Ensemble Musica Nova, Lucien Kandel - Josquin Desprez: Se Congie Prens (2013) CD-Rip

This is a lovingly designed and splendidly executed programme of secular works by one of the master wordsetters of his own or of any age, Josquin Desprez. It consists mainly of five- and six-part secular songs in French, in the Burgundian tradition, about the occasional delights but more often the wistfulness and sadness of love, with a fair helping of death and mourning added to the mixture.

From the opening notes of the very first item, 'Se congie prens' (If I take leave of my beloved), it is immediately obvious that these are superbly expressive and committed performances. The eight voices - with female sopranos and male altos - of the Ensemble Musica Nova, sensitively directed by Lucien Kandel, produce a rich, deep tone and balance and offer superbly committed and poignant interpretations. The recorded sound, in the Couvent des Jacobins in Beaune, Burgundy, is also exemplary. The ensemble take great care over their period pronunciation of the French language, in a manner well explained in the detailed booklet notes. A handful of the pieces are from Josquin's contemporaries or the subsequent generation and, for some textural variety, a few are played on the organ rather than sung - more about these in a moment.

Among many lovely pieces on the disc are 'Petite camusette' (track 8) by Josquin's revered teacher Ockeghem; Josquin's oft-recorded 'Nimphes des bois/Requiem aeternam', superbly sung here; 'Baises moy' (20), perfomed in wistful rather than lusty mood, and again most beautifully done. If you like this piece, it's also worth seeking out the parody Mass by Josquin's contemporary Mathurin Forestier Forestier: Missa Baises Moy, Missa L'Homme Arme / Miller, Chicago a cappella. 'Nimphes nappés' (26), again, receives a wonderful rendition, its tempo broadening towards the end in magnificently eloquent style.

The CD booklet notes are excellent, given in French, German and English. The texts of the songs, mainly in French but occasionally Latin, are all shown, but there are no English translations of these. The booklet states that translations can be downloaded from the Raumklang label's website; it's a poor website and the translations are quite hard to find, but it's an essential task - unless you're already familiar with 15th-century Burgundian French - given the vital importance of Josquin's mastery of wordsetting. Apart from this, and the fact that the playing of the few organ pieces is extremely dull, this is a quite outstanding Josquin recording.