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| " I would recommend this disc unreservedly..." |
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Reviewer: Fabrice Fitch Singing self-accompanied on the lute was considered a mark of the true Renaissance gentleman, but the two functions could be shared out between two performers. By its nature, polyphony privileges the interaction between voices; but nonetheless much Renaissance music (especially secular) relies on a principal melody. That is plainly the case with Mille regretz, one of the standout hits of the time; no doubt a fair proportion of the pieces on this recital would have been performed this way. Romain Bockler’s brooding voice sustains the entire recital. His willingness to ornament so consistently is to be applauded, though it’s not always as spontaneous as one might wish. Bor Zuljan is a sympathetic accompanist, seldom needing to draw attention to himself. Renaissance aficionados will note his use in some tracks of a ‘bray lute’, which has been fitted in such a way that the strings are further excited after they have been plucked, making the buzzing sound usually associated with bray harps. I would recommend this disc unreservedly, not least for the window it opens on to the variety of performance contexts for written polyphony in the Renaissance (and Bockler’s willingness to ornament). Two observations, however: first, the slow speed typical of lute intabulations rubs off on the recital as a whole, which is to say that the odd change of pace wouldn’t have gone amiss. Second, one has to point out that Josquin’s authorship of several of these pieces is seriously disputed. (I’ve already mentioned the most famous case, that of Mille regretz.) Most bizarre of all, there is not a shred of evidence linking the beautiful Quant de vous seul (without a doubt one of the recital’s high points) to anyone but Ockeghem. In the run-up to the 500th anniversary of Josquin’s death, one hopes that performers and producers will (as they say) do the homework. |
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