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John Dunstaple (a.k.a. Dunstable) was not just the first truly great English composer, he was also musical godfather to the Renaissance. In the middle of the 15th Century poet Martin le Franc famously described how Dufay had adopted the English manner championed by Dunstaple - la contenance Angloise - and how, to Continental ears, this new style of music sounded so fresh, and above all, joyful. From the sweet-sounding triads of Quam pulchra es to the total harmonic control of Veni Sancte Spiritus - Veni Creator, this selection of Dunstaple's sacred music must simply rank as some of the happiest music ever recorded.
1. Quam pulchra es [JD44] 02:35
(RE/ALE; AH/AP; TW/FB)
2. Kyrie [JD1] 06:12
(FULL)
3. Gloria a 4 [JD11] 06:35
(FULL)
4. Credo a 4 [JD12] 08:47
(FULL)
5. Gloria Jesu Christe Fili Dei [JD15] 07:42
(RE; FB; AH/TW/AP)
6. Credo Jesu Christe Fili Dei [JD16] 05:58
(KO/ALE; RE/AH; TW/FB/AP)
7. Sanctus [JD6] 04:31
(JF; RH; KO)
8. Credo Da gaudiorum premia [JD17] 05:59
(RH; JF; KO/ALE)
9. Sanctus Da gaudiorum premia [JD18] 06:11
(JF; KO; RH/ALE)
10. Agnus Dei [JD14] 05:33
(FULL)
11. Veni Sancte Spiritus - Veni Creator [JD32] 06:56
(JF/RH/KO; RE/AH; FB; TW/ALE/AP)
12. Gloria in canon [version*] 02:57
(FULL)
total timing: 70'02"
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"Dunstaple is very well served by this welcome new recording, which includes some mass music never recorded before. Antony Pitts is one of those rare directors who understands the internal sense of the music - an understanding well reflected in most of his musica ficta choices to mark cadences."
Dr Margaret Bent, leading Dunstaple scholar
That today the first truly great English composer is either unknown or just a name to most musicians and music-lovers is one of the great ironies of Western musical history. In about 1475 the musicologist Tinctoris claimed that during his own lifetime music had been transformed into a “new art”, rendering obsolete anything written more than a generation earlier. He singled out the English as responsible for this giant leap forward, and one man in particular: our all-but-unsung hero, John Dunstaple (the composer formerly known as Dunstable with a ‘b’).
Successions of sweet-sounding thirds (C + E, D + F etc) had long been tried out by English musicians such as the anonymous composer of the first complete setting of the Passion (recorded by TONUS PEREGRINUS on Naxos 8.555861): John Dunstaple converted these into fully-resonant triads (C+E+G etc). Martin le Franc had spotted the difference back in 1442 when in the poem Le Champion des Dames he described contemporary Continental composers Dufay and Binchois:
“Car ilz ont nouvelle pratique
De faire frisque concordance
En haute et en basse musique
En fainte en pause et en muance
Et ont prins de la contenance
Angloise et ensuy Dunstable
Pour quoy merveilleuse plaisance
Rend leur chant joyeux et notable.”
“For they have a new method
Of making fresh harmony
In music both high and low
In artifice and interruption and nuance
And have adopted the English
Habit and followed Dunstaple
Because of which wonderful delight
Makes their song joyful and remarkable.”
Dunstaple’s rich harmony with its cross-relations (resulting partly from major triads on different degrees of the scale) remained a quintessentially English characteristic – surviving through the glories of the Eton Choirbook at the turn of the 15th Century, via Tallis’s famous 40-part motet, Spem in alium (Naxos 8.??????) to English composers of the 20th Century and beyond.
Very little is known of Dunstaple’s life, although there are a number of connections with the area around St Albans, north-west of London. Part of the reason for his neglect at home stems from the fact that his pieces survive mostly in manuscripts scattered across the Continent – where he seems to have spent at least part of his career. Another reason, I suggest, is that there is a veil of mystery over this extraordinary music: on ‘paper’ it can seem very dry and overly mathematical; but when the missing accidentals are restored (either out of necessity or for beauty’s sake), the colour returns to the music and it is immediately full of melodic life and harmonic direction. It’s not simply that Dunstaple uses triads, it’s what he uses them for – as J.R.Downie points out: “The change in the number of triads from Ciconia to Dunstable is a matter of degree – a matter of counting word combinations. It is the meaning of the triads that switched.” And it is only by hearing Dunstaple’s harmony in action that we can begin better to understand why continental musicians of his own era were so gripped by what for them was utterly new music.
