RECOMENDACIONES PARA DISEÑO

Scandello was born in Bergamo in northern Italy, where his father and brothers were trum-peters and where he was employed as a trumpeter himself in 1530. In 1547 he entered the court of Cardinal Madruzzi in Trent, and in 1549 he joined five other Italian musicians at the court of Elector Moritz of Saxony in Dresden. In 1562 he converted to the Protestant faith and was made a citizen of Dresden, in 1566 he was appointed Vice-Kapellmeister of the court, and in 1568 he was promoted to Hofkapellmeister. The Dresden court flourished under Scandello’s leadership and was recognized as second only to the Munich court under Orlando di Lasso in terms of its musical stature.

Scandello composed eight masses, twelve motets, one Passion, one historia, three collec-tions of sacred and secular lieder, and one collection of Italian secular music entitled Il primo libro delle canzoni napolitane. The masses are mostly Italian-styled parody works, exemplified by Missa sex vocum super epitaphium illustrissimi principis Mauritii, which is based on Scandello’s motet Mauritius cedidit and composed as an elegy for Count Moritz, who died in battle in 1553.

The motets—for example, Beati omnes qui timet Dominum and Christus vere languores, the latter of which Scandello called his “Cygnea cantio” (swan song)—are also in the imitative style of Ital-ian compositions of the time. The Passion and historia are in a mixture of ItalItal-ian and German styles and were notably influential in the development of works set to the Passion story through-out the remainder of the Renaissance era. In the responsorial historia entitled Gaudii paschalis Jesus Christi (also called the Auferstehungshistorie), the role of the Evangelist is set to recitation tones, while the remainder of the story is set polyphonically. This structure was especially significant, for Heinrich Schütz modeled his Historia der frölichen und siegreichen Au¤erstehung . . . Jesu Christi (Easter Oratorio) on Scandello’s historia, using the exact same text and dividing the compositional styles between recitation tones and polyphony.

Scandello was most recognized during his lifetime for his collections of German lieder—

Newe teutsche Liedlein of 1568, Newe und lustige weltliche deudsche Liedlein of 1570, and Newe schöne auserlesene geistliche deudsche Lieder of 1575. The publication of 1570—which included the

four-part lied Ein Hennlein weiss (The little white hen) with onomatopoeic sounds of cackles—was especially popular. The Italian pieces include the balletto Bonzorno, Madonna and the canzonet Vorria che tu cantass’ with a refrain sung to the solfege syllables fa mi la mi sol la.

Jacobus Vaet

Vaet was born in either Kortrijk or Harelbeke, Belgium, and was a chorister at Onze Lieve Vrouwkerk in Kortrijk. In 1546 he entered the University of Leuven, and in 1550 he became a singer at the Vienna court of Emperor Charles V. He remained at the court for the duration of his life, in 1554 becoming Kapellmeister to Charles’s nephew Archduke Maximilian II. While few details of Vaet’s life and professional activity exist, it is known from commentary and composi-tions of the sixteenth century that he was a highly respected composer. Jacob Regnart composed an elegy on his death—Defunctorum charites Vaetem—and composers such as Jacob Handl par-odied his works.

Vaet composed nine masses, three books of motets, eight Magnificats, and three chansons.

The masses are all based on preexisting material, mostly motets by noteworthy Franco-Flemish composers, including Jean Mouton (whose motet was used in Missa Confitemini), Cipriano de Rore (Missa Dissimulare), Clemens non Papa (Missa Ego flos campi), and Orlando di Lasso (Missa Tityre, tu patulae). This latter mass is also based on Vaet’s motet Vitam quae faciunt, which itself is a parody of Lasso’s same-named motet. Other masses employing Vaet’s own motets include Missa J’ai mis mon Coeur (on his Salve regina), Missa Miser qui amat, and Missa Vitam quae faci-unt beatiorum (the motet of which, as was mentioned above, is based on Lasso’s motet Tityre, tu patulae). The two remaining masses are Missa pro defunctis, based on Gregorian chant, and Missa Quodlibetica, based on a variety of German folk songs.

