October 2006

Dulcis Melancholia: A Musical Biography of Margaret of Austria (1480-1530)

Born in Brussels, the tragic life of Margaret of Austria was central not only to early 16th century European politics. Her adopted city of Mechlin was surrounded by the greatest composers of the day; on this new disc Dirk Snelling's Capilla Flamenca looks at her circle, including Josquin, Pierre de la Rue, Obrecht, and Agricola.

Composer: JOSQUIN des PREZ, ANTOINE BRUHIER, ANTOINE BRUMEL, PIERRE de la RUE, JACOB OBRECHT, LEONHARD KLEBER, HANS NEWSIDLER

CD Info: CD # MW 0525

Jacob Obrecht: The Secular Works

While most of the secular works by the great Obrecht are lost or fragmentary, the Camerata Trajectina has put together a massive project to reconstruct these once immensely popular pieces.

Composer: JACOB OBRECHT (1457/58-1505)

CD Info: CD #GLO 6059

Jacobus de Kerle: Da Pacem Domine

Contentious, controversial, and truly pan-European, Ieper's Jacobus de Kerle has been championed by that most dedicated of Lowlands music proponents, Paul van Nevel with his Huelgas Ensemble--the new disc even includes excepts from the de Kerle Requiem.

Composer: Jacobus de Kerle (1531/2-1591)

CD Info: CD #HMC 901866

Gheerkin de Hondt

While born in Delft, this almost-unknown composer spent his formative creative years in Bruges. Among the rarities on this disc are his setting of a mass for St. Cecelia (patron saint of music), and notably the birth date of his famous predecessor at Bruges, Jacob Obrecht.

Composer: GHEERKIN de HONDT (c. 1510--after 1547)

CD Info: CD # KTC 1300

Missa L’homme arme—Two Settings

Two great Franco-Flemish composers, Dendermonde's Johannes Ockeghem and the influential Jacob Obrecht (born in Bergen op Zoom, and working in the great city of Bruges), are among the 30-odd who set masses on this famous tune—we'll hear an import disc with the Capella Fidicina.

Composer: JOHANNES OCKEGHEM (c. 1410-1497), JACOB OBRECHT (1450-1505)

CD Info: CD #VKJK 9609