Gombert - Magnificats 1-4 [CD]

Mary's song in praise of God, the Magnificat (My soul doth magnify the Lord) has been a remarkable source of inspiration to composers over the centuries. Within its short, rich text it covers a variety of emotions, narrative drama, powerful imagery, and even some scurrilous political content about stuffing the rich and deposing the mighty. Among composers who have responded with music worthy of this uplifting hymn are Clemens non Papa, Lassus, Palestrina, Victoria, Monteverdi, Schütz, Bassani, Bach and his sons J.C. and C.P.E.; and I've no doubt other readers could add many more.

Prominent among these many fine works is Gombert's magnificent series of eight settings - composed, according to one very plausible historical source, as an act of penance and a plea for forgiveness after the composer had been convicted and punished for a serious transgression in the course of his duties as chapelmaster to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Be that as it may, the result is one of the truly great masterpieces of renaissance music - a coherent and unified set of eight Magnificats, each one basing its principal motif on one of the eight traditional chants or modes. Thus each of these settings is quite distinct, as Gombert uses the simple melodic line of each chant to create a powerful, rhythmical motif which is then developed in the form of intensive, muscular and infinitely varying polyphony through the subsequent verses. Each of the eight works is written in the alternatim format, the verses being alternately polyphonic and chanted; but, far from the listener having any sense of the work being interrupted or fragmented, the impetus created by the distinctive initial motif and its progressive development, with each polyphonic verse seeming to resume where the last one left off, is so powerful that the cumulative effect is enhanced all the more as a result.

This is, therefore, intensely involving, charismatic music that packs a real punch. And, what is more, the performance by the Tallis Scholars under Peter Phillips is quite magnificent. My personal favourites on this disc (containing nos. 1-4) are the Magnificats in the Second and Third tones - and, on the other disc covering nos. 5-8 (Gombert - Magnificat 5 - 8), those in the Fifth and Eighth tones. That might seem like an awful lot of favourite Magnificats, but I believe many listeners will have a similar problem once you get to know these works. On the present disc, for example, there's an especially stunning passage in no. 2 at "Fecit potentiam", with the lower voices expressing the unforgettable meaning of the words (He hath shown strength with his arm: he hath scattered the proud in their conceit) in music of extraordinary muscularity and vigour. But there are equally fine examples all over the place; you only have to listen to the opening notes of the very first setting to feel the great strength of the initial motif, which immediately demands attention even before it begins its irresistible development.

Reviewer Kurt Messick has already written an excellent piece describing the many wonderful qualities of the music and its performance here, so I won't go on about these much more except to add a few comments in a separate review of the disc containing Magnificats 5-8. But I entirely disagree with the comments from reviewer E. McCandless suggesting a lack of passion or emotional intensity on the part of the Tallis Scholars. To my ears, the very opposite is the case - their performances are both beautiful and intense, deeply committed and more than worthy of the vigour and passion of Gombert's extraordinary music.

All this is as far away as can be from the traditional English cathedral gentility with which renaissance music has sometimes been treated in the past, and of which reviewers have often complained. In short, renaissance fans, please don't miss out on these works; Gombert's music, and its performance by the Tallis Scholars, are overwhelming.

--Nicholas Gombert--
Like many of his generation, details of his life are somewhat hard to come by - it is believed Gombert was born in 1490 in southern Flanders. He probably studied with the great composer Josquin during his retirement in the years leading up to 1520. Employed by emperor Charles V as a singer in his court chapel in 1526, he later became master of the boys for the royal chapel. He traveled with the emperor, and eventually was appointed chorus master at Tournai, and probably he spent much of his life there after 1534.

Records indicate Gombert was convicted of molesting a boy and sentenced to hard labor; later pardoned, he returned to Tournai by the 1550s (when his Magnificat settings were published). By 1561, he was dead, but it is not certain exactly when that happened, either.

--Magnificats 1-4--
It is said that Gombert wrote the eight Magnificat settings (four of which are on this disc, and four of which are on a companion disc) as an offering to the emperor to gain his favour; Charles V was apparently so moved by them, he granted Gombert's release. Gombert was highly influenced by Josquin, but is rather more fond of dissonance than he. Gombert is a strong link in the chain of composers between Josquin and the later, great Palestrina. Strong polyphony is present in the Magnificat, traditional pieces of liturgy derived from the Song of Mary, the prayer of the Blessed Virgin Mary after the Annunciation.

There is variety as the verses in the Magnificats vary - even verses in polyphonic, odd verses in chant. There is also a momentary clash or dissonance at the end of a cadence, intentionally, and that can be heard in this recording.

All of these pieces are glorious complex polyphonic compositions of extraordinary power and grace. Taken as a set, they make a wonderful snapshot of Roman Catholic sensibility of the time, and greatly representative of the state of liturgical/religious music of the time.

This CD includes antiphonal pieces between the Magnificat settings. These give the tones upon which each Magnificat is based.

--The Tallis Scholars-
The Tallis Scholars are a group dedicated to the performance and preservation of the best of this type of music. A choral group of exceptional ability, I have been privileged to see them many times in public, and at almost every performance, their work is stunning and delivered with near-flawless grace. Directed by Peter Phillips, the group consists of a small number of male and female singers who have trained themselves well to their task.

This recording deserves more than five stars; it deserves a place on the shelf of anyone who loves choral music, liturgical music or Gregorian chant, classical music generally, or religious music. This particular recording was made during 2000 in the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Salle, Norfolk, one the Tallis Scholars' regular recording sites.

When listening, fair warning: prepare to be moved.

The now ever-changing line-up of the Tallis Scholars singers have managed to maintain their own extraordinarily high standards with the exquisite recording of Nicolas Gombert's first 4 Magnicat settings.

As is now expected of Peter Phillips' direction, the singing is clear, precise and of impeccable intonation and enunciation. Clear examples of this can be found in the odd-numbered verse chants in the Magnificats and Antiphons that introduce them. This faultless chanting for me was one of the highlights of the recording.
Another welcome aspect was the Scholars' approach to the false relations so typical in Gombert's music. Where Peter Phillips has shied away from these delicious dissonances in the past, he seems to take great pleasure in giving them full voice where required.

My only criticism (as with most other Tallis Scholars performaces) is the lack of passion that is instilled in the performace of such emotional music. It almost seems that Peter Phillips is more concerned with exerting as much control over the singing as possible, which inevitably stifles any emotional intensity that could be generated by the music itself. However, what they lose through lack of passion, they more than make up for in precision and clarity.

Overall, a very enjoyable recording, and quite an appetiser for the following 4 Magnificats next year!!