Marc’Antonio Ingegneri (c.1535/36-1592)
Volume Five: Motets for the Liturgical Year
Choir of Girton College, Cambridge/Gareth Wilson
The Western Wyndes/Jeremy West
Gabriel Kennedy & Ben Nolan (organ)
rec. 2024, St George’s Chesterton, Cambridge, UK
Texts and translations included
Reviewed as a download
Toccata Classics TOCC0767 [75]

One of the mysteries of music history is why some composers have been almost completely neglected in modern performance practice, even though their oeuvre is of the same quality as that of contemporaries whose music is part of the standard repertoire. Marc’Antonio Ingegneri is a perfect example of that. Before 2020, when Toccata Classics released the first disc of what has become a major project, his work appeared just occasionally in anthologies. That first recording was not even planned to be the start of a project, but apparently acquaintance with Ingegneri’s music whetted Gareth Wilson’s appetite, resulting in four more discs of the master’s music. The first three volumes of this project have already been reviewed (Volume 1 ~ Volume 2 ~ Volume 3) .

Cremona played a crucial role in Ingegneri’s life: there he was born, and there he worked for most of his life. He was educated as a violinist, and in this capacity, he worked in Venice at the Scuola Grande di San Marco. He may also have worked as such in Padua, and certainly spent some time in Parma at the Farnese court. There he became acquainted with Cipriano de Rore, who also taught him a thing or two. It is not far-fetched to assume that he played a role in Ingegneri’s activities as a composer of madrigals. His first publication was a collection of madrigals, which has been lost. Eight further collections were to follow, the last of which was published as late as 1606.

By the mid-1560s Ingegneri settled in Cremona. At some time between 1566 and 1578 he was appointed praefectus musicae of the Cathedral; he is mentioned as such for the first time in his book of motets of 1573. This was one of probably eighteen collections of music of which sixteen have been preserved. The fact that his music has been found in libraries and archives across Europe attests to Ingegneri’s status. Whereas between 1576 and 1586 he only published madrigals, he almost completely turned to sacred music in the remaining years of his life.

Each of the previous four volumes included a mass setting; the fourth volume was entirely dedicated to music for Passiontide and Easter. The present disc covers the entire ecclesiastical year. It starts with Advent, and closes with the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The programme opens with Canite tuba in Sion: “Sing out with the trumpet in Sion.” The proclamatory nature of the text is perfectly illustrated in the music, especially in the second half: “Declare it and make it heard, speak and shout: Behold, God our Saviour will come.” It is followed by a much more intimate setting of Alma redemptoris mater, which is based on plainchant. The last piece in this section, Inter natum mulierum, is about St John the Baptist: “Among the children of women, none greater has arisen than John the Baptist”.

The second section is devoted to Christmas and Epiphany. The first piece is a setting of the choir of the angels, Gloria in excelsis Deo. They appear before the shepherds and tell them that the Saviour has been born. The shepherds are the subject of Quem vidistis pastores. The text has the character of a dialogue, but Ingegneri does not use the scoring for eight voices to juxtapose two groups of singers to illustrate that. The last piece in this section is Nuptiae factae sunt, about Jesus’ first public appearance, at the wedding at Cana. It is part of the liturgy for the second Sunday after Epiphany, and is therefore part of the Christmas period. It is scored for ten voices.

As mentioned, Ingegneri was a prolific composer of madrigals. Gareth Wilson decided not to perform any of them with his choir (which is too large for such music anyway), but to focus on sacred music. However, in order to give some idea of this part of Ingegneri’s oeuvre, in each recording some madrigals are performed in organ transcriptions. In the present recording, he uses them as introductions to two sections of the programme. “To give a more liturgical feel to the programme for anyone listening from beginning to end, the Lent and Easter trilogies have each been introduced by a madrigal, played on the organ, in an attempt to replicate the manner in which liturgical action in a service might be ‘covered’ by a brief organ fantasia or toccata. However, because no organ pieces by Ingegneri have survived, madrigals played on the organ have been employed in the hope that they might achieve the same purpose and have the welcome effect of introducing another voice to the drama.”

He has chosen the madrigals on the basis of the nature of the text and Ingegneri’s music to it. It was a good idea to include the lyrics in the booklet. Una leggiadra rosa is about the thorn of a rose and a fierce serpent, and is used as introduction to the section about Lent and Holy Week. That section opens with O salutaris hostia, which comprises some phrases from the text written by Thomas of Aquino and is one of the Eucharistic hymns for the Feast of Corpus Christi. Given the close connection between this feast and Maundy Thursday it is logical to give it a place in this part of the programme. Wilson has taken more liberties in this regard; as he states in the liner-notes, In nomine “might more normally be used at Christmas. However, the solemn nature of the music, as well as the fact that it ends with an ‘Amen’ as opposed to the more customary ‘Alleluia’ (prohibited during Lent) renders it more suitable for performance during the Penitential season.” It is one of the debatable aspects of this recording. Agimus tibi gratias is a fitting close of this section, as it offers thanks to Christ for his sacrifice. The first half is restrained; the second half is livelier (“you who live and reign forever. Amen.”)