The two motets which frame our main sequence of mass movements by Dunstaple are the brief, but exquisite Quam pulchra es [JD44 – numbering from Musica Britannica VIII (revised)] (track 1), and the full-on four-part Veni Sancte Spiritus – Veni Creator [JD32] (track 11). Quam pulchra es demonstrates the simple power of these delectable triads inspired by explicit words from the Song of Songs: love poetry which since New Testament times had been understood as a potent allegory of Christ’s love for His Church. At another musical extreme is Veni Sancte Spiritus – Veni Creator. This motet (associated with the Feast of Pentecost, and directly addressing God the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity) is helpfully described as ‘isorhythmic’ by those in the know: what this means is that the ‘same rhythm’ in the tenor part is repeated in its entirety twice (first 50% faster than the opening pace, then twice as fast again) in order to provide an overall structural framework for the piece. These sections, and the change in rhythmic pacing are quite audible and give the motet forward momentum right to the very end. The upper three parts are each quite distinct in character and set three different texts (a familiar concept for the late mediaeval musician), quite possibly alluding to the Triune nature of the Godhead.
In-between these two motets are three groups of mass movements, taking us gradually through the complete Ordinary of the Mass (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei), and each with a pair of musically-related movements (identified by consecutive JD numbers).
The opening Kyrie [JD1] (track 2), heard here with its nine-fold intercessions, leads into perhaps the most impressive pair of movements, a Gloria [JD11](track 3) and Credo [JD12] (track 4) in alternating 2-part and 4-part polyphony, sometimes dividing the bar into 3 and sometimes into 2 (like a modern 3/4 & 6/8 with equal quavers). Both the Gloria and the Credo are built on an identical pattern of alternation, which helps to explain why some of the (longer) text of the Creed overlaps towards the end. Although the mediaeval double leading-note cadence (as at the end of each repetition of the Kyrie) is still very much in evidence, it is often subverted by the extra part into a surprisingly ‘modern’ tonal cadence.
Sometimes, however, 3-part writing seems to provide greater opportunity for experimental, even wayward harmony. Like Veni Sancte Spiritus – Veni Creator, the Gloria Jesu Christe Fili Dei [JD15] (track 5) and Credo Jesu Christe Fili Dei [JD16] (track 6) are based on a ‘cantus firmus’ – a plainchant (“Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on us: alleluia, alleluia!”) which is slowed down and given a rhythmic pattern to serve as a foundation for the other two parts. In both Gloria and Credo the isorhythmic scheme is the same: 3/4, 2/4; then again with the cantus firmus moving twice as fast; and both movements seem to explore major triads a tone apart, resulting in some surprising contradictions. The Sanctus[JD6] (track 7) – sung here by the upper voices – is made up of alternating full sections and faster duets.
The upper voices continue with another pair of mass movements based on a cantus firmus Da gaudiorum premia, this time a Credo [JD17] (track 8) and a Sanctus[JD18] (track 9). The recognizable outlines of an English Cadence can be heard towards the end of the Credo, and some of Dunstaple’s more complex rhythmic combinations (the “chains” mentioned in the plainchant tenor?) can be heard at the first Hosanna in the Sanctus. The full choir joins for a peaceful Agnus Dei [JD14] (track 10).
As a final musical salute (akin to a written epitaph by the Abbot of St Albans, John Wheathampstead, celebrating Dunstaple’s astronomical achievements) we cap this sequence with a four-part Gloria in canon (track 12) recently deciphered by Margaret Bent. For this recording we have added our own putative two-part canon underneath (there must originally have been some similar kind of harmonic support, as in the 13th-century Sumer is icumen in) – echoing the descending peal of bells.
None of the above adequately explains just how superlatively amazing this music is – enjoy!
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CLASSICS TODAY December 2006
artistic quality - 10
sound quality - 10
"This is an interesting adventure for early music fans - 70 minutes devoted to one of the most influential and respected English composers ever, but one who is rarely heard today except as an occasional contributor to early music compilations... This disc's title, 'Sweet Harmony', comes from the uniquely sonorous feature of Dunstable's music that inspired imitation by composers throughout Europe--the manner in which he used and combined thirds, whether in blocks or as coincidental occurrences among polyphonic parts. The result produces pleasingly vibrant sequences of harmonic consonance, often interrupted with surprising cross-relations or redirected with unusual "backward" harmonic shifts--and there are many times where the boldness of the harmony and complexity of the rhythm can only leave you with renewed respect for this 15th-century music's sophistication and inherent expressive qualities.
The eight voices of Tonus Peregrinus - two sopranos, alto, countertenor, three tenors, and bass--make the most of those expressive qualities, in clear, vibrato-colored timbre, captured in the ideally resonant acoustic of Chancelade Abbey in Dordogne, France. The program, which primarily consists of a group of Mass movements framed by two of Dunstable's better-known motets, concludes with a remarkable, recently-discovered Gloria in canon, reconstructed by Margaret Bent and first recorded on the [abovementioned] Orlando Consort disc in five parts - the original probably had six or seven (the full manuscript is not intact). Here, the singers fill out the existing reconstruction with their own realization, adding an accompanying two-part canon to more closely approximate the style and presumed structure of the original. However authentic or inauthentic, it's a marvelous piece and a sublime rendition that, along with the rest of these works, fully justifies the words of Dunstable's famous epitaph, which honors one 'who had secret knowledge of the stars' and 'scattered the sweet arts of music throughout the world.' Outstanding!"
