composer
Legend has it that the young Lassus was abducted three times because of his beautiful voice. The truth is that his parents allowed him to go to Italy to sing ...
related works
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Mixed choir
Scoring:
GK
Andaira : for mixed choir / Petra Strahovnik
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Mixed choir
Scoring:
GK
Mother of Light : for mixed choir / Victoria Poleva; lyrics Psalter, after Kathisma 12
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Mixed choir
Scoring:
GK
Egidius waer bestu bleven? : (bewerking voor gemengd koor) / Guillaume Landré
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Mixed choir
Scoring:
GK4
composition
Proper of the Season (from a Bavarian Choirbook) : for 4-8 voices / Ludwig Daser, Orlandus Lassus, Johann de Fossa; transcribed and edited by Cees Wagemakers
Other authors:
Daser, Ludwig
(composer)
Fossa, Johann de
(composer)
Wagemakers, Cees
(editor)
Description:
The Bavarian State Library (Bayerische Staats Bibliothek in Munich, Germany) has a unique collection of large folio format choirbooks from the Bavarian court music ensemble, predominantly from the time of Orlando di Lasso serving as court music director. Several splendidly illustrated choir books originally belonged to the personal collection of the Bavarian dukes. The most beautiful one is the collection of motets by Cipriano de Rore for Duke Albrecht V, also available at Donemus. Choirbooks have all the parts on two facing pages, in contrast to the separate books for each voice that we see mostly in Renaissance editions.
The choirbook in the Bavarian State Library catalogued BSB Mus.ms. 32 (without title), dated 1565-1595, contains the propers of a number of Catholic liturgical feasts through the year. The propers are the texts in the mass that change every day, and include mostly an Introit - Gradual - Alleluia Song - (Tract) - Offertory - Communion. Sometimes there was a Sequence on special occasions.
The question remains: who is the composer of the first works in this book? The music breathes the same sober quality that we hear in the music of Ludwig Daser. We very often hear the cadenzas not solving in a dominant chord but in the sub-dominant chord. The typical F-G-sequences also suggest Daser’s hand.
When we look at the order of the works compared to the order of the Kapellmeisters in time there is a certain resemblance, however no proof whatsoever: Daser - Lassus - De Fossa. I tend to suppose that Ludwig Daser is our man. If not, Lassus could be the perpetrator too.
Cees Wagemakers