Knaben der Chorschule der
Wiener Sängerknaben
Choralschola der Wiener Hofburgkapelle
Clemencic Consort
| William Dongois | Zink |
| Peter Gallaun | Renaissanceposaune |
| Christoph Gems | Renaissanceposaune |
| Renate Slepicka | Renaissanceposaune |
| René Clemencic Spätgotisches | Orgelpositiv
künstlerische Leitung |
Notes on the Works
The period around 1500 is a turning-point.
Janus-like, it looks back to the middle
ages and forwards to the new age, Gothic
and Renaissance, ending and new beginning.
The Vienna Hofkapelle (Court Chapel) of Kaiser
Maximilian I. stands at the apex of these
changes. By 1496 Maximilian, emperor since
1493, had sent a part of his imperial chapel
establishment to Vienna, together with the
highly renowned composer, Heinrich Isaac. It
was formally established in July 1498. Vienna
became its permanent seat.
At the core of the chapel establishment
was the choir, a vocal ensemble of men and
boys brought together for the performance
of highly evolved, polyphonic sacred music.
It was supported by trumpets and trombones.
Among the organists attached to it towered
Maximilian’s personal organist, Paul Hofhaimer.
The first Kapellmeister to be appointed was
Georg Slatkonia from Laibach, later Bishop of
Vienna. The well-educated and highly-organised
Slatkonia remained principal Kapellmeister
even after his appointment as Bishop.
Heinrich Isaac was Court Composer until his
death in 1517, and was succeeded in office by
his pupil Ludwig Senfl.
In this recording we place alongside composition
by Maximlian’s Hofkapellmeisters
Heinrich Isaac and Ludwig Senfl a Mass by
Josquin Desprez. “Josquin is the master of
the notes, which must do as he wills it; the
other composers have to do as the notes will
it.” (Martin Luther)
The Missa “di dadi” is in the third book
of Josquin Masses, which first appeared in
1514–1516 published by Petrucci in Venice.
The Mass is a so-called ‘cantus firmus’ Mass:
the cantus firmus, a short melodic fragment,
literally repeated in almost every section,
permeates the whole work as a kind of spiritual
bonding. It is however almost concealed
within the inner parts. This cantus firmus corresponds
to the beginning of the tenor part
of the chanson N’auray je jamais mieulx by
Robert Morton, the English musician active in
Burgundy between 1457 and 1476.
Following the usage of the period, Josquin’s
Missa “di dadi”, the Ordinary of the
Mass, is accompanied by a selection of Mass
Propers and instrumental versions of motets,
so as to create a meaningful whole.
The inserted sung Propers are by Heinrich
Isaac. The Introit and Alleluia are taken from
the great “Choralis Constantinus”, composed
in part for Constance Cathedral but mostly
for the Vienna Hofkapelle. Basic plainsong
melodic structures are artfully worked out in
mostly four-part imitative writing. Sometimes
the plainsong structure appears almost unaltered
in long, cantus firmus note-values.
The Magnificat is by Ludwig Senfl. His
Magnificat sexti toni artfully elaborates the
plainsong Magnificat melody in mostly fourpart
writing. Full account is taken of declamatory
style and renaissance tonal sensibilities
in the subtle contrapuntal writing.
The instrumental contributions present
instrumental versions of motets by Josquin, Isaac
and Senfl, according to the usage of the period.
The organ pieces are intabulations of contemporary
motets or original instrumental pieces.
The funeral ode Quis dabit oculis was
composed by the Italian genius Constanzo
Festa, (whose works are often confused with
Josquin’s) for the funeral of Ann of England,
wife of the French King Louis XII. Senfl used
the music, with slight alterations appropriate
for the occasion, for the funeral ode on the
death of Emperor Maximilian I (1519).
In this recording the music is performed
from the original Renaissance notation with
mensuration which, in order not to disturb
the onward flow, has no bar-lines and no full
score (see illustrations on page 15 & 17).