Luogo e data di registrazione		-
	Registrazione: live / studio		studio
	Producer		-
	Prima Edizione LP		Telefunken - 6.41889 AW - (1 LP) - durata 51' 16" - (p) 1975 - Analogico
	Edizione "Reference" CD		Tedec - 8.44013 ZS - (1 CD) - LC 3706 - durata 51' 16" - (c) 1988 - AAD
	Cover		"Zur Flöte tanzendes Paar", Porzellan. Modell von A. C. Luplan, Fürstenberg, nach 1771. Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg.

During the Naples period, that is to say, around 1550 to 1552, the young Lasso must have already come into close contact with sibylline literature; for according to the old sagas that was where the sibyls were domiciled, in the hills and caves of Cumae. Since the early Middle Ages they had been regarded as the ‘seeresses of Christian salvation truths in the heathen world. Understandably particular importance was placed upon those prophecies which appeared to hint at the suffering and resurrection of Christ. In the freely rewritten versions of the ancient texts during the Renaissance era there are everywhere clear indications of the biblical predictions of Jeremiah, Daniel, Isaiah and the words of the gospel as such. Over and above this, the pictorial monument also probably made an impression on the maturing composer. He was in a position to admire them at many places in Italy, but especially in Rome, his next artistic station. He was no doubt particularly enthralled there by the four sibyls of Raffael. the five of Michelangelo and the twelfe of the Pinturicchio in the Appartamenti Borgia. As regards form, the twelve-figure of the Pinturicchio probably had the greatest effect on his compositions, since Lasso also takes over their sequence and order. Of the 14 books of the Sibylline Oracles only two are missing, both as regards the painter and the musician: the Chaldean and the Babylonian (Egyptian) sibyls. For a long time there had bcen uncertainty as to when the Prophetiae Sibyllarum were written. It is true that many biographical references and also several stylistic characteristics point to a youthful work, but on the other hand it is undisputed that the compositions were published by his sons only in 1600, six years after the rnaster’s death. Why did Lasso not publish the work during his lifetime? Did he consider it as unworthy of printing, or was he moved by some other reason to refrain from publication? It was Boettidter who succeeded in answering these questions beyond doubt. The composer dedicated the artistically designed Munich autograph, adorned with pictures of Lasso. to Duke Albredtt V of Bavaria. It belonged to the “Secret” possessions of the court chapel and was permitted to be performed outside of the court only with approval from the highest level, an act of favour granted only to King Charles IX of France in 1574. The monarch was enthusiastic about the work. On the basis of paleographic examinations Boetticher was finally able to prove that Prophetiae Sibyllarum must have been composed in Italy, in other words before Lasso moved to Munich for good. Lasso's sons did not come across this unusual opus until almost half a century later when the were settling his estate. Since they were not aware of the circumstances of the work printed. The poetic basis used by Lasso was written by an unknown poet who represents the appropriate prophetic statement in the compact brevity and pithiness of the hexameter. The poet was extremely well acquainted with the style of the prophecies and instructions as to sacrifices, since he applied precisely those structural methods which characterise the "sibylline tone": parenthesis, strangely abbreviated sentences and very frequently definitive pronouns. The young musician set himself new tasks with the selection of these declamations. For the first time as a composer he had to come to terms with expressive delivery and its universal elucidation in twelve stages. In view of the fact that the same picture of suffering and redemption repeats itself twelve times, musical-dramatic development within the cycle was not possible. Furthermore, almost every middle section pf a sibylline next emphasises aspects of contempt, of suffering and of sin. Lasso chose for the reproduction of these passages the extremely deep position. In general the deep position seemed to him to be particularly suitable for depicting these pronouncements. The geral style of Lasso's Prophetiae Sibyllarum is marked by three peculiarities: a predominantly chordal homophonic movement, the graphic musical arrangement of text words or cenceptual connections and the use of an occasionally excessively applied chromaticism. The homophon-oriented style, with its often block-life effect probably accords best with the expressively declaimed prophecies of the sibyls. General pauses and changes in measure musically integrate the text. Sections in tempus perfectum (three semibreves) signify the highest degree of salvation certainly, as at the beginning ov IV )"sacra virgo") and V ("Ecce dies") and at the conclusion of XII ("et gloria certa manebit"). The free alternation of iambic and trochaic in massive style graphically depicts the arduous bearing of the burden of fate in I ("multi multa ferant"), while