Album

The contenance angloise, or English countenance, was a group of musical characteristics identified by theorists of the 15th century as being English in origin. The booklet here names a primary one: a new emphasis on vertical sonority (or harmony) over the combination of contrapuntal lines that were complex in themselves. Another aspect of the English coutenance was the acceptance of the third rather than the "perfect" fourth as a consonant interval. For political reasons, and at a hard-to-define level for musical ones as well, British music gained a foothold in northwestern continental Europe at this time, and the results were of lasting importance in the Western musical tradition. Students in music history courses and casual attendees of Renaissance music concerts sometimes encounter the contenance angloise concept, and it's good to have a disc that examines it in more detail. This Swiss release by the multinational ensemble Chant 1450 covers the main composers involved: John Dunstable and before him Leonel Power on the English side, and above all Guillaume Dufay in the Low Countries. The English countenance is presented in sacred vocal, secular vocal, and instrumental manifestations, and the performances are uniformly attractive; the work of lutenis Marc Lewon in arrangements of various pieces from the Buxheim Organ Book is especially engaging. Those pieces, however, required a bit of justification for their inclusion, and none is forthcoming in the booklet notes (given in German, French, and English). In general the album doesn't do much to sort out the music: the strands of influence, the uses of the various genres, the sites where English music was received on the Continent. Even a group of pieces connected with Marian liturgies at the end doesn't really hang together; the notes make the point that the cult of Mary grew during this period, but if there's a connection to be made with musical developments it remains obscure here. The album may be more useful as a resource than as an item for general listeners; it will find a place in library collections, but for the general listener the program is a bit undifferentiated. The engineering is superb and ought to serve as an exemplar for other recordings of this type.

© James Manheim, Rovi

CD 1
Gilles de Bins dit Binchois Composer Ave Regina caelorum, antiphon for 3 voices, K.32 Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
1	Ave Regina caelorum, antiphon for 3 voices, K.32	1:55			$0.99
Guillaume Dufay Composer Ave Regina caelorum (antiphon, a4) Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
2	Ave Regina caelorum (antiphon, a4)	1:24			$0.99
John Dunstable Composer O rosa bella, ballata for 3-6 voices, MB54 (poss. by Bedyngham) Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
3	O rosa bella, ballata for 3-6 voices, MB54 (poss. by Bedyngham)	1:46			$0.99
Guillaume Dufay Composer O tres piteulx (cantilena motet, a4) Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
4	O tres piteulx (cantilena motet, a4)	3:06			$0.99
Galfridus de Anglia Composer Che faró io, for vocal ensemble Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
5	Che faró io, for vocal ensemble	4:03			$0.99
Gregorian Chant Composer Ave Regina cælorum (simple tone), antiphon Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
6	Ave Regina cælorum (simple tone), antiphon	1:30			$0.99
Conrad Paumann Composer O rosa bella, setting for organ (from the Buxheimer Orgelbuch) Work Gregor Ehrsam Organ
7	O rosa bella, setting for organ (from the Buxheimer Orgelbuch)	1:49			$0.99
Leonel Power Composer Ave Regina caelorum Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
8	Ave Regina caelorum	2:09			$0.99
Gregorian Chant Composer Gaudeamus Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
9	Gaudeamus	2:45			$0.99
Gilles de Bins dit Binchois Composer Te Deum laudamus, for 3 voices, K.48 Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
10	Te Deum laudamus, for 3 voices, K.48	2:42			$0.99
Robertus d'Anglia Composer El mal foco arda Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
11	El mal foco arda	1:34			$0.99
Guillaume Dufay Composer Supremum est mortalibus (isorhythmic motet, a3) Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
12	Supremum est mortalibus (isorhythmic motet, a3)	6:23			$0.99
Guillaume Dufay Composer Alma redemptoris mater (version 2, antiphon a3) Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
13	Alma redemptoris mater (version 2, antiphon a3)	2:03			$0.99
Conrad Paumann Composer Annavasanna tertia, for organ (from the Buxheimer Orgelbuch) Work Gregor Ehrsam Organ
14	Annavasanna tertia, for organ (from the Buxheimer Orgelbuch)	2:03			$0.99
Gregorian Chant Composer Concupivit, gradual (1st mode) Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
15	Concupivit, gradual (1st mode)	1:56			$0.99
John Dunstable Composer Speciosa facta es (antiphon, a3, probably by Binchois), MB50 Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
16	Speciosa facta es (antiphon, a3, probably by Binchois), MB50	1:52			$0.99
Guillaume Dufay Composer Flos florum (cantilena, a3) Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
17	Flos florum (cantilena, a3)	3:14			$0.99
John Dunstable Composer Salve scema sanctitatis (isorhythmic motet, a4), MB30 Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
18	Salve scema sanctitatis (isorhythmic motet, a4), MB30	6:45			$0.99
Conrad Paumann Composer Sanssoblier, setting for organ (Buxheimer Orgelbuch) Work Gregor Ehrsam Organ
19	Sanssoblier, setting for organ (Buxheimer Orgelbuch)	2:19			$0.99
Gregorian Chant Composer Regina caeli Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
20	Regina caeli	1:40			$0.99
John Dunstable Composer Puisque m'amor (rondeau, a3), MB55 Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
21	Puisque m'amor (rondeau, a3), MB55	2:43			$0.99
Johannes Brassart Composer O flos fragrans, motet Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
22	O flos fragrans, motet	3:06			$0.99
Conrad Paumann Composer Fortune alas, setting for organ (from the Buxheimer Orgelbuch) Work Gregor Ehrsam Organ
23	Fortune alas, setting for organ (from the Buxheimer Orgelbuch)	2:05			$0.99
Gregorian Chant Composer Ave Maria, gratia plena, offertory in mode 8 for the 4th Sunday in Advent Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
24	Ave Maria, gratia plena, offertory in mode 8 for the 4th Sunday in Advent	1:46			$0.99
Guillaume Dufay Composer Aurea luce et decore roseo (hymn, a3) Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
25	Aurea luce et decore roseo (hymn, a3)	3:12			$0.99
Gregorian Chant Composer Salve regina Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
26	Salve regina	1:40			$0.99
Johannes Brassart Composer Regina coeli, motet Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
27	Regina coeli, motet	3:32			$0.99
Gregorian Chant Composer Beata viscera , communion in mode 1 Work Chant 1450 Ensemble
28	Beata viscera , communion in mode 1	0:47			$0.99