The Fortuna Desperata and Une Musque de Biscaye masses are included in this seventh volume of the complete masses by Josquin Desprez, entitled “Josquin and Spain” from French vocal ensemble Metamorphoses et Biscantor, under the baton of Maurice Bourbon. These considerable works, each more than 33 minutes long, are masterfully written and were composed when Josquin was at the height of his compositional powers. Maurice Bourbon took part in analysing and executing the works, as he has done since the project’s inception, but chose for this recording to hand the job of conducting the choirs over to the young Juliette de Massy, who led Biscantor!
(6 young singers including an alto, an haute-contre, three tenors, and a bass) and Metamorphoses (3 confirmed singers: a soprano, a countertenor, and a bass). These combined forces enabled the performers to recreate a variety of tessitura, to bring out certain themes, and to ensure that breathing would not interrupt long notes. The Missa Fortuna desperata is based on the 3-voice song of the same name, and is attributed to Antoine Busnois, one of Josquin’s contemporaries.
Josquin shows his compositional prowess in this work, playing with the three voices of the song, using them one after another as a Cantus firmus (a melodic subject). Long note values are often used for these voices, which act as a veritable framework for the work. What a masterful Credo! What a magnificent Agnus Dei!! The skill involved in writing them and the splendid results are similar to those of the Missa l’Homme arm Sexti toni (see Josquin and Rome 1, the third volume of the complete masses).
Along with recreating Josquin’s geometrical interplay, in certain movements Juliette de Massy also brings out a stretching out or suspension of time, which reinforces the spiritual and aesthetic qualities of the work. The Missa Une musque de Biscaye is based on an anonymous popular song of the same name; its title refers to a young lady from the Basque Country. The song’s themes are used in the Superius and Tenor parts, as well as in the Cantus firmus, where they are heard in long note values and are sometimes sung retrograde, like in the Credo. Maurice Bourbon and Juliette de Massy felt from the outset that the song’s light-hearted quality gave the mass a lively and almost playful character. While this is certainly true in some passages, others are striking for their power and lyricism.
