Guillaume de Machaut: Nostre Dame

Rarely heard, early settings of Marian texts: following their acclaimed discs ‘Byrd’ and ‘Passion’, the Vienna Vocal Consort now release their third production with klanglogo.

The starting point and centre-piece in the ensemble’s journey through music history is Guillaume de Machaut’s epochal ‘Messe de Nostre Dame’ – the first complete polyphonic setting of a Mass ordinary, dating to 1360. This work is recorded alongside a grand Magnificat by the great Franco-Flemish composer Pierre de la Rue (c. 1470–1518), and other Marian settings by Dufay, Josquin des Prez, Palestrina, and Gesualdo. Recorded at the thirteenth-century Gothic church of Retz monastery (Austria),

‘Nostre Dame’ is infused with the musical hallmark of the Vienna Vocal Consort: the appealing, playful alternation between male and female voices, which allows the contrasts of early polyphony and Renaissance repertoire to shine in resplendent colours.

The Vienna Vocal Consort is one of Austria’s leading Early Music ensembles. In addition to their busy concert schedule across Europe, the singers have established a growing group of loyal fans with their two other recordings with klanglogo: ‘Byrd’ (KL1401) features sacred works of the English Renaissance composer William Byrd, and ‘Passion’ puts centre stage the first St John Passion in the German language, written by Joachim von Burck.