passages of exciting expectation are represented in divided chorus and rigid tonal change (III: "Non tarde veniet"). Numerous details of the text aregiven a madrigal-like, colourful musical interpretation. Indicative words such as "ecce" or "iam" declaim feelingly on broadly flourishing chordal surfaces, similar also to the multi-tiered "verax" ("verily") which concludes XI. The term "tender" appears in IV ("In teneris annis") in the transparent upper part tricinium, ornamented by tonal attractions, while the text passages of joy and glory are reproduced with free-ranging melismas (I: "jucundus princeps"; II: "laeta"; VII; "ditione gubernet"; XII: "manebit"), which often carry the soprano to the highest pitch. The scoring of "nigras tenebras" in V by black notation, evident only from a study of the original parts but not apparent to the listener, is part of that "visual music" favoured by the Renaissance era, particularly in setting madrigals to music. Problems of a specific nature are caused by the chromaticism of the pieces, already announced in the printed title with "chromatico more" and re-emphasised in the musical prologue with the words "carmina chromatico quae audis modulata tenore". For Lasso this chromaticism is something more than an experiments or a concession to the fashion of the time as acclaimed by Vicentino in the first book of madrigals (1546), Cyprian de Rore and other musicians; it has to be seen as a special mode of expression compared with a particular text. The chromatic extension of tonality as practised by Lasso was, after 1550, not only new, but considering his youth, extraordinarily early evidence of future-orientated art entirely directed towards expression. The sibylline prologue is therefore a text book example and a programmatic explanation at the same time: it immediately begins with highly modulatory suppleness, exposes, new, unusual tones and moves freely within the interval of the fifth circle, with major and minor appearing to be exchangeable at will. The chromatic style is predestined for the prophetic language of the sibyls since it is to a considerable extent capable of providing the "expression of the unusual and wondrous" (Sandberger). The suddenness of chromatic transitions in Lasso's case resembles that "illuminatio" of the painters of his time who have captured entranced gazes but also the obbly strict expression of fear. Often they are surprise effects triven for by the composer, but just as frequently they serve the pure interpretation of the text, e. g., in those homophon passages referring to the burden of sin. In this respect he knows how to give the chromatic chords a particularly plastic effect by the abnormal linking of their ambitus. Furthermore, by means of alteration he brings about delicate final effects through almost unrhythmical, hovering tonal surfaces, the brilliance of which gradually intensifies. Despite the predilection for chromatic idiom, however, the law of artistic economy rules, Lasso understands how to apply it only for special occassions, so that the strong colourful impact of his chordal style does not weaken towards the end. Lasso's Prophetiae Sibyllarum holds an absolutely exceptional position not only among his own works, but also in the musical history of the 16th century. The prophecies are neither pure motets nor pure madrigals, but rather amalgamate stylistic elements of both genres into a new entity. The concept of "expectation" and "redemption" proclaimed by all prophecies make them particularly suitable for performance during the advent period. But just as the seeresses of ancient times were not allowed to be questioned every day, these compositions should not be destined to become "everyday music". By dedicating them to Duke Albrecht V. Lasso ensured that they maintained a markedly exclusive character. It was not until the deeper meaning of these prophecies, the unique, the mysterioys, was lost that they were able posthymously to see the light of the general world and henceforth were available for the edification of non-aristocrats. The magic of these artistic works originally inyended only for the "initiated", was extinguished, their contents profaned. Orlando di Lassom as a young singer and composer, became acquainted with the most varied forms of musical execution in Naples shortly after 1550. In addition to the mass amd motet, which represented the highest forms of art, he was particularly attracted by popular music making, and specifically the local villanella. This was originally a peasant song with additional triads, which quicjly became artisyically enriched and stylised. Another form was the moresca. This "Moorish dance" was already widespread in the 15th century, also betond Italy's borders and served as a collective term for diverse comical dances of different characters. They were inserted in Renaissance intermezzos, comedies and dramas and used in shrovetide processions and other entertainment of both the people and the nobility. Naples, as an important port city and gateway to foreign lands, a city where blacks were frequently kept as slaves, understandably provided a special background for this particular form. It