The motets are generally in an imitative texture similar to the works of the mid-sixteenth century Franco-Flemish composers. Examples include De extremo judicio and O quam gloriosum est regnum, scored for SATB, and In tenebris for SSATTB. Motets in two movements are also prevalent, for example Laetatus sum - Rogate quae ad pacem sunt for SATB and Miserere mei - Ecce enim in iniquitatibus for SATTB. Seventeen of the motets are set to serious secular texts such as

“Musica Dei donum optimi, trahit homines, trahit Deos” (Music, God’s greatest gift, draws men, draws God).

Orlando (Roland) di Lasso (de Lassus)

Lasso was born in Mons, Belgium, south of Brussels, close to the birthplaces of such significant composers as Heinrich Isaac, Josquin Desprez, Nicolas Gombert, Jacobus Clemens non Papa, Adrian Willaert, Cipriano de Rore, and Philippe de Monte. Nothing is known about Lasso’s early musical training, although there is speculation that he was a chorister at the church of St Nicholas in Ghent and that he had an extraordinarily beautiful singing voice. At age twelve he joined the court of Ferrante Gonzaga in Mantua, which was in Belgium during the summer of 1544 and in Mantua and Sicily thereafter, and in 1549 he entered the court of Constantino

Cas-trioto in Naples. Two years later Lasso moved to Rome, where he was a singer in the court of Antonio Altoviti, and in 1553, at the age of twenty-one, he was appointed maestro di capella at one of the oldest and most important churches in Italy—San Giovanni in Laterano, the Cathedral of Rome. After only a little more than a year in this position he returned to Belgium to attend to his ailing parents, being succeeded at San Giovanni in Laterano by Palestrina. Lasso remained in Belgium for about a year, even though his parents had died before he arrived, and in 1556 he became a singer at the court of Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria in Munich. Seven years later he was appointed Hofkapellmeister, a position he held until his death thirty years later and a position he passed on to his sons Ferdinand (ca.1560–1609) and Rudolf (ca.1563–1625). Under Lasso’s leadership, the musical resources at the court rivaled any in Europe, including courts and cathe-drals in Italy. According to Massimo Troiano, a singer at the Munich court, and Michael Praeto-rius in his treatise Syntagma Musicum, the court had approximately sixty singers, including six-teen boys, five to six castratos, thirsix-teen altos (countertenors), fifsix-teen tenors, and twelve basses.

Lasso was an esteemed composer throughout his adult life. In 1555, at age twenty-three, the Belgian publisher Tylman Susato printed a book of his madrigals, chansons, and motets, and in the same year the Venetian publisher Antonio Gardane issued a book of his madrigals. The fol-lowing year Susato published a book of motets. Publications continued, Lasso became recog-nized internationally, and he attracted numerous student composers to Munich, including both Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli. In addition, Lasso garnered numerous honors: Emperor Maxi-milian II designated him a nobleman in 1570, King Charles IX of France hosted him in 1573 and 1574, and Pope Gregory XIII bestowed on him the title Knight of the Golden Spur in 1574. Today Lasso is recognized as the greatest composer of the Renaissance era in Germany, and one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music. He is especially recognized for his prolific output and for his cosmopolitanism—his contributions (in Latin, Italian, French, and German) to virtually all the European genres of the late sixteenth century.

