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1 CD -
SK 53 976 - (p) 1994
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VIVARTE - 60
CD Collection Vol. 2 - CD 51
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| Music from the Court of
King Janus at Nicosia (1374-1432) |
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78' 09" |
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| - Sanctus in
eternis / Sanctus et ingenitus
- Four-part isorhythmic motet · (Folio
75 verso - 76 recto) |
3' 50" |
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1
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Si doulchement mon ceur je sens
souspris - Three-part ballade
· (Folio 116 verso) |
5' 42" |
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2 |
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Je sui trestout d'amour raimpli
- Three-part virelai · (Folio
155 recto) |
8' 13" |
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3 |
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Je prens d'amour noriture -
Three-part virelai, instrumental · (Folio
154 recto, with an additional
second contratenor) |
7' 26" |
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4 |
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Gloria - Four-part
isorhythmic mass section · (Folio
32 verso - 34 recto) |
4' 34" |
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5 |
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Certes mout fu / Nous devons
tresfort amer - Four-part
isorhythmic motet · (Folio 76
verso - 77 recto) |
5' 36" |
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6 |
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Je prens plaisir en une dame
- Three-part ballade · (Folio
104 verso) |
10' 22" |
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7 |
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Gloria - Four-part
isorhythmic mass section · (Folio
34 verso - 37 recto) |
8' 07" |
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8 |
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Personet armonia - Three-part
isorhythmic motet, instrumental · (Folio
71 verso - 72 recto) |
3' 34" |
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9 |
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Si doulcement me fait amours /
Nulz vrais amans - Four-part
ballade double · (Folio 127
verso - 127 recto) |
19' 18" |
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10 |
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| Transcriptions
by Richard H. Hoppin and Paul
Van Nevel |
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| All the music is
taken from the Cypriot
Manuscript Torino, Biblioteca
Nazionale, J. II. 9. |
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| Huelgas Ensemble |
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| Paul Van Nevel |
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Luogo
e data di registrazione |
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Chapel
of Cistercian Adbij Marienhof
(Bekgium) - 16/18 June 1993 |
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Registrazione:
live / studio |
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studio |
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Producer /
Recording supervisor |
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Wolf
Erichson |
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Recording Engineer
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Andreas
Neubronner (Tritonus) |
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Prima Edizione LP |
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Prima Edizione CD |
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Sony
/ Vivarte - SK 53 976 - (1 CD) -
durata 76' 45" - (p) 1994 - DDD |
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Cover Art
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Love
Roundelay, French book
illustration, master of the Roman
de la Rose, C.1420/30 -
Photo: Archiv für Kunst und
Geschichte, Berlin |
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Note |
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Aphrodite
in the Arms of "La Doulce
France"
Cyprus, the
island of Aphrodite, was an
ideal staging area during the
crusades, a vital point of
supply and a strategically
important bastion for the
Western armies. Cyprus offered
first-rate transit harbors
(Famagusta for example) only
two days' sailing from the
Egyptian coast and mere hours
from Syria. Cyprus's climate,
foodstuffs and raw materials
made it a paradise on earth.
In 14th -century French
poetry, the island was
frequently referred to as
“Engaddy, la précieuse vigne”
(Engaddy, the precious vine).
During the Third Crusade,
Richard the Lion-Hearted was
unable to resist the island's
charms, and in 1191 added it
to his possessions. A year
later he sold the island to
the Templars for £ 40,000.
Unable to afford the luxury of
a private island, they resold
it to the dispossesed king of
Jerusalem, Guy de Lusignan,
scion of a noble French family
from the Poitou region.
Thus 1192 brought radical
change and marked the
beginning of a flourishing
period in the history of
Cyprus. The French instituted
a feudal society despite
resistance by native Cypriots
and the Greek Orthodox Church,
establishing a court on the
Western model in Nicosia.
French “colonization” did not
end until 1489, when the
island was taken by the
Venetians.
For three centuries, the
island of Cyprus was an
outpost of European culture.
An increasing number of
European immigrants,
predominantly French, lived
beside the indigenous
population. A chronicler
relates: “The masters of this
country are the Franks. The
Greeks and Armenians obey and
serve them as colonials; they
have been reduced to
servitude, and pay (the
Franks) tribute.”