was here that the moresca found its way into the jocular scenes of the humorous villanella, with its admixture of dances, a form which was form the outset fond of linguistic blendings. The pleasure in unusual word construction and verbal play was now intensified by the gibberish and broken Italian of the Moors. Lasso was directly guided by a collection of morescas with text published by Barré in 1555. With the exception of the Mohammedan Allala (Arabs, Turks and Jews were also regarded as "blacks" at that time), all of the morescas have a single, narrow thematic relationship. They deal with wooing by the black Giorgia (Cucurucu) of the black woman Lucia. It seems certain that these pieces were performed on the stage in costume, with the dance also of course coming into this own. Unfortunately no choreography has come down to us, only numerous pictures of moresca dances of other kinds. In this three to six-part movements which, in accordance with the custom of the time - as shown in our recording - were capable of augmentation by instruments, di Lasso yook over the pieces printed in 1555 in the same register, in addition to the alternation between even and uneven time section contrasting the contemplative and imperative texts, as well as the dialogue at the beginning with jovial question and answer in the extreme discant and bass. The similarity with the anonymous morescas of Barré is therefore considerable. Nevertheless the young musician also added a great deal of his own. Among the latter are the varying choral arrangement and the tonal loosening of the refrain the cadences of which now have a more graceful and witty effect. In di Lasso's hands the melody also becomes more supple, pliable, especially in the chromatic representation of begging and imploring. The primitive, vulgar parlando of the original gives way to an entreating declamation, even though it is intended as a parody. Thus all of these sparkling movements are, in the final analysis, dialogue-style experiments, the rapid exchanges of which inspired the maturing musician to carry out a thorough rearrangement from a compositional point of view. In subsequent decades this dialogue principle entered his intellectual creative work at a higher artistic level, providing further evidence of how fundamentally folk music is capable of fructifying the elevated forms of musical art. THE RECORDING In 1574 the magnificent sibylline code, embellished by Hans Mielich, was played in part before the French king Charles IX, who found it incredible that such chromaticism had been composed by Orlando. This chromaticism spans a range reaching as fas as the "illuminato" of the painters who, like Pinturicchio, were responsible for the twelve sibyllines in the Vatican's Borgia apartments. Lasso precedes the announcements of these twelve seeresses with a prologue which begins with the programmatic words: "Carmina cromatico quae audis modulata tenore", ("you will hear saying in artistically chromatic settings".) Originally we had in mind a vocal-instrumental scoring with which to elucidate this setting in all its ramifications. "Audible experience" during rehearsals revealed that the voices were unable to develop freely, that declamation of the word which alone determines tempo, dynamism and agocics, the inner "breathing", the "meditation", would have been stifled by the colla parte instrumentation. We therefore retained nothing more than a small harpsichord which, by way of the lute stop, provided a "pizzicato" contrast; an antithesis which, with the thesis of the free flowing "bel canto" element, combines to form the synthesis of tonal vision. "Bel canto" also enabled us to choose the soft Italian pronunciation of Latin, justified from both aesthetic and historical viewpoints. (Einstein: "Lasso may with justice be called an Italian artist"...) Far from being convinced that a definitive solution to interpretation had been found, our principle aim was rather to understand this unique work with its aura of mysticism as oracles imparted to the young Lasso and written down by him in fear and humility. However, the object was to produce not only mystic shudders, but also the joy, the pride and the satisfaction of the one chosen by the prophetesses to proclaim their message to the present and future world in an artistically chromatic setting. The court musician Massimo Troiano tells us in his diary that 6th March, 1568 was the date the morescas were performed. In view of the fact that the 1581 printing, where the mature Lasso refers almost apologetically in the foreword to youthful sins, as usual was handed down only in the a capella version, Massimo Troiano's entries are of particular importance to us. He talks of "sei voci scelte e sonore" ("six carefully selected and sonorous voices"), as well as "piffari" virtuosos listed by spectrum by the sharpening 4' by the practice of octaving in the high flutes, recommended by many theorists. Lasso in the guise of the Neapolitan comedian, in the role of the court jester, of the conductor or the producer. We have endeavoured to become infected by him, by his high spirits, his brimming over temperaments, by his "buffonata alla Napolitana."