Search - Magnificat, Philippe Rogier, Philip Cave :: Philippe Rogier: Missa Ego sum qui sum

A parody mass par excellence

Stephen Midgley | Tarbrax, West Calder, UK | 08/03/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Philippe Rogier was among the last of a magnificent line of Franco-Flemish composers who made an immeasurable contribution to the musical life of Europe throughout the Renaissance period. By the age of 25 he had already risen to the distinguished position of master of music at the Spanish royal court, and his work was widely known in his time. But, tragically, he died in 1596 at the age of only 35 and, to add to the misfortune for succeeding generations of music lovers, large portions of his copious musical output were later destroyed, some in a fire at the Spanish royal chapel in 1734, and still more in the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.



There have been a few CDs containing works by Rogier, including several fine instrumental pieces beautifully performed in Paul McCreesh's brilliant reconstruction programmes "Music for the Duke of Lerma" and Morales' "Mass for the Feast of St. Isidore of Seville". But I know of only one other disc devoted entirely to Rogier (on the Ricercar label), and so this present CD from the vocal group Magnificat under Philip Cave is all the more welcome. What is more, their choice of music centres upon an outstanding example of that well-loved Renaissance phenomenon the parody mass, in this case one based on the motet "Ego sum qui sum" by Nicolas Gombert.



Gombert's piece, which of course is included on the disc, is itself an absolute gem even by the standards of that wonderful composer, a beautifully affecting setting of an Easter text culminating in a poignant moment of the Resurrection story. It is performed with moving delicacy by a section of Cave's group singing one voice to a part, and is then followed by Rogier's parody mass sung by the whole group. Rogier makes the most of Gombert's melodic and contrapuntal material, weaving its various strands and motifs into a complex texture of intense beauty; all this is performed with sensitive style by the finely blended voices of Magnificat, and their sound is ideally captured by Linn's engineers.



The remaining works on the disc, with biblical texts mainly about sadness and repentance, are more austere in mood, but the comforting words and rich texture of the final work, "Dominus regit me", make a fitting conclusion to the programme. Altogether, this CD is an outstanding and original contribution to the discography and will make a fine addition to any collection of renaissance music. As a footnote, Gombert's motet is also available in an equally beautiful performance by Nordic Voices on the Chandos label, as part of their marvelous recital entitled "Reges terrae: Music from the Time of Charles V" - also well worth investigating by all lovers of this repertory.

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