The mingling of the Roman
Catholic and local Greek
Orthodox Churches led to
conditions that may be called
unusual at least. As early as
1223, Pope Honorius III
complained in a letter to Alix
de Champagne, King of Cyprus,
that Greek and Roman Catholic
archbishops lived and worked
under one roof. Kyprianos, a
Cypriot abbot, gives the
following account of the
peculiar way in which a Greek
bishop was ordained: “The
Roman bishop or his
representative went to the
Greek church serving as the
bishop's seat; he called out
the name of all the clerics,
one after the other, around
twenty-nine in number, priests
and deacons, lectors and
precentors... Finally, the
Roman (bishop) took the
elected one by the hand and
seated him in the bishop's
chair. The chants of the
Greeks began at once; the
Roman bishop embraced the
Greek...” Likewise Leontias
Makhairas, a Cypriot
chronicler of the early 15th
century, writes in his Chronika
that both Greek and Latin were
sung simultaneously in the
churches.
The seventeen Lusignans that
resided in Nicosia between
1192 and 1489 left a rich
legacy of French culture.
Leontias Makhairas writes,
“The people began to learn
French, and their Greek
deteriorated - and it remains
so even today”. In his General
History of the Kingdom of
Jerusalem, Cyprus...
(Paris, 1613), Estienne de
Lusignan writes of this time
that “The nobility in Cyprus
sings as sweetly and with as
pleasing voices as it is
written that the druids and sardons
[healers] once sang in France
in times of yore.”
French Gothic architecture was
introduced. In 1208,
construction was begun on
Santa Sophia in Nicosia, the
choir of which is identical
with that of Notre Dame in
Paris. The castles of Kolossi,
Kantara, Buffavento and
Dieudamour were all built on
the Western pattern. The abbey
of Bellapais, also in French
Gothic style, was built a
bowshot away from Castle
Dieudamour. The fortress of
Limassol is a copy of the
castle of Gaston Phoebus in
Foix. The church of
St-Georges-des-Latins in
Famagusta is the twin of the
Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.
Kings, diplomats, artists and
crusaders visited Cyprus;
often they chose it as a
temporary or permanent
residence. In a chronicle
written in 1256, we read that
“Three hundred nobles and
barons, French as well as
those from Flanders and
Germany, companions of Jean de
Montfort, seeing that they
could not reconquer the Holy
Land with their army, fell
back on Cyprus...” The German
Ludolfus von Suchen, a pilgrim
who passed through Famagusta
in 1336, reported in his De
Terra Sancta et itinere
Jhierosol: “It is the
richest city that I have seen,
and the people here are
extremely wealthy. They are
all rich merchants, which is
not surprising considering
that Cyprus is the most remote
Christian outpost. All
passenger and cargo ships call
at Cyprus, no matter whence
they come or whither they are
bound. The pilgrims, too, must
go on land here before they
continue their journeys.
Languages from all over God's
green earth are spoken here.
These languages are taught in
schools especially provided
for that purpose.”
The courtly culture and music
that blossomed on the island
reached its climax in the
years between 1359 and 1432.
Pierre I de Lusignan (died
1369) entered history as
Cyprus's “sun king”. His fame
in Europe was mainly due to an
extended, three-year tour he
made there. During this
journey, Pierre became
acquainted with the most
important centers of European
musical activity. No less a
figure than Guillaume de
Machaut wrote a chronicle 8000
lines long in honor of this
nobleman, La Prise
d'Alexandrie (The
Conquest of Alexandria).
Wherever the Cypriot court
passed during this European
tour, Pierre was greeted with
the highest honors. On his
arrival in Avignon (March 29,
1363), Froissart relates that
he “was received most
sincerely, piously, and very
honorably”. He continues: “All
the cardinals, the clergy of
the city and all the holy
colleges went to meet [Pierre
I] with crosses and miters,
with holy water and a very
grand profusion of relics and
saints' statues, and great was
the pomp before him...” The
band of musicians in the
retinue of Pierre I de
Lusignan also caused great
excitement during this tour.
They so pleased Charles V in
Rheims that he donated 80
francs in gold “for the
musicians of the King of
Cyprus”.
This spectacular journey was
not without its effect on the
music on Cyprus, for after his
return Pierre I exerted what
was to become a lasting
influence. Until far into the
15th century, musical life at
the court of Nicosia could not
be imagined without the French
Ars Nova, and later the
Ars Subtilior. Many
French musicians and composers
were active at the Cypriot
court, and Nicosia became one
of the most important centers
of the Ars Subtilior
style.
