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Notes 61.4 (2005) 1083-1087



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The Siena Lute Book. Jacob Heringman. Avie AV0036, 2004.

For this program, lutenist Jacob Heringman draws on two manuscript collections of the late sixteenth century, both produced in Tuscany: the Siena Lute Book and an untitled collection currently held in the Dolmetsch Library in Haslemere, the Netherlands. Both collections contain a mixture of original pieces for lute, intabulations of popular songs of the period, and arrangements of instrumental ensemble pieces. Heringman selected 26 pieces for this program, drawing on all categories (those who purchase the disc may download an additional three tracks from the label's Web site). Two selections, the anonymous Spagna detta Lamire quarto modo and secondo modo, are reconstructions by Heringman of contrapuntal arrangements that were probably intended as settings for the popular basse danse melody La Spagna, and he performs them here with lutenist Lynda Sayce. Much of the other material presented here is by anonymous or simply unknown composers, but there are also fine examples of music by such celebrated masters of the lute as Francesco da Milano, Fabrizio Dentice, and Alberto da Ripa. Heringman is well-known in the early music community as both a soloist and accompanist, and this, his third album for the Avie label, shows him at his best; his delicate but authoritative touch and his impressive contrapuntal ability combine to make this both a highly valuable and deeply enjoyable collection of Renaissance lute [End Page 1083] music, some of it unavailable in any other commercial recording.

Josquin des Prez; Nicolas Gombert; Jean Richafort. Josquin and the Lost Generation. Vox Early Music Ensemble / Christopher Wolverton. Ancient Voice 001, 2004.

Regardless of whether the names of Nicolas Gombert and Jean Richafort are as shrouded in obscurity as the producers of this recording believe, new recordings of their music are always welcome, especially when they are sung and recorded as winningly as they are here. For this program the Vox Early Music Ensemble, which is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has selected one motet, Musae Jovis, by Gombert and the Requiem mass of Richafort. In order to illustrate the influence of Josquin on these two composers, their works are presented in combination with one of his motets (Benedicta es) and two of his secular chansons (Nimphes nappés and Faulte d'argent). The latter of the two chansons uses the melody Circumdederunt me as its cantus firmus and its canon is marked at two to three measures, as is the one in Richafort's Requiem; Gombert's Musae Jovis also employs the Circumdederunt me melody and is written as a lamentation on Josquin's death. There is also material from Faulte d'argent in the Richafort composition. The liner notes' explicit mapping-out of the thematic and stylistic connections between the three composers is fascinating, particularly given the significant difference in writing style between Gombert and Josquin, but the real appeal of this recording is in the warmth and expressiveness of the singers, and in the group's creamy ensemble blend. Although it may not be readily available from all mainstream distributors, this disc is well worth the extra effort that may be required to purchase it. (For ordering information, see the Vox Early Music Ensemble's Web site at http://www.voxannarbor.org.)

Alessandro Besozzi. Triosonate per duo oboi e B.C. Ensemble Barocco Sans Souci. Tactus TC 700203, 2004.

No matter how beautifully composed or well played, an entire CD of oboe duets is likely to begin wearing on the average listener after about 30 minutes. In this case, unfortunately, the ten duos and trio sonatas presented here are competently written, but far from exquisite; worse, the playing itself, while both energetic in delivery and tastefully nuanced in its phrasing, is at times so painfully out of tune that it is impossible to enjoy it at all. The continuo parts are played by a harpsichord and baroque bassoon, and the three wind players struggle throughout the program to keep the pitch of their instruments under control, failing most abjectly on the minuet movement of the Sonata II. Baroque reed instruments...

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