His compositional output includes at least sixty masses, almost six hundred motets, 101 Magnificats, thirteen settings of Nunc dimittis, eighteen sets of Lamentations, four Passions, approximately two hundred madrigals and pieces in other Italian genres, 150 chansons, and ninety lieder. Most of the masses are parodies of his own motets, madrigals, and chansons, and also those of other notable Franco-Flemish and Italian composers of the early and middle years of the sixteenth century. Twenty of the masses are based on his motets, examples of which are Credidi propter, Deus in adjutorium, Ecce Maria, Locutus sum, Osculetur me, Surge propera, and Vinum bonum; one mass parodies his chanson Susanne un jour. Another twenty masses parody madrigals and chansons by other composers, especially those from Belgium. Included are eight works based on madrigals (three by Rore, two by Willaert, and one each by Palestrina, Sebas-tiano Festa, and Arcadelt) and twelve works based on chansons (three by Gombert, three by Claudin de Sermisy, two each by Pierre Certon and Clemens non Papa, and one each by Monte and Pierre Sandrin). Notable among this list are those based on some of the most renowned madrigals and chansons of the sixteenth century—Palestrina’s Io son ferito ahi lasso, Rore’s Ite rime dolenti, Festa’s O passi sparsi, Willaert’s Rompi de l’empio core, Sandrin’s Doulce mémoire, Gombert’s Tous les regretz, Clemens non Papa’s Entre vous filles, and Certon’s Frère Thibault. Most of the remaining masses are based on Gregorian chant. The famous Missa pro defunctis for five voices is an example.

The masses range in style from those that are mainly polyphonic, with continuous point-of-imitation sections, to those that are mainly homophonic, with brief sections of imitative poly-phony. An example of the former is Lasso’s most famous mass, Missa Susanne un jour, which, as was mentioned above, is based on his own chanson. An example of the homophonic style of writing is Missa Doulce mémoire, based on Sandrin’s chanson.

The Magnificat and Nunc dimittis settings are, like the masses, based on preexisting mate-rial. Forty of the Magnificats are parodies of motets, madrigals, and chansons and are also in the traditional modes corresponding to Gregorian chant tones and in alternatim style, with poly-phony for the even-numbered verses. Five of the Magnificats are based on Lasso’s own motets—

Omnis enim homo (primi toni), Memor esto (secundi toni), Deus in adjutorium (septimi toni), Recor-dare Jesu pie (septimi toni), and Aurora lucis rutilat (octavi toni); nine—examples of which are Dessus le marché d’Arras (primi toni), Mais qui pourroit (secundi toni), Si vous estes m’amie (sexti toni), and Margot labouréz les vignes (septimi toni)—are based on Lasso’s chansons; and twenty-two are based on motets, madrigals, and chansons by other composers. As with the masses, Lasso chose for his models many highly reputed works by the most famous composers of the sixteenth century, including Vergine bella by Rore (primi toni), Ultimi miei sospiri by Verdelot (se-cundi toni), Praeter rerum seriem by Josquin (se(se-cundi toni), Mort et fortune by Gombert (tertii toni), Ancor che col partire by Rore (quarti toni), Omnis homo primum bonum vinum ponit by Wert (sexti toni), and Benedicta es caelorum regina by Josquin (octavi toni). Forty additional Magnificats are in five cycles based solely on the Gregorian chant tones. Eight of the Nunc dimittis settings are parodies, including one on Lasso’s chanson Susanne un jour, one on his madrigal Io son si stanco, and one on his motet Oculi mei semper. Five are based on Gregorian chant.

The Passions, one on each of the four Gospel accounts, are all in responsorial style. The five-voiced St Matthew and St John settings (Passio Domini nostri Jesu Christi secundum Mattheum and Passio . . . secundum Johannem) alternate duets and trios for the texts of solo characters, with full-textured polyphonic sections for the crowd (turba). The four-voiced St Mark and St Luke set-tings (Passio . . . secundum Marcum and Passio . . . secundum Lucam) alternate chant-like monody for the solo characters, with full-textured polyphonic sections for the turba. The Lamentations include nine settings each for four and five voices, and the Litanies include twelve settings en-titled Litaniae beatae Mariae virginis (two for four voices, five for five voices, two for nine voices, and one each for six, eight, and ten voices), three settings entitled Litaniae omnium sanctorum (one each for four, five, and seven voices), and the Litaniae deiparae beatae Mariae virginis for four voices.

