Lassus: Chansons cover
Released

Quicksilver genius from the Ensemble Clément Janequin abounds right from the beginning here.  “Las me faut-il,” the unrequited love song that opens the record, is given all dark vocal colors, but then the light suddenly flips on for the comic “Quand mon mary vient dehors.”  In this wife’s complaint about her mean husband, the ensemble’s wacky, mercurial delivery shows a level of commitment to the bit that has no equal.  But it isn’t just weirdness that makes it work; it’s also very subtle. On the fourth line, for instance, where the speaker talks about how the husband likes to swing a ladle at her head, the ensemble modifies its cackling delivery for an instant back to the dark colors of “Las me faut-il,” letting off a wisp of menace and suggesting hidden subtext.   The Ensemble’s fearlessness and execution make this a totally refreshing early-music experience.

Sean Wood

Recommended by

Suggestions
Dufay: Flos Florum cover

Dufay: Flos Florum

Ensemble Musica Nova
French Chansons cover

French Chansons

Claudin De Sermisy, Clément Janequin, Josquin Des Prez, Roland De Lassus, Scholars of London, The Scholars
Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmelites cover

Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmelites

Kent Nagano, Orchestre De L'Opéra National De Lyon
 Lassus: Lagrime di San Pietro cover

Lassus: Lagrime di San Pietro

Gabriel Crouch, Gallicantus
Written on Skin cover

Written on Skin

Allan Clayton, Barbara Hannigan, Bejun Mehta, Christopher Purves, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Martin Crimp, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Rebecca Jo Loeb
Handel: Messiah cover

Handel: Messiah

Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner
Carthage cover

Carthage

The Crossing, Donald Nally
Choruses And Chorales From J.S.Bach: St Matthew Passion cover

Choruses And Chorales From J.S.Bach: St Matthew Passion

Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner
Farrenc: Symphonies Nos 1 & 3 cover

Farrenc: Symphonies Nos 1 & 3

Insula Orchestra, Laurence Equilbey