Discography

JACOB OBRECHT | MISSA MARIA ZART
Cappella Pratensis | Stratton Bull
2023 | Challenge Classics | 0608917293326
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Jacob Obrecht’s Missa Maria zart is recognised as one of the most ambitious artistic creations of its time—some have claimed that it defies description. Even by Obrecht’s standards, this Mass is unusually complex, inventive and powerful, while at the same time it is based on a sweet and simple popular melody. The result is a deeply moving listening experience.

Cappella Pratensis’ interpretation is the fruit of its lengthy study of the work, both in collaboration with musicologists and through a series of concerts in Europe and North America.

Available in the webshop.


APOSTOLA APOSTOLORUM | THE DEN BOSCH CHOIRBOOKS VOL. 3
Nicolas Champion | Missa de Sancta Maria Magdalena
Cappella Pratensis | Stratton Bull
2022 | Challenge Classics | 0608917287929
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At the dawn of the Renaissance the southern Dutch city of ’s-Hertogenbosch, with its abundance of churches and monasteries, was also referred to as “Little Rome”. Central to this religious scene was the Brotherhood of Our Illustrious Lady (Illustre Lieve Vrouwe Broederschap), founded in 1318. This devotional organization, which counted among its members the famous painter Hieronymus Bosch, invested considerably in recruiting and employing the best singers and organists for its chapel, which performed a wide variety of polyphonic music. No fewer than nine choirbooks with this repertoire are still preserved by the confraternity.

The relatively rare Masses that celebrate saints other than the Virgin Mary were usually composed in response to an individual’s or an institution’s particular devotional interest. There is good reason to believe that Nicolas Champion composed his Missa de Sancta Maria Magdalena expressly for Margaret of Austria, whose devotion to Mary Magdalene is well known. Champion (c. 1475-1533) worked for the Habsburg-Burgundian chapel from 1501 to 1524; this Mass was probably written between 1507 and 1515.

“A fascinating exploration of performance practice and the role of improvisation in early music, but most important of all, the resulting recording is strikingly splendid.” – Gramophone Magazine- Editor’s Choice

“A musical proposal that stands out for its artistic quality and its musicological interest.” – Sonograma

“De helder en strak gezongen lijnen van Cappella Pratensis zijn betoverend” – De Volkskrant (4 sterren)

Available in the webshop.


EZEKIEL’S EAGLE | THE DEN BOSCH CHOIRBOOKS VOL. 2
Jean Mouton | Missa Tua est potentia | motets
Cappella Pratensis | Stratton Bull
2021 | Challenge Classics | 0608917287820

At the dawn of the Renaissance the southern Dutch city of ’s-Hertogenbosch, with its abundance of churches and monasteries, was also referred to as “Little Rome”. Central to this religious scene was the Brotherhood of Our Illustrious Lady (Illustre Lieve Vrouwe Broederschap), founded in 1318. This devotional organization, which counted among its members the famous painter Hieronymus Bosch, invested considerably in recruiting and employing the best singers and organists for its chapel, which performed a wide variety of polyphonic music. No fewer than nine choirbooks with this repertoire are still preserved by the confraternity.

This CD, the second in a compilation series of five, highlights two choirbooks from the collection: MS152 and 155. The focus is on Jean Mouton’s Missa Tua est potentia, interspersed with Gregorian chant and beautiful polyphonic motets, also by Mouton. The music transports you to a 16th-century sunny spring day in the colorful Brotherhood Chapel in St. John’s Cathedral in ’s-Hertogenbosch. It is the sixth of May, the day of the great feast of John in front of the Latin gate.

The Missa Tua est potentia is a plea for peace and protection. Themes that are just as topical today as they were five hundred years ago.

Available in the webshop.


GAUDE VIRGO! | THE DEN BOSCH CHOIRBOOKS VOL. 1
Pierre de la Rue | Missa Cum jocunditate | motets
Cappella Pratensis | Stratton Bull
Wim Diepenhorst, organ
2021 | Challenge Classics | 0608917287721

At the dawn of the Renaissance the southern Dutch city of ’s-Hertogenbosch, with its abundance of churches and monasteries, was also referred to as “Little Rome”. Central to this religious scene was the Brotherhood of Our Illustrious Lady (Illustre Lieve Vrouwe Broederschap), founded in 1318. This devotional organization, which counted among its members the famous painter Hieronymus Bosch, invested considerably in recruiting and employing the best singers and organists for its chapel, which performed a wide variety of polyphonic music. No fewer than nine choirbooks with this repertoire are still preserved by the confraternity.

Marian devotion was at the very centre of the activities of the Brotherhood of Our Illustrious Lady in the late middle ages. Every Wednesday the Confraternity brothers gathered in their opulent chapel in the church of St. John the Evangelist to celebrate a votive Mass in honour of the Blessed Virgin. There they would have heard their choir of men and boys sing not only the ancient plainsong melodies but also the most complex new music of the time, polyphonic masses and motets by composers of both international and local reputation. The sounds of the organ too were integral to these occasions; the Confraternity employed an organist and kept their chapel organ in fine repair.

