Ludwig Senfl

The elector and cardinal of Mainz, Archbishop Albrecht of Brandenburg, is today mainly known as the man who triggered the Reformation. He stood for reconciliation rather than confrontation. It was only when he saw his power directly threatened as a result of the Peasants’ War, in 1524, an indication of the explosive potential of the masses, did Albrecht become a bitter adversary of Martin Luther. He expelled all Protestant clergymen from office in his bishoprics and instigated Catholic reforms at all levels.

Archbishop Albrecht was perhaps the only German Renaissance prince of the church who matched his Italian counterparts: art was for him a means of self-glorification and aggrandisement. The court orchestra he established in Halle an der Saale is depicted in several paintings. His court painter was none other than Mathias Grünewald, whilst Albrecht Dürer also painted several portraits of him.

A delightful selection of charming dances, elaborate polyphony, melancholy songs and virtuosic instrumental settings. The Fuggers (Southern Germany) collected everything there was to be heard during the 16th Century. Johannes Weiss and the bFIVE present rediscovered treasures from the library of the Fugger family - merchant bankers and patrons of music.

For centuries the Carinthian Organ Tablature from around 1560 was a fragment in the archives and is heard here for the first time in recorded form. The manuscript includes works by Senfl, Desprez, de la Rue and Mouton and was discovered by Novak. During the sixteenth century, if a choir was not available, the organ assumed the repertoire of the singers, so the tablature includes many arrangements of mass selections, chansons and motets.

It is appropriate that Heinrich Isaac and Ludwig feature prominently on this CD, as Isaac taught Senfl composition. In these songs, the tenor line is often based on a popular folk tune and the accompanying parts are rhythmically very tricky. The Dutch tenor Marcel Beekman performs baroque, classical, contemporary and operatic works.

The elegant, keyless, cylindrical flute of the sixteenth century had a reedy, penetrating sound, closer to the cornetto than to any other wind instrument of the day. It had an impressive range of two and a half octaves and an evenness of tone quality that would not be matched again until the nineteenth century.

The pieces on this recording focus on repertoire for the renaissance flute consort, almost all of which was originally vocal music.

The ensemble Stimmwerck presents songs from every walk of German Renaissance life on this CD. The title is taken from a cheeky “goose song” for the feast of St. Martin.

Although Ludwig Senfl (1486-1542) was court composer to Emperor Maximilian and later to Duke Albrecht of IV of Bavaria, always served Catholic masters, he was in close contact with Martin Luther. Luther sent a letter requesting music for a particular text.

The Emperor Charles V was surrounded by music from his childhood onwards. When Charles left the Netherlands to take up his inheritance of the Spanish throne he was accompanied by the Flemish musicians who later became the ‘Capilla Flamenca’ This recording sets a new focus and presents ceremonial wind music from the ‘Golden Age’ of the Spanish Renaissance, as it would have sounded in Charles V’s lifetime. The only probable comparison point for a recording like this which is centred around an historical figure is one by David Munrow in 1972.