The motets, unlike the masses, Magnificats, and other large-scale sacred works, are in a wide variety of styles. The four-voiced Jubilate Deo is constructed of four balanced points of im-itation in the style of Palestrina, with overlaps between the first and last two phrases and with a cadential demarcation between the second and third phrase; the six-voiced two-movement Timor et tremor is mostly homophonic, with short phrases set to varied rhythms; the six-voiced In hora ultima contains numerous instances of word painting, with expressive settings of “tuba”

(trumpet), “cithara” (cither), “jocus” (joking), “risus” (laughter), “saltus” (leaping), and “cantus”

(singing); the twenty-four pedagogical bicinia (duets), published in 1577, demonstrate the vari-ous polyphonic techniques of the day; the thirteen four-voiced motets that comprise the cycle Prophetiae Sibyllarum are homophonic and highly chromatic, with varied note nere rhythms

reflective of Rore; the seven multimovement motets of Psalmi Davidis poenitentiales alternate sections of imitative polyphony with passages of homophony; and the eight-voiced Vinum bonum is polychoral, as in the Venetian cori spezzati works of Giovanni Gabrieli.

The motets also vary in terms of textual content and purpose. Several motets are set to Latin poems in praise of wine. Vinum bonum is indicative, with a text that begins “Vinum bonum et suave, nunquam bibi vinum tale, vinum cor laetificat” (Wine good and sweet, never have I drunk such wine, wine rejoices the heart) and ends “Ergo Christum invocemus quod laetantes hic bibemus tale vinum porrigat. Fiat, fiat, fiat” (Therefore let us pray to Christ that we can hap-pily drink the wine he provides. So be it, so be it, so be it). Other motets are set to Classical sec-ular Latin texts. The two-movement Dulces exuviae - Urbem praeclaram is a setting of Dido’s Lament, and the Prophetiae Sibyllarum is a setting of sixteenth-century anonymous verses about the ancient Greek sibyls. Yet other motets have texts for specific ceremonial occasions: Mul-tarum hic resonat celebrated the name day of Wilhelm V in 1571, the three-voiced Haec quae ter triplici was for an occasion in 1575 that honored Duke Albrecht’s three sons, and Sponsa quid agis was composed for Lasso’s own wedding in 1558. Finally, a few of the texts deal with a variety of unrelated secular subjects, the most famous being Musica Dei donum optimi, a poem about the power of music that Lasso sets in an ABACADD form (the A consists of imitative statements of the word “Musica”).

The two large-scale motet cycles mentioned above warrant further discussion. The Prophe-tiae Sibyllarum, most likely composed about 1550, when Lasso was a very young man living in Naples, consists of an introduction or prologue followed by the prophecies of twelve sibyls, each indicated by name (e.g., Sibylla Persica, Sibylla Libyca, Sibylla Delphica, Sibylla Cimmeria, etc.).

The text of the introduction explains the nature of both the cycle’s musical style and content:

“Carmina chromatico, quae audis modulata tenore, haed sunt illa, quibus nostrae olim arcane salutis bis senae intrepido, cecinerung ore sibyllae” (Chromatic songs, which you hear in a mod-ulatory manner, these are they in which the secrets of our salvation were sung with undaunted voices by the twelve sibyls). The Psalmi Davidis poenitentiales, composed for Duke Albrecht in the early 1560s, consists of seven Psalm settings, each divided into multiple movements that vary in scoring. The first setting, Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me . . . miserere (Psalm 6), is di-vided into twelve movements, with scoring for SATTB, SAT, ATTB, TB, SATT, and SSATTB.

