If there was such a thing as a hit in the Renaissance, it was »Doulce mémoire« by Pierre Sandrin. This French chanson is about the (bitter)sweet memory of a lost love, which the composer set to a melody that is as catchy as it is melodious. This polyphonic setting was one of the best-known songs of its time and was widespread throughout Europe at the time – even entire masses were inspired by the chanson.
The Renaissance orchestra Capriccio Stravagante, which plays on 16th-century instruments, and its conductor Skip Sempé are now taking Sandrin’s chanson as the starting point for a programme that, alongside the original, features various composers who drew inspiration from the melody to create their own new works, including the Spaniard Diego Ortiz and the Franco-Flemish composers Tielman Susato and Cipriano de Rore. The demanding choral parts are performed by the Czech ensemble Cappella Mariana, which specialises in polyphonic music from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
PERFORMERS
Capriccio Stravagante Renaissance Orchestra ensemble
Cappella Mariana vocal ensemble
Skip Sempé harpsichord and director
PROGRAM
»Doulce mémoire – Sweet Memory«
Pierre Sandrin
Doulce mémoire
Cipriano de Rore
Missa Doulce mémoire a 5
Diego Ortiz
Recercadas sobre »Doulce mémoire«
Cipriano de Rore
Ancor che col partire / Madrigal
Antonio de Cabezón
Ancor che col partire
Giovanni Battista Spadi
Ancor che col partire
- Interval -
Orlando di Lasso
Susanne un jour
William Byrd
Susanna fair
Johann Sommer
Paduana (Susanne un jour)
Claude Le Jeune
Susanne un jour à 7
Hernando de Cabezón
Dulce memoria
