Some of the delights that await you at Monday’s PDtP

Hope you are looking forward to Monday’s PDtP; don’t forget that in addition to the amazing music, real ale is only £3 a pint!

Some highlights on the set-list front

If there was one number that you could taken even a brief look at beforehand, then it should be this one, not so much for the notes but the words:

(If you don’t speak Italian then you can spare yourself a shock by not looking up a translation of the scandalous text.)

=========

Another slightly bawdy number with a couple of tricky bits is this one:

However, I am sure we will busk our way through it as we usually do.

=========

We don’t often get to sing French music at PDtP, perhaps as a result of Anthony G. Petti’s notes in The French School for 4 Voices (Chester Motets Series): ‘The plain fact is that there is a dearth of really good [French] composers with a large output in this field [sacred motets]’

What a way to sell a book of French sacred motets!

However, even Petti acknowledges the greatness of Jean L’Héritier, which is amply illustrated in this motet:

Note that we will experiment with some musica ficta on the night with this one; your sheet music highlights some notes to be sharpened, which should result in some glorious false relations!

 =========

A slightly longer but utterly sublime piece is this extended chanson by Matthaeus Pipelare, a contemporary of Josquin’s.

It’s hypnotically beautiful and spell-binding in its simplicity; really looking forward to singing this one. (Altos, you’ll be singing Tenor 1.)

=========

Other highlights for me are 2 more Song of Songs motets, one by another Frenchman, Jacquet de Mantua, and the other by another Josquin peer, Noel Bauldeweyn.

Neither has a handy youtube video to listen to but here are the midi files in case they are of use:

Jacquet de Mantua – Veni, dilecte mi

Bauldeweyn – Quam pulchra es

 =========

Two final notes: in the 5 part motets (Nigra sum & Veni in hortum meum), Baritones/1^st Basses will sing the Tenor II/Quintus line, and we will try to do Josquin’s Allegez Moy (my favourite chanson by the master) if we get enough men on the night – so make sure you bring as many singer friends as possible!

 

See you Monday.

Kevin