The other settings, all with similar scoring, are Beati quorum remissae sunt iniquitates (Psalm 31) in sixteen movements, Domine, ne in furore tuo . . . quoniam (Psalm 37) in twenty-five move-ments, Miserere mei Deus, secundum magnam (Psalm 50) in twenty-two movemove-ments, Domine ex-audi orationem meam: et clamor (Psalm 101) in thirty-one movements, De profundis clamavi ad te Domine (Psalm 129) in ten movements, and Domine exaudi orationem meam . . . auribus percipe (Psalm 142) in sixteen movements.

Lasso set most motet texts only once, unlike many other composers such as Palestrina.

However, the Marian texts are an exception. Lasso composed four settings of Alma redemptoris mater (one for five, two for six, and one for eight voices), five settings of Ave regina coelorum (one each for three, four, and five voices, and two for six voices), and seven settings of Regina coeli laetare (one for four, three for five, two for six, and one for seven voices).

The madrigals, chansons, lieder, and related secular genres by and large parallel the styles of each genre during the time. The madrigals are settings of serious poetry by Petrarch, Tasso,

Ariosto, and other poets esteemed by composers during the sixteenth century. Lasso’s first and last books of madrigals are indicative. Il primo libro di madrigali, published in 1555, which was so popular it was reprinted a dozen times in thirty years, contains such pieces as Occhi piangete, Mia benigna fortun’e, the two-madrigal cycle Cantai, hor piango, and the six-madrigal cycle Del freddo Rheno—all characterized by imitative polyphony and varied rhythms that express textual content. Lasso’s most popular madrigal and one of the most printed madrigals of the sixteenth century, S’io esca vivo, was first published in 1579. Madrigali novamente composti of 1587, the last madrigal publication, contains sacred or spiritual madrigals, including the six-madrigal cycle Per aspro mar and one of Lasso’s most acclaimed madrigals, Deh, lascia, anima. Other spiritual madrigals were composed just six weeks before Lasso’s death. They form a collection of twenty madrigals and a Latin motet, entitled Lagrime di San Pietro (Tears of St Peter), that relate di¤erent stages of St Peter’s remorse for having denied Jesus.

The other secular pieces in Italian—the ones set to lighthearted poetry and best known today—are not madrigals but rather villanellas, canzonets, and morescas. These include Ma-tona mia cara, O occhi manza mia, Tutto’l dì, Chi chilichi, O bella fusa, Hai Lucia, and Zanni piasi patro.

The chansons are divided between those, such as Susanne un jour, La nuict froide et sombre, and La terre les eaux va beauvant, that are basically imitative and in motet style, and those, such as Bon jour mon coeur and Quand mon mary, that are basically homophonic and in the Parisian style. Finally, the lieder include motet-like works set to sacred texts and folk-like pieces set to sec-ular texts. Examples of the former are Christ ist erstanden, Gross ist der Herr im heiligen Thron, Vater unser im Himmelreich, and the five-movement Ich ruf zu dir mein Herr und Gott. Examples of the latter are Audite nova der Bawr von Eselsskirchen and Ich weiss nur ein hübsches Meidlein.

masses and magnificats

selected and listed according to familiarity

Missa Susanne un jour – SATTB chorus – 19 minutes.

Missa Osculetur me – SATB/SATB chorus – 21 minutes.

Missa pro defunctis – SATB chorus – 27 minutes.

Missa pro defunctis – SATTB chorus – 34 minutes.

Missa Bell’ Amfitrit’altera – SATB/SATB chorus – 24 minutes.

Missa Quand’io pens’al martire – SATB chorus – 21 minutes.

Missa Qual donna attende à gloriosa fama – SATTB chorus – 21 minutes.

Missa Ite rime dolenti – SATTB chorus – 20 minutes.

Missa Doulce mémoire – SATB chorus – 18 minutes.

Missa Credidi propter – SATTB chorus – 19 minutes.

Missa Frère Thibault – SATB chorus – 16 minutes.

Magnificat Praeter rerum seriem (secundi toni) – SSATTB chorus – 13:30 minutes.

Magnificat Praeter rerum seriem (secundi toni) – SSATTB chorus – 13:30 minutes.