Claude Le
Jeune, perhaps the most important of Protestant composers, lived to see the
accession of Henri IV, a Protestant who abjured his religion and returned to
the Catholic Church in order to become King (1593), but who managed to
achieve a cease-fire between the sides with the Edict of Nantes, which
allowed freedom of religion to the Protestants (1598). Le Jeune died at about
seventy in 1600, and we are fortunate that, though politics prevented his
works being printed during his lifetime, they were issued posthumously. Until
recently few had been issued in modern editions (though I recall being
entranced as a teen by his Te Deum, recorded in the Anthologie
Sonore in the fifties).
Le Jeune’s output reflects a wide variety of styles — the more
traditional Parisian chanson, the settings of vers mÈsurÈ by the poet Baif,
Protestant psalm settings, and even a substantial number of canzonettas to
Italian texts (I have yet to see these last on disc). This is the third disc
by the Ensemble ClÈment Janequin to mine this rich vein (the two previous
devoted to chansons and sacred music respectively). The ECJ is one of our
treasures, resuscitating a huge and fascinating repertoire in almost four
(!!) decades of recordings, and it is to be expected that this collection is
first-rate. The quibbler/curmudgeon in me just sees a few mis-steps here. I
can’t imagine that the arrangement of Laute joun (a rustic piece in
Gascon dialect) reflects the original — it’s just too folk. As I don’t
have access to the source, I can’t nail this down in chapter and verse.
Povre coeur, entournÈ de de passions, de tant de nouveautÈs, de tant de
fictions makes ample reference to the musical novelties and musica ficta
of Le Jeune’s Italian contemporaries (Marenzio, Luzzaschi, Gesualdo).
Unfortunately the busy lute added here confuses rather than clarifies the
musical difficulties. This should be a cappella, and much more Italian in
style — flexibility of rhythm, lingering over the chromaticisms. And
finally, the booklet, though it has notes in French, English and German,
gives the French texts, with no translations. Shame, shame, shame! I would
not like to see this continue. Even Anglophones with some French may need
help once in a while.
But these niggles are not enough to detract from your enjoyment of a
well-programmed and beautifully sung recording of important repertoire, a
worthy addition to the oeuvre of a fundamental ensemble. Warmly
recommended.
Tom Moore
* Editor’s Note: The Protestant composer, Claude Goudimel, was
also a victim of the St.
Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in August 1572. He is best known for his
contributions to the so-called Geneva Psalter. See Paul-AndrÈ
Gaillard/Richard Freedman: ‘Goudimel, Claude: Works’, Grove Music
Online.
image=http://www.operatoday.com/content/le_jeune.jpg
image_description=Claude Le Jeune: Autant en emporte le vent – French Chansons
product=yes
product_title=Claude Le Jeune: Autant en emporte le vent – French Chansons
product_by= Ensemble ClÈment Janequin, Dominique Visse
product_id=Harmonia Mundi HMC 901863 [CD]
price=$16.99
product_url=http://www.hbdirect.com/album_detail.php?id=597800&aff=operatoday