Further Reading
21st October 2016
David listens to the Tallis Scholars' new double-bill of Josquin masses, including the mysterious and unorthodox 'Dice Mass'.
There are various theories as to why pictures of dice are included in the score of Josquin's Missa Di dadi. At first sight the dice are nothing more than indicators to the tenors as to how to distribute the notes of the chanson, on which the Mass is based, into their part. For example the Kyrie is preceded by a pair of dice showing two and one, which tells the singers that the note-lengths of the chanson need to be doubled in order to fit with the other three voice parts. In the Gloria the dice read four and one, requiring the notes of the chanson to be quadrupled in length.
Josquin is likely to have written the Mass in Milan in the late 15th Century which is known to have been a hot-house for gambling. Perhaps the dice are there simply to amuse a wealthy patron or confuse the singers. Other explanations have turned to the text of the chanson: "Shall I never have better than I have?" Is it a gambler's gripe? Or a lover's complaint? Or is it the languishing soul's plea for redemption?
Perhaps Josquin simply threw dice to establish his compositional scheme. Whatever the answer, the reason for the dice seems to be important. When Petrucci published the Missa Di dadi in 1514 he included the dice even though the tenor part is resolved and printed in full.
This is the sixth of nine albums in The Tallis Scholars' project to record all Josquin's masses
"Can Great Music be inspired by the throw of dice? The possibility clearly excited Josquin, who prefaced the tenor part in several of the movements of his Missa Di dadi with a pair of dice" Peter Phillips