Regina caeli laetare by Pierre Manchicourt
Sonoma Manchicourt?
No, no, we're not changing our name. But today's motet makes the idea kind of tempting.
It's a setting of the Marian antiphon 'Regina caeli laetare', by Pierre Manchicourt (c.1510-1564).
You may be asking, 'Pierre who?' While Manchicourt has been on my radar to some extent for a while, and I know a few of you out there are fans (Ole, are you reading this?), I can't say that he's exactly a household name. But once you listen to and learn about this fabulous Friday Motet, you might think he's got a shot at achieving that coveted status.
The composer uses the lush 6-voice scoring for this festive antiphon. The chant is present in the top two voices, in canon. But it's complicated: There is a rubric which instructs the second soprano to sing the same line as the first, starting later, but without breathing (that is, omit the rests) and without the dots (omit the dot on any note so marked, thus shortening said note). Both of these instructions serve to make the soprano 2 part shorter than the soprano 1 part. In addition, in the first part of the motet, the second soprano enters a fourth below the first soprano; while in the second part, the second soprano begins and the first soprano enters later, a fourth above the second part.
Meanwhile, the other four voices dance below, freely imitating the chant when they see fit,
breaking free from it when inspired so to do.
This all results in a Bachian level of complexity. But clearly Manchicourt can handle it. Rather than sounding dry and intellectual, it sounds to me very much like joy--like angels dancing blissfully on the head of a pin
--from the first note to the last.
So while we won't be changing out name anytime soon, you can best that some Manchicourt is in our mutual future!
Score and recording are attached. Make sure to check out the excellent translation and commentary by Andrew Fysh on the last page of the score.
Sonoma Manchicourt?
No, no, we're not changing our name. But today's motet makes the idea kind of tempting.
It's a setting of the Marian antiphon 'Regina caeli laetare', by Pierre Manchicourt (c.1510-1564).
You may be asking, 'Pierre who?' While Manchicourt has been on my radar to some extent for a while, and I know a few of you out there are fans (Ole, are you reading this?), I can't say that he's exactly a household name. But once you listen to and learn about this fabulous Friday Motet, you might think he's got a shot at achieving that coveted status.
The composer uses the lush 6-voice scoring for this festive antiphon. The chant is present in the top two voices, in canon. But it's complicated: There is a rubric which instructs the second soprano to sing the same line as the first, starting later, but without breathing (that is, omit the rests) and without the dots (omit the dot on any note so marked, thus shortening said note). Both of these instructions serve to make the soprano 2 part shorter than the soprano 1 part. In addition, in the first part of the motet, the second soprano enters a fourth below the first soprano; while in the second part, the second soprano begins and the first soprano enters later, a fourth above the second part.
Meanwhile, the other four voices dance below, freely imitating the chant when they see fit,
breaking free from it when inspired so to do.
This all results in a Bachian level of complexity. But clearly Manchicourt can handle it. Rather than sounding dry and intellectual, it sounds to me very much like joy--like angels dancing blissfully on the head of a pin
--from the first note to the last.
So while we won't be changing out name anytime soon, you can best that some Manchicourt is in our mutual future!
Score and recording are attached. Make sure to check out the excellent translation and commentary by Andrew Fysh on the last page of the score.