Janus I de Lusignan
(1374-1432) was one of the
most important figures in the
music life of Cyprus. Though
embroiled in constant
struggles with Saracens,
Genoese and Venetians, he left
no stone unturned in his
attempts to surprise and
delight the eyes and ears of
his many European visitors, as
evidenced in the following
description by Khabil Dhabeir,
chronicler to the Sultan
Al-Malik al-Ashiaf Barsbay:
,,The palace was richly
furnished with costly beds and
with particularly tasteful and
expensive furniture. The walls
were hung with splendid
paintings and crosses of gold
and silver. However, what my
master admired most was a
large organ that produced the
most wonderful tones whenever
its keys were pressed...”
Cypriot
musical culture reached a
climax during Janus's reign,
when the music of the island
developed a style of its own
quite independent from that of
the mainland; for though the
influence of Ars Subtilior
cannot be denied, additional
elements emphasized in word
and tone the island's
peculiarities and mannerisms.
It is to Janus himself that we
owe our knowledge of this rich
music: Janus's daughter Anna,
upon her marriage to Louis,
Count of Geneva, took with her
a thick manuscript as part of
her dowry. This single unique
manuscript, written between
1413 and 1426, remains as the
solitary, silent witness of
the music heard at the court
of Nicosia.
Shelf-marked “ms.J.II.9”, the
Cypriot manuscript is today in
the collection of the National
Library of Turin. It consists
of 159 folios containing over
two hundred polyphonic
compositions both sacred and
secular.
The collection contains, in
succession, a Gregorian
repertoire (with an
approbation by the pope dated
1413) that includes songs for
St. Hilarion and St. Anna, the
saints of the island; sections
of polyphonic masses; motets
in Latin and French; ballads;
a cycle of polyphonic masses;
and virelais and rondos as
well. Two peculiarities make
this manuscript unique: first,
not a single composer is
mentioned by name; and second,
each work is without exception
a unique copy: not one has
ever been found in any other
manuscript. This, then, is the
completely isolated witness to
a local art.
The texts used in the
compositions reflect at times
the island location (Christ is
represented as a seaman) and
there are frequent references
to local court life (mottos
from coats of arms are used as
hallad refrains). The secular
texts, apart from occasional
local orthographical variants,
are typical of courtly lyric
poetry in 14th -century
France.
The central compositional
concern of those working in
the Cypriot Ars Subtilior
style was the logical,
consistent attainment of the
polyphonic ideal. Each voice
is completely independent of
the others, and moves through
the polyphonic fabric to form
a contour of its own. As to
rhythm, Cypriot compositional
technique is extremely
complex. Ample use was made of
rhythmic novelties such as syncopatio,
color and proportio,
and new note symbols permitted
the representation of note
values that had previously
defied graphical rendering.
Thus metric accents in the
different voices almost never
coincide, and the “laws” of
rhythm were at times out of
joint. Indeed, a rhythm that
was regular and without
syncopation would stand out
immediately as a particularly
conspicuous detail. The
listener can best appreciate
just how “nervous” this music
may sound at times in the two
mass excerpts: Gloria, No. 5
and Credo, No. 8.
A singular characteristic of
Cypriot music is the
melodically varied use of
sequence: that is, the
repetition of a single motive
or melody at different tonal
levels. This can be heard very
clearly in “Si doulchement mon
ceur” (No. 2), where on the
word “vivant”, the upper voice
repeats a motive five times:
from e' to c. Further, it is
unusual that the sequence is
used only in one voice while
the other voices are singing
unpredictable countermelodies.
Noted on the back of Folio 104
of the Cypriot manuscript is a
ballad “Pour haut et liement
chanter” (to be sung high and
legato); its text is nothing
less than a summary of the
compositional and
interpretative ideals of Ars
Subtilíor music. The
third verse, which concerns
rhythmical interpretation and
the art of embellishment, will
serve to introduce the
performance we are about to
hear. Its text is as follows:
Moderate
the chords well,
Syncopating
in legato fashion,
Deigning to
use fleuretis [i. e.
vibrato embellishments],
Not to
excess but in good measure;
Striving all
one's life
To learn to
proportion
One's songs
with graceful ardor,
Perfectly,
never lapsing.
THE WORKS ON
THIS CD
1. Sanctus in eternis -
Sanctus et ingenitus
The two descant voices of this
four-part, isorhythmic motet
have different texts. The
tenor voice consists of two
themes, both of which are
repeated once: this reprise is
sung per diminutum, or
twice as fast as written. The
upper voices make generous use
of syncopation and hocket
figures. Both texts are
heavily troped and include
almost the complete text of
the liturgical “Sanctus”.