OPERA TODAY August 2006
"The music of John Dunstable embodies many of the characteristics that so dramatically set the music of the emerging Renaissance apart from its Medieval forebears.
The fullness of sound, the sweet amenity of full triads and vertical thirds, and a more highly controlled sense of consonance all combine to create a novel sound world. The novelty of the sound, however, did not reject all continuities: cantus firmus technique, isorhythm, and the genres of motet and mass movement remain integral to the early fifteenth-century style and remind us that even where innovation is pronounced, it is often couched in forms that are familiar.
Sweet Harmony, the present recording by Antony Pitts and TONUS PEREGRINUS, in part plays on that very idea, for while Dunstable’s music is generally well known, Pitts has compellingly taken that familiar repertory and interpreted it in ways that invite us to hear it anew. This takes several shapes. One is the amount and nature of the musica ficta that he employs. Musica ficta refers to performer-added accidentals, sung to make voice leading smoother and vertical sonorities more agreeable. Pitts applies his accidentals liberally, with the result that his readings are perhaps more harmonically colorful than is often the case.
A second example has to do with the register in which he performs some of the works. Three mass movements, a Sanctus and a Credo-Sanctus pair on the chant Da gaudium premia are sung in the treble range, a notably higher tessitura than usual. The unexpected shift in range is stunning in its effects. To the imaginative, it imbues the Sanctus movements with an angelic aura, resonant with the tradition that the Sanctus is the song of the seraphim. Moreover, the register renders the counterpoint particularly clear; because of the shift in register, the sound takes on new degrees of brightness that allow the intertwining of lines to be heard in a more transparent way than is often the case with more resonant lower voices. And additionally, the shift sends the top treble into the extreme high range—often thrillingly so here—and in so doing presages the sound of the Eton Choirbook later in the century.
A final bit of innovation surfaces in the recording’s last work, a canonic Gloria recently reconstructed by Margaret Bent. Pitts adds to the canon a repeating ostinato in the form of a descending scale through the octave. While lower-voice repeating patterns have much precedence—the liner notes cite the example of the well-known Sumer is icumen in—the full octave descent seems anachronistic, both in its melody and also occasionally in its harmonic implications. Admittedly, in this case the innovation is difficult not to like, but it sounds perhaps more of Pitts than Dunstable.
“Sweet Harmony” offers rich interpretations of foundational Renaissance works. The interpretations are sensitive and creative, and also, in no small measure, refreshing."
FANFARE May/June 2006
on TONUS PEREGRINUS recording of Sweet Harmony - masses and motets by John Dunstaple [Dunstable] (Naxos 8.557341):
"...It has been a decade since the last full Dunstable disc, one made by the Orlando Consort (19:5)... Even if the field were not so sparse, Pitts’s new disc would be welcome for the Mass movements as well as the fine performances. Pitts is giving us an interesting series of medieval programs with this ensemble, consisting of eight voices on this disc. It was made at the same time as the group’s recent Perotinus disc. Even with some small duplication among the three CDs of Dunstable, this will make a good addition to any collection."
THE TELEGRAPH 4 February 2006
Classical CD of the Week
on TONUS PEREGRINUS recording of Sweet Harmony - masses and motets by John Dunstaple [Dunstable] (Naxos 8.557341):
"This fascinating disc provides a first-class introduction to the earliest named English composer who had a substantial body of great music to his credit. Even better, its bargain price puts it within the reach of any listener interested in exploring a period when England was one of Europe's most important and influential musical nations.
John Dunstable (c1390-1453) was renowned on the continent for his use of the 'contenance angloise', the sweetly harmonious style characterised by successions of thirds and triads. This helped to transform the 15th-century musical landscape - and still makes his music immensely pleasant to listen to. The richly sonorous motet Quam pulchra es and the Kyrie at the start of this well-planned programme have a beauty and expressiveness that transcend the lapse of time, as does the ethereally lovely Sanctus for three high voices. In these pieces, as in the faster-moving and more intricately polyphonic Gloria and Credo settings, TONUS PEREGRINUS sing with an impressive understanding of this highly sophisticated music, with its complex rhythms, luxuriantly interweaving melodic lines and exciting climaxes, enabling listeners to share their obvious enjoyment of it.."
amazon.co.uk February 2006
on TONUS PEREGRINUS recording of Sweet Harmony - masses and motets by John Dunstaple [Dunstable] (Naxos 8.557341): *****
"Goodness me, how many superlative groups of ancient music specialists can there be? Here is yet another, predictably brought to us by Naxos. There are 8 singers directed by Antony Pitts, and the group photograph also shows us Jeremy Summerly himself in a daft-looking hat as producer, and also, most properly, the engineer Geoff Miles whose work I would call absolutely outstanding...
