Doulce Memoire - Porte de Felicite: Constantinople 1453 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

?Doulce mémoire here delves into the repertoire of French songs that were central to the first printed score in the history of music, Harmonice Musices Odhecaton (Venice, 1501). This repertoire dates from the end of the 15th century and includes music from not only the French and Burgundian courts but also from the chanson rustique, a new genre that was in use at the court of Louis XII (1462-1515). This singular repertoire is based on popular melodies that dealt with everyday, amorous, erotic and satirical subjects; the texts have an irregular versification that was known as 'rural rhetoric' at that time.

Josquin Desprez, princeps musicorum, the prince of musicians, as his contemporaries called him, is best known today for his sacred works, the masses and motets, which have been widely performed and recorded. Surprisingly, his chansons have received little attention from performers, except for the pieces for five and six voices, printed after his death by the Antwerp Tilman Susato in his seventh book of 1545. Doulce Mémoire has chosen to focus on the chansons for three and four voices, which are probably the earliest in the Hainault master's output; with their diversity of language and themes (sometimes folk-derived), these songs constitute a varied program that is at once serious and bawdy, a testament to the unequalled art of Josquin Desprez.

Ensemble Doulce Memoire - Renaissance Winds [COMPACT DISCS] date 04/20/1999