Originally recorded in 1997, this disc by the Renaissance-specializing Huelgas Ensemble and leader Paul van Nevel unearthed some gorgeous examples of the long tradition of Lamentations, settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, complete with their incantatory Hebrew initial letters (Aleph, Beth...). The tradition lasted for centuries (Couperin's was a notable Baroque example), and the booklet for this disc makes the useful point that composers' attraction for these plaintive Old Testament texts was likely due to purely ...
Read More
Originally recorded in 1997, this disc by the Renaissance-specializing Huelgas Ensemble and leader Paul van Nevel unearthed some gorgeous examples of the long tradition of Lamentations, settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, complete with their incantatory Hebrew initial letters (Aleph, Beth...). The tradition lasted for centuries (Couperin's was a notable Baroque example), and the booklet for this disc makes the useful point that composers' attraction for these plaintive Old Testament texts was likely due to purely musical and dramatic factors: the music could be used only once a year, during Holy Week, and the potential liturgical applications don't justify the frequency with which the Lamentations were set. Van Nevel selects one well-known setting, that of Lassus, and situates its rich polyphony as the climax to a group of almost unknown versions. The most interesting find here is the four-voice setting by Marbrianus de Orto, a rough contemporary of Josquin whose Lamentatio Jeremie Prphete for...
Read Less
Add this copy of Lamentations De La Renaissance-Settings of the to cart. $8.91, good condition, Sold by Prime Goods Outlet rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Troy, OH, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Harmonia Mundi.
