Pierre de Manchicourt (c1510-1564)
Requiem for an Emperor
Utopia Ensemble
rec. 2024, Augustinus Muziekcentrum, Antwerp
Texts and translations included
Reviewed as a download
Ramée RAM2401 [68]

For the emperors of the Habsburg dynasty, music was not only a means of representation, showing their power and influence, but also an object of love. They were knowledgeable in musical matters – which is no surprise, given that it was part of the education of royalty and aristocracy – but also often actively participated in performances of music. That also goes for Emperor Charles V (1500-1558). “It is said that the young Charles wanted to play every instrument, and that he soon became skilled enough to play in polyphonic works. Prudencio de Sandoval, in one of the many accounts of the emperor’s life, tells of Charles’s active participation in vocal music: he beat time and did not hesitate to call out the names of singers who had lost their way in the music during a performance.” (booklet)

Music accompanied him all his life. Josquin Desprez was one of his favourite composers, whose song Mille regretz he especially liked, so much so that it was given the title La Canción del Emperador. An intabulation for lute by Luis de Narváez figures on the disc which is the subject of this review, and is dominated by rather sombre music. That is inspired by Charles’ life, which was “filled with mourning: he mourned the loss of his father Philip the Fair, who had died in 1506 when Charles was six years old; he mourned the lack of any normal relationship with his mother Juana the Mad, as she had never recovered from her husband’s death; he mourned the death of his wife Isabella of Portugal in 1539; he mourned the loss of his youth, given that he had been destined from childhood to rule, like Julius Caesar whom he so admired, over a chimerical empire whose limits would only increase during his reign, stretching from the North Sea to the Mediterranean and from the Danube to the New World via the Atlantic.”

Charles had grown up in the atmosphere of the Franco-Flemish school. No wonder that he brought together a chapel of Flemish musicians of his own, known as the Capilla Flamenca, which in the course of his reign, accompanied him on the travels across his large empire. When he became King of Spain in 1516 he inherited the Capilla Real that had been founded by Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. This chapel consisted of only Spanish singers, and its activities confined itself to the Iberian peninsula.

The largest part of the programme is taken by a Requiem, written by Pierre de Manchicourt. Not that much is known about him; nearly all the information about his activities is taken from the title-pages of the printed editions of his music. In 1539 he was director of the choir of Tours Cathedral, and in 1545 he became maître de chapelle at Tournai Cathedral. By 1556 he was canon of Arras Cathedral, where he may have started his career as a choirboy. Around 1559 Nicolas Payen died, and Manchicourt succeeded him as master of the Capilla Flamenca.

That was after the death of Charles V in 1558, which caused quite a stir in the following years: “More than three thousand funeral ceremonies were celebrated in Europe and the New World (…)”. During such ceremonies Requiems by various composers may have been performed. A funeral mass from 1559 is known, during which the Requiem by Cristóbal de Morales was performed. As the composer had already died in 1553, it was not written for that occasion. Likewise, it is not possible to prove that the Missa de Requiem by Manchicourt, performed here, was specifically intended for a funeral mass in remembrance of Charles. It is scored for five voices, and one of its notable features is the fact that the upper part quotes the entire plainchant of the Office of the Dead, sometimes solo (for instance the opening of each Agnus Dei). The other voices deliver either imitative or free counterpoint. Works like this don’t include text illustration. Even so, in the Communio the music brightens, as to illustrate the text about “eternal light”. That comes perfectly off in the performance.

The rest of the programme consists mainly of secular works. As previously mentioned, mourning is the thread, but the setting of the Nunc dimittis is an exception as it is rather an expression of happiness: Simeon longed to see the Saviour, and now that he has seen him, he can die at peace.

There can be no doubt about the first item in the programme, which sets the tone. Nicolas Gombert’s O malheureuse journée opens thus: “O unhappy day, O pitiable grief, O cruel destiny, O such separation”. Most pieces included here are not about death in the literal sense, but rather about things which are compared with death, such as “suffering in love, impossible choices, and morality”, as Jérémie Couleau puts it in his liner-notes. It needs to be said that many texts are not easy to interpret.

Some of the composers are hardly known. One of them is Cornelius Canis, which is rather surprising, given that he has worked as maestro de capilla of the Capilla Flamenca, that he was a man of repute and has left a considerable oeuvre of motets and chansons, as well as two masses. In the Capilla Flamenca he was succeeded by Nicolas Payen, who had entered the chapel as a choirboy. In that same chapel Thomas Crecquillon worked as a singer for most of his life. Antoine de Févin was probably born in Arras, was a priest and worked as a singer in the service of Louis XII of France; he died in Blois. Little is known about Jean Richafort; he worked in Mechelen, at the French court, in Aardenburg and Bruges.

The vocal works are performed a capella, except Canis’ Mariez moy mon pere, which is sung by Michaela Riener, accompanied by Jan Van Outryve on the lute. He also plays some solo pieces, among them Narváez’ intabulation. Fors seulement by Févin is his own intabulation of the composer’s chanson. The programme – unusually – closes with an original lute piece by Emanuel Adriaenssen, a Flemish lutenist who was born only a few years before Charles’ death.

It seems that the Requiem by Manchicourt has never been recorded before, which is quite surprising, given the composer’s importance and the fact that several of his masses and motets are available on disc. Therefore this recording makes up for a serious omission. The performance could not have been any better. The Utopia Ensemble has developed into a major force in the field of Renaissance music, and it not only stands out for its fine singing, but also its original programming, as this disc proves. The five voices blend perfectly, and create a strong amount of transparency, which allows for recognizing the various lines of the polyphony. The legato is perfect, and the dynamic shading subtle and sensibly dosed. In the chansons the ensemble strikes the right chord. Jan Van Outryve’s contributions make a welcome change.

This disc is an important contribution to the picture of the Franco-Flemish school and the Capilla Flamenca.

Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
https://bsky.app/profile/musicadeidonum.bsky.social

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Contents
Nicolas Gombert (c1495-c1560)
O malheureuse journée
Luis de Narváez (fl 1526-1549)
Mille regres (El Canción del Emperador)
Pierre de Manchicourt
Missa de Requiem
Thomas Crecquillon (c1505-c1557)
Le monde est tel
Cornelius Canis (c1506-1561)
Mariez moy mon pere
Nicolas Gombert
Ayme qui vouldra
Antoine de Févin (c1470-c1511)
Fors seulement
Jean Richafort (c1480-c1547)
Cuidez vous que Dieu nous faille
Cornelius Canis
Si par souffrir
Thomas Crecquillon
Il me suffit de tous mes maulx
Nicolas Gombert
Mort et fortune
Nicolas Payen (c1512-c1559)
Nunc dimittis
Emanuel Adriaenssen (c1554-1604)
Slaepen gaen