Several other composers, together with Ingegneri, dedicated volumes of music to Sfondrati during his ecclesiastical career, and he was among the first bishops to found a diocesan seminary, which maintained a teacher of plainchant. Notably, Sfondrati also encouraged music-making among Sunday-school children in order to reinvigorate Catholicism amongst local families."
Both discs reviewed here have a mass as the core of its programme. The various sections of the mass are separated by motets. In Volume II, the Missa Voce mea for five voices is a parody mass, which is based on a motet Ingegneri believed to be from the pen of Rore, but which was very likely written by Paolo Animuccia. The material of the motet is used in a creative manner; Rodríguez Otero calls it 'recomposition'. A traditional trait is the use of a canon in the Agnus Dei. On the other hand, this mass includes several moments where the music is clearly connected to the text. Volume III contains the Missa Susanne un jour, again for five voices, and based on the famous chanson by Orlandus Lassus. As this piece is well-known and often performed and recorded, the listener may recognize it regularly, for instance at the opening of several sections. Between the Kyrie and the Gloria it is clearly exposed through the diminutions by Giovanni Bassano. In the mass we find contrasting rhythms, connected to the text, and that is one of the features that justifies the inclusion of Ingegneri in the list of pioneers of the seconda pratica mentioned above.
That comes even better to the fore in the motets. There are several elements which stand out. First, as mentioned, the use of rhythms to illustrate the text. A striking example is the setting of Psalm 150, Laudate Dominum (Vol. III), where the various instruments are graphically depicted. Another example is Cantate Domino, which opens the programme on Volume III. These two pieces are for twelve and eight voices respectively. And that brings us to the second element which needs to be mentioned: the application of the cori spezzati technique. This was a way to emphasize the splendour of the church and its teachings.This undoubtedly was the fruit of Ingegneri's time in Venice. Moreover, Bishop Sfondrati seems to have liked it. "Although sobriety and prayerfulness were certainly important to Sfondrati too, it seems that he placed a much higher value on splendour, magnificence and, as it were, the Catholic-ness of Ingegneri's music. It seems that, in so far as there was any musical reform in Cremona in light of the Council [of Trent], it involved little rupture, grounding itself rather in the distinctive sounds that had come to define Catholic musical experience." The third element is the use of harmony for expressive reasons. Several motets include dissonances and chromaticism, such as O sacrum convivium and Salve Regina (both Vol. III).
The splendour of church music was extended through the use of wind instruments. Cornetts and sackbuts were frequently used in Italy in sacred music, in and outside the liturgy. However, it was not as frequently used as one may think. In 'normal' circumstances, masses and motets may have been performed with voices alone, probably with the support of an organ. That was the case in Venice, and may have been the case in Cremona as well. In these two recordings the winds are involved in nearly every piece, and that may be a little one-sided. That said, the result is very impressive, and these two discs give an excellent impression of what music may have sounded in Cremona Cathedral. Some motets are performed instrumentally. That is certainly a legitimate option, but the disadvantage is that it is hard to connect text and music. It is nice that the lyrics are included in the booklet, even of those pieces that are performed instrumentally. The listener at least knows what these are about, and it is evident that the players were aware of the text as well. The playing is wonderfully differentiated in dynamics and tempo.
That also goes for the singing. It is clear from the liner-notes in the respective booklets by Gareth Wilson that this project is very much a labour of love. He and his ensembles really believe that Ingegneri deserves to be given his rightful place at the musical map of Renaissance Europe. These recordings prove them right. The music is excellent and the performances are as good as one may wish. The choir produces a firm sound, but the performances are full of nuance, and the balance between voices and instruments is pretty much ideal. A fourth disc has been released, but as that is devoted to music for Holy Week and Easter, it will be reviewed at the appropriate time.
These two splendid discs deserve a strong recommendation. Volume III includes two madrigals performed at the organ. It is to be hoped that this part of Ingegneri's oeuvre is also going to be explored.
Johan van Veen (© 2024)
Relevant links:
Choir of Girton College, Cambridge