2. Si doulchement mon ceur
je sens souspris
The text of this three-part
ballad was inspired by the Roman
de la rose. Countertenor
and tenor provide the descant
voice with a dense
underpinning that contains all
the Ars Subtilior
elements, notably sequential
patterns and frequent use of
proportions (temporary changes
of measure). Unexpected pauses
in the melodic progression
give the music its sometimes
bizarre character.
3. Je sui trestout d'amour
raimpli
This ardent song of love is
colored from time to time with
conspicuous sonorities, as
when, in one chord,
simultaneous use is made of a
falling and an ascending
leading note. At times
different kinds of vibrato (fleuretis)
are used to embellish the
melody, which now and again
becomes almost sensual. This
virelai is a miniature; it is
exemplary of the artfulness
with which Ars Subtilior
could handle the formes
fixes.
4. Je prens d'amour
noriture
This virelai is performed
instrumentally. The descant
voice, with its many
proportions, is a part
requiring great virtuosity. A
proportion is a notational
device applying to one voice,
and indicating that the note
values in that voice are to be
altered in a definite
mathematical relationship. A
proportion is indicated at
least ten times in the descant
voice of this work. In the
second part, for example, the
proportion of 7:3 (ad 8am
in dupla epitrita) is
required for a semibreve. In
the first part, the composer
achieves an accelerando effect
by using five progressively
faster proportions one after
another.
5.,8. Gloria and Credo
The Cypriot pointillistic
style reaches its climax in
these two excerpts from a
mass, which are joined into a
pair by their use of themes in
the tenor melody. In addition,
both pieces demonstrate the
same kind of isorhythmic
structure, whereby once in the
Gloria and twice in the Credo,
the same section is repeated
rhythmically. In both pieces,
polyphonic independence is
driven to extremes: nowhere is
an imitation to be found, and
the coincidence of accents in
all four voices is the
exception. In both the Gloria
and in the Credo, the melisma
in the closing Amen is a
climax in the flamboyant Gothic
manner.
6. Certes mout fu - Nous
devons tresfort amer
The text shows how the 14th
century church responded to
the popularity of the poetry
in the Roman de la rose.
This motet is in praise of the
rose - here a symbol for the
Virgin Mary. All the voices in
the composition are built up
in clear isorhythmic fashion:
in fact, the piece consists of
two equal, rhythmically
identical parts. The rhythmic
complexity intensifies towards
the end of each part.
7. Je prens plaisir en une
dame
The charm of this three-voice
ballad is in its detail and
the melodic richness of its
upper parts. Although the
melody continually "floats"
around Dorian G as the basic
tessitura. it is crossed from
time to time by inconspicuous
rhythmic variations which
alternate between 6/8 and 3/4.
Unexpected intervals
occasionally appear, as in the
beginning of the refrain. The
first verse contains the
acrostic JUSTICE.
9. Personet armonia
This three-part isorhythmic
motet, here performed
instrumentally, is one of the
most complex motets in the
Cypriot repertoire. The tenor
voice consists of one theme
that must be repeated four
times despite being notated
only once. Each repetition is
in a different rhythmic guise,
and is to be performed
according to the instructions
given in an accompanying text
The repetitions give the tenor
part the form of an arch: A a'
a" a' A. The upper voices
reflect this structure in
their rhythmically complex
parts; Parts 1 and 5 are
composed of the same
sequences,which are imitated
between Descantl and Descant 2
- a device extremely seldom
found in Ars Subtilior.
The central idea in Part 2 and
Part 4 is a syncopation that
appears first in athree, later
a two-part context. Part 3,
the central, divided a"
section, includes a hocket
passage. This work is a
virtual catalog of the
manifold rhythmical devices
used by the French on Cyprus.
10. Si doulcement me fait
amours - Nulz vrais
amans
This ballad is unique for more
than one reason: first, it is
the only four-part forme
fixe in the entire
manuscript; second, it is a
double ballad, in which two
texts are sung simultaneously:
even the refrains are
different in the two descant
voices. The text is a
particularly good example of
the melancholy expressed in
this particular variation of
the courtly love genre. With
its sometimes daring
dissonances and the many
held-out neume chords, the
composition reflects
impressionistically the
atmosphere of the first descant
line: “Si doulcement me fait
amours doloir” (Love causes me
such sweet suffering).
Paul
Van Nevel
(Translation:
© 1994 Griffin Anderson)
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