When Isabella of Portugal died in childbirth in 1539, her husband, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, went into deepest mourning; in his profound grief, he commissioned posthumous portraits of Isabella from the Italian artist Titian, as well as several musical memorials from Flemish composer Thomas Crecquillon. Little is known of Crecquillon's career apart from his decade of service to Charles, but his body of works written at court was substantial, consisting of numerous motets, chansons, and masses. The pieces directly ...
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When Isabella of Portugal died in childbirth in 1539, her husband, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, went into deepest mourning; in his profound grief, he commissioned posthumous portraits of Isabella from the Italian artist Titian, as well as several musical memorials from Flemish composer Thomas Crecquillon. Little is known of Crecquillon's career apart from his decade of service to Charles, but his body of works written at court was substantial, consisting of numerous motets, chansons, and masses. The pieces directly associated with Isabella's demise -- the Missa Mort m'a privé, two motets of the same title, and the chansons Oeil esgaré and Le monde est tel -- are prominently featured on this 2006 release from Hyperion; three other funeral motets, composed for other members of the royal family, are included, as well as a choral meditation on the Resurrection of Christ as the concluding track. Crecquillon's mannered style is smooth in line and translucent in texture, and surprisingly bright in tone...
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