PALESTRINA / LASSUS / ASHEWELL

 

la Quinta essentia

 

Three Renaissance Masses:

Giovanni da Palestrina Missa Ut re mi fa sol la

Orlande de Lassus Missa Tous les regretz

Thomas Ashewell Missa Ave Maria

 

Huelgas-Ensemble / Paul Van Nevel

 

This CD takes its name from the place where it was recorded, the Museum of Water located in the Convento dos Barbadinhos in Lisbon. It was an ideal place to compare and contrast the three major styles of the Renaissance: the strict classical counterpoint of the Roman school (Palestrina), the ripe fruit of the Franco-Flemish style (Lassus), and flamboyant English

Late Gothic (Ashewell).

 

Thomas Ashewell, the third composer on this CD, is an eminent illustration of the 'splendid isolation' English polyphony maintained from trends on the continent. Born around 1478 and dying some time after 1513, Ashewell is in fact a precursor of the other two. He was cantor at Durham Cathedral, where his versatility is shown by the fact that he taught plainchant, polyphony, faburden, discant, organ and 'countre' (the improvisation of a melody over an existing melodic line). Only two complete works by Ashewell are extant, one of which is the Missa 'Ave Maria' for six voices.

 

Paul Van Nevel and the Huelgas-Ensemble, one of Europe's premier vocal ensembles, who celebrated their 35^th anniversary last year, have collected the quintessence of the Renaissance world.

 

Harmonia Mundi HMC901922