Oh benedetta luce praises the coming of light after a period of darkness, and is therefore used as an introduction to the Easter section. The first piece is Regina coeli, one of the Marian hymns, and sung during the Easter period (until Whitsun/Pentecost). First, we hear the plainchant, whose melody is used as cantus firmus in canon of soprano II and tenor in the ensuing six-part setting by Ingegneri. Next is Haec dies, a setting of a verse from Psalm 118, which is a gradual for Easter: “This is the day which the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad in it.” This section closes with Surrexit pastor bonus, the second Matins Responsory for Easter Monday.

Ascension Day and Whitsun/Pentecost are the subject of the next section, which starts with Ascendens Christus in altum, a responsory for Ascension Day, which reflects the joy of Christ ascending to Heaven, comparable with an accession to the throne. Nimis exaltatus is a song of praise for “the Lord in Sion”, who is “highly exalted beyond all gods”. Each line ends with an alleluia. This motet is performed instrumentally. Factus est repente is a description of the events at Whitsun, and the dynamism of Ingegneri’s setting perfectly fits the text.

Tibi laus, tibi gloria for eight voices opens the section about Trinity, Corpus Christi and Communion of Saints. The frequent use of triple time is Ingegneri’s way to refer to the Trinity. O sacrum convivium is an antiphon to the Magnificat in the vespers of the office on the feast of Corpus Christi. Its text honours the Blessed Sacrament. The importance of this feast explains why Ingegneri’s oeuvre includes four different settings of this text. The last piece is Beatus Laurentius, an antiphon for the feast of Saint Laurence, the third patron of Rome (after St Peter and St Paul). He was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians ordered by the Roman emperor Valerian in 258. This piece is performed instrumentally.

Given the importance of the Marian veneration in Renaissance Italy, it was inevitable to include pieces about events in her life (at least according to Catholic doctrine), such as her Assumption. Moreover, Cremona Cathedral was devoted to the latter, as its name indicates: Duomo di Cremona, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta. Virgo prudentissima is the antiphon upon Magnificat at First Vespers of the Feast of the Assumption. In this recording it is sung by the upper voices, one tone above its printed pitch. In Renaissance music the latter is not fixed, but the reasons for this decision are not really convincing, and rather subjective, especially given that in Ingegneri’s time all sacred music was sung by male voices. The same goes for the responsory Super salutem, in which the upper parts are sung, whereas the lower parts are performed instrumentally. Egredimini et videte (Go out, daughters of Zion, and see your queen) is an exuberant piece, which includes a passage in which the six voices are largely independent (“all the children of God rejoice”) – illustrating the variety of people? The use of images known from the Song of Songs was quite common, and can also be found in Virgo prudentissima.

Having heard all volumes of this project I am impressed by the quality of Ingegneri’s music, and surprised that it has taken so long before it was discovered and given substantial attention. One can only be grateful to Gareth Wilson and the singers and players for their commitment to the exploration of Ingegneri’s works. As in previous volumes the performances are excellent and do full justice to these splendid pieces. I have already indicated that some decisions are debatable. I also should mention that the choir, with between 30 and 35 singers, is considerably larger than the ensembles Ingegnieri may have had at his disposal. However, these issues don’t compromise in any way the value of this production. Given that Ingegnieri has published a large number of madrigals, it is to be hoped that some day a madrigal ensemble will delve into this part of his oeuvre.

This disc is a perfect way to get to know Ingegneri, and may encourage to purchase the previous volumes. I am sure you won’t be disappointed.

Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen

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Contents
Canite tuba a 8
Alma redemptoris mater a 4
Inter natos mulierum a 4
Gloria in excelsis a 5
Quem vidistis pastores a 8
Nuptia factae sunt a 10
Una leggiadra rosa**
O salutaris hostia a 5
In nomine a 6*
Agimus tibi gratias a 4
Oh benedetta luce**
Regina coeli a 6
Haec dies a 5
Surrexit pastor bonus a 5
Ascendens Christus in altum a 4
Nimis exaltatus est a 5*
Factus est repente a 5
Tibi laus, tibi gloria a 8
O sacrum convivium a 5
Beatus Laurentius a 6*
Virgo prudentissima a 4
Super salutem a 5
Egredimini et videte
* The Western Wyndes
** organ