Saturday, 16 July 2005, 8pm
Xavier College Chapel, Barkers Road, Kew
Subscription Concert 3
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was not only a great monarch but also a great patron of music. Gombert, Crecquillon, Clemens non Papa, Canis and Payen were among his court musicians. It is no surprise that many of the major events of his life are documented in the motet and chanson literature. The major work of the program, Gombert’s Missa Sur tous regretz, is understood, on the basis of a source labelling it ‘for the coronation’, to have been composed for Charles’ coronation in Bologna in 1530.
PROGRAM
Josquin Desprez Mille regretz
Nicolas Gombert Felix Austriae domus
Nicolas Gombert Qui colis Ausoniam
Thomas Crecquillon Carole, magnus erat
Cristóbal de Morales Jubilate Deo
Thomas Crecquillon Quis te victorem dicat
Jacobus Clemens non Papa Carole, magnus eras
Orlande de Lassus Heroum soboles
Nicolas Gombert Missa Sur tous regretz (Missa A la Incoronation)
Note: Gombert ‘Dicite in magni’, Cornelius Canis ‘Tota vita peregrinamur homines’, Nicolas Payen ‘Carole cur defles’ and Fernando de las Infantas ‘Parce mihi Domine’ advertised in subscription brochure but not performed.
| SOPRANO | ALTO | TENOR | BASS |
| Deborah Summerbell | Belinda Wong | Peter Campbell | Alexander Roose |
| Carol Veldhoven | Rebecca Woods | Frank Prain | Matthew Champion |
| Kathryn Pisani | Niki Ebacioni | Vaughan McAlley | Tom Reid |
| Claerwen Jones | Barbara Tattam | Stuart Tennant | Tim Daly |
| Maria Pisani | |||
| Fiona Seers |
–
REVIEWS
Tuesday, 19 July 2005, The Age [Melbourne], page 6, Metro.
Tong Splendid; Gomberts Masterful
Clive O’Connell
[…] AT XAVIER Chapel on Saturday, the latest program from the Ensemble Gombert rotated around a cappella
choral music written for the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. He was well treated by composers, both those
in his employ and those commissioned from outside: conductor John O’Donnell led his excellent ensemble
through motets by Crecquillon, Morales, Clemens non Papa, Lassus and the group’s namesake.
After the stringent harmonic clashes of the older masters, in particular Gombert, the concluding Heroum
sobales by Lassus fell on the ear with unexpected sweetness.
For the evening’s second part, the musicians sang a solid Mass by Gombert, Sur tous regretz, which was
performed at the emperor’s coronation. The work exemplifies the composer’s individual combination of
orthodox vocal movement with striking harmonic clashes at cadential points and an unexpected treatment of
the text, in particular phrases that seem over-extended or end abruptly.
The singers presented an illuminating and masterful account of this Mass, the altos and basses muted in
volume, but giving the choral fabric a subtle yet formidable underpinning.
Clive O’Connell/Courtesy of The Age