At the musical level by and large the liner-note is awesomely learned but slightly heavy going. It is worth absorbing slowly, but the most significant thing it says is really its naïve proclamation of how marvellous the music is. This is the dawn of the elaborate harmonisation that makes European music, so far as I know, unique, and the thrill and sense of awe that go with that are enormous for one kind of listener at least...
The recital starts with one motet and ends with another, followed by a gloria that 'we' have completed from the restored but deficient MS. 'We' have done just brilliantly if I may say so - this is what music-making is all about, but it needs the right level of talent. The performing artists consist of 2 sopranos, 1 female and 1 male alto, 3 tenors and a single bass. I have to take the historical authenticity of this, just as I have to take the tempi adopted, on faith once again. I believe the phrase is 'It works for me'. What is beyond much question is the sheer quality of the singing, and what I want to sing my own praises of is the recording, which has a perfect sense of spaciousness together with perfect clarity.
I hope I will be believed when I say that I have no link of any kind with Naxos. I collect their discs because of what these are and because of what my tastes and standards in good music are...
Go forth in droves and acquire this disc."
EARLY MUSIC REVIEW December 2005
on Sweet Harmony - masses and motets by John Dunstaple [Dunstable] (Naxos 8.557341):
"...The singing of the stratospherically high solo voices in the Sanctus (sine nomine) is stunning, but the star of the show is the newly-deciphered canonic Gloria with its splendid passing dissonances. The ensemble has a highly developed sense of line (which allows the music time to speak), as well as of ensemble; and if the voice types aren't always a complete match, the sound is ravishing."
ALL MUSIC GUIDE www.allmusic.com November 2005
"the first collection of Dunstable that truly makes clear what was different about his music"
on Sweet Harmony - masses and motets by John Dunstaple [Dunstable] (Naxos 8.557341): *****performance *****sound
"English composer John Dunstable was the Beethoven of the fifteenth century, a transitional figure whose work swept away all that went before it...
TONUS PEREGRINUS, a vocal ensemble made up of first-rank singers led by Pitts, address the considerable intricacies of this music with a deft touch and flawless intonation. The texture moves from anywhere between two to eight voices, but sounds neither asthmatically thin nor well-fed and tubby; throughout it is perfectly rounded, well balanced, and seems suspended in mid-air, just as cathedral music should sound. The Gloria and Credo "Jesu Christe Fili Dei" are given in particularly deep and moving performances...
Notwithstanding the Orlando Consort and others who have interpreted his music, this seems like the first collection of Dunstable that truly makes clear what was different about his music versus that of his predecessors, or for that matter, successors. This is attributable to Pitts' superb grasp of what makes Dunstable's music tick. After some time spent immersed in John Dunstable: Sweet Harmony - masses and motets, one will hear the biting dissonances of Dunstable's false relations as though they are consonant intervals, much as his audiences heard them in the early fifteenth century. John Dunstable: Sweet Harmony - masses and motets serves as a wonderful gateway to the music of the man who fostered the Renaissance."
THE GRAMOPHONE November 2005
on Sweet Harmony - masses and motets by John Dunstaple [Dunstable] (Naxos 8.557341):
"commendably courageous"
BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE November 2005
on Sweet Harmony - masses and motets by John Dunstaple [Dunstable] (Naxos 8.557341): *****performance ****sound
"Following their excellent survey of the Notre-Dame school TONUS PEREGRINUS release this showcase for one of English music's giants... There are very few CDs of his music in catalogue, so this one is doubly welcome...
...the structural adventurousness is unalloyed Dunstaple, and Antony Pitts talks us through the subtle complexities of his rhythmic, harmonic and contrapuntal explorations in the informative booklet. Ultimately, of course, it is not the technical inventiveness that involves us, but the beauty and the mystery of the sound…on these counts both the compositions and TONUS PEREGRINUS's performances score highly"
CROSS RHYTHMS www.crossrhythms.co.uk November 2005
on Sweet Harmony - masses and motets by John Dunstaple [Dunstable] (Naxos 8.557341): rating 9/10
"John who? For many years we were not even sure of his name as it is sometimes given as Dunstaple. Likewise, we do not even know for certain when he was born. Some time round 1390 seems most likely. So why should we care? Can you name an English composer earlier than Dunstable? And he is of more than local interest as he is arguably the forefather of the musical Renaissance...
...Under Antony Pitts TONUS PEREGRINUS have become a leading vocal ensemble and present Dunstable's work as beautifully as we could wish. The booklet notes are informative and the price is generous so there is no good reason not to investigate further."
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