Requiem (Missa pro Defunctis), for 3-4 voices (introit, Kyrie, gradual, offertory only)
Johannes Ockeghem's Requiem is a beautiful example of the plainchant mass and is the earliest surviving polyphonic Mass for the Dead. It was most likely written in 1461 and originally consisted of the Introit, Kyrie eleison, Graduale, Tractus, and the Offertorium. All the other texts were probably sung in unembellished plainchant, following normal church practice. In this pre-Tridentine setting, the Requiem appears truncated, but to call this performance a reconstruction or a completion is not quite accurate since Ockeghem ...
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Johannes Ockeghem's Requiem is a beautiful example of the plainchant mass and is the earliest surviving polyphonic Mass for the Dead. It was most likely written in 1461 and originally consisted of the Introit, Kyrie eleison, Graduale, Tractus, and the Offertorium. All the other texts were probably sung in unembellished plainchant, following normal church practice. In this pre-Tridentine setting, the Requiem appears truncated, but to call this performance a reconstruction or a completion is not quite accurate since Ockeghem's work was as complete as he deemed necessary. However, to give this recording a semblance of completeness for modern listeners, Ockeghem's movements are presented here within the liturgical context, with the Epistle, Gospel, Agnus Dei, and Libera Me sung by Marcel Pérès and Ensemble Organum in plainchant. The Sanctus and Communio, though, are provided as supplements to flesh out the work; attributed to Antonius Divitis, they follow Ockeghem's style using the same ornamented chant...
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