This CD, the first in a compilation series of eventually five, mainly focuses on the choirbook MS154, with Pierre de la Rue’s Missa Cum jocunditate as its central work. This Mass gives a good impression of the enormous musical richness that the brotherhood developed. Here the joy and serenity of the weekly liturgy of the Marian votive Mass resounds with the succession of hymns praising and entreating Mary. The opening song Salve sancta parens greets her as the celebrant enters the chapel, and with graceful polyphony sets the jubilant tone for the rest of the ceremony.

This is a re-release of the CD Missa Cum jocunditate (2016). Available in the webshop.


antony-pitts-missa-unitatisMISSA UNITATIS | ANTONY PITTS
Clemens non Papa | Mouton |  Verdi | Poulenc | Esenvalds | Muhly
Nederlands Kamerkoor | Cappella Pratensis |
Nationaal Vrouwen Jeugdkoor
2017 | Challenge Classics | 608917271126

The Missa Unitatis is the first new mass in almost 500 years commissioned by the Illustre Lieve Vrouwe Broederschap (founded in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 1318) and premiered in a unique collaboration between two choirs: the Nederlands Kamerkoor and Cappella Pratensis.

The Missa Unitatis is all about finding – and striving for – mutual understanding. The five sections of this mass are interspersed with separate contributions from each ensemble, as well as the Nationaal Vrouwen Jeugdkoor. In this way, the unity is underlined as the underlying theme and made tangible in this recording in a unique way.

Available in the webshop.


MISSA CUM JOCUNDITATE | PIERRE DE LA RUE
Visions of Joy | The Chapel of Hieronymus Bosch
2016 | Challenge Records | 0608917271027

Music clearly fascinated the great Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch (c.1450-1516); his sketches and paintings are peppered with closely observed depictions of music-making and musical instruments. Bosch, a native of ’s-Hertogenbosch in the Duchy of Brabant, was a life-long brother of the city’s Brotherhood of Our Illustrious Lady, a large and prestigious organization for which sacred music was an essential and highly-valued part of its devotional life. Every Wednesday Bosch could gather with his Confraternity brothers in their opulent chapel in the church of St. John the Evangelist to celebrate a votive Mass in honour of the Blessed Virgin. This recording aims to capture a sense of the devotional soundscape that Bosch experienced throughout his life as a member of this music-loving Marian brotherhood. Instead of the frightening cacophony conjured by the artist’s vision of Hell, we encounter here the joy and serenity of the weekly Marian votive Mass liturgy.

We have chosen the Missa Cum jocunditate by Pierre de la Rue (c.1452-1518), who was not only the most renowned composer of the Habsburg-Burgundian court but also an external member of the brotherhood from the early 1490s until his death in 1518. Indeed, La Rue may well have had occasion to meet Bosch during these years.

This CD was reissued in 2021 under the title Gaude Virgo! | The Den Bosch Choirbooks, Vol. 1.


MISSA AVE MARIS STELLA | JOSQUIN DESPREZ
2014 | Challenge Records

More than any other Renaissance composer, Josquin Desprez’s music has been extensively performed, recorded and studied. Although his numerous masses and motets are now more than 500 years old, they have taken a place in our contemporary musical museum of masterpieces. Through superlative craftsmanship and sublime beauty, this music transcends its time and place and its original function as sacred music.

The beautiful Missa Ave maris stella is an early work by the composer that is generally hailed as one of the masterpieces of the Franco-Flemish polyphonic repertoire. Desprez composed this mass during his years as a chorister at the Cappella Sistina in Rome (early 1490s). The mass is completed with Mariamotets by Josquin as well as the Gregorian chants that together form the liturgy of the Annunciation.

Available in the webshop.


OCKEGHEM | DE LA RUE REQUIEM
2012 | Challenge Records

In this album, Cappella Pratensis returns to the very first polyphonic settings of the mass of death in history.

The Requiems by Johannes Ockeghem (c. 1410-1497) and Pierre de la Rue (c. 1452-1518) are an ideal pair as they are the oldest surviving polyphonic versions of the mass of death composed in the Low Countries. Both De la Rue (ca. 1460-1518) and Ockeghem (ca. 1420-1497) have composed a Requiem in which pure austerity is combined with elegance and ingenuity.

La Rue is clearly inspired by his older colleague, he follows his austere yet sounding style. Both works were highly praised, with Ockeghem’s work being described as “exquisite et tres parfaicte” (exquisite and perfect) and De la Rue’s as “the most beautiful Musik, die man hören konnte” (the most sound music you can hear). The leading French magazine Diapason gave this CD five stars (highest rating).

Available in the webshop.


VIVAT LEO! Music for Medici Pope vivatleo1
2010 | Challