Agnus Dei III by Josquin Desprez
This Friday's offering is actually not a motet--it's a movement from a mass. The composer is Josquin Desprez; the composition is the great 'Missa Pange Lingua'; the movement is the Agnus Dei III, one of the most expressive and healing moments in all Renaissance music. And Lord knows a prayer for peace and healing is more called for now than ever.
Josquin's Missa is a so-called motto mass; it uses the 'Pange lingua' (a medieval hymn for Corpus Christi) as a source for the melodic material of the mass. Here's a recording of the chant. The melody used most often by Josquin is the unforgettable opening phrase, with its distinctive E-Phyrgian half-step motif and its sweeping ascent to C. The piece is suffused throughout with Josquin's signature style, including imitative points of imitation, paired duets, careful and loving attention to the words, and certain cathartic moments brought about through a sort of spinning-out process which propels us forward as though riding a wave. The entire mass, as performed by the Tallis Scholars, is available here. Spend some time with it over the weekend if you can--it's truly balm to the soul.
On a very different thread (not to mention in a very different century), I want to share with you this video of the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra performing Aaron Copland's 'Appalachian Spring'. It is nothing short of incredible. Liz Lerman (who, with her company, will be creating a work for the Green when things are up and running again) did the choreography. Two dancers are featured in specific roles, but to my mind the stars of the show are the young musicians, moving and weaving together to make patterns and tableaux as they play the piece from memory. There are so many beautiful moments; perhaps my favorite is at the end, when the players lovingly lay down their instruments at the front of the stage. Always brings a tear to my eye. Take a half-hour and watch and listen--you won't regret it.
This Friday's offering is actually not a motet--it's a movement from a mass. The composer is Josquin Desprez; the composition is the great 'Missa Pange Lingua'; the movement is the Agnus Dei III, one of the most expressive and healing moments in all Renaissance music. And Lord knows a prayer for peace and healing is more called for now than ever.
Josquin's Missa is a so-called motto mass; it uses the 'Pange lingua' (a medieval hymn for Corpus Christi) as a source for the melodic material of the mass. Here's a recording of the chant. The melody used most often by Josquin is the unforgettable opening phrase, with its distinctive E-Phyrgian half-step motif and its sweeping ascent to C. The piece is suffused throughout with Josquin's signature style, including imitative points of imitation, paired duets, careful and loving attention to the words, and certain cathartic moments brought about through a sort of spinning-out process which propels us forward as though riding a wave. The entire mass, as performed by the Tallis Scholars, is available here. Spend some time with it over the weekend if you can--it's truly balm to the soul.
On a very different thread (not to mention in a very different century), I want to share with you this video of the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra performing Aaron Copland's 'Appalachian Spring'. It is nothing short of incredible. Liz Lerman (who, with her company, will be creating a work for the Green when things are up and running again) did the choreography. Two dancers are featured in specific roles, but to my mind the stars of the show are the young musicians, moving and weaving together to make patterns and tableaux as they play the piece from memory. There are so many beautiful moments; perhaps my favorite is at the end, when the players lovingly lay down their instruments at the front of the stage. Always brings a tear to my eye. Take a half-hour and watch and listen--you won't regret it.