programme
Nicolas Gombert (1495-ca. 1560)
Da pacem
Media vita
Veni dilecta mea
Lugebat David Absalon
Si bona suscepimus
Salve regina
Super flumina Babylonis
Vae vae Babylon
Nigra sum sed formosa tribulatio cordis May
Mille regretz
Josquin des Prez (c. 1450/55-1521) Mille regretz
performers
Cappella Amsterdam
Daniel Reuss conductor
background
As a prominent Franco-Flemish polyphonist, Nicolas Gombert enriched the 16th-century soundscape with his motets, amidst the activities of popes and emperors. At that time, he was a well-known name, but he later became a composer of the “lost generation”: composers who set the tone in the first half of the 16th century, after Josquin des Prez and before Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.
Most of his motets are contrapuntal constructions where imitations serve as important building blocks: compact and fascinating. Gombert’s style overwhelms with a continuous stream of voices imitating each other, overlapping without interruption.
With polyphony in its DNA, Cappella Amsterdam excels at translating the emotion and craftsmanship of Gombert’s creations to the stage. Under the direction of Daniel Reuss, the vocal ensemble unearths the finest gems from the oeuvre of this renowned composer.
The concert at Musis Sacrum in Arnhem (April 29, 2022) was recorded by NPO Radio 4 and broadcasted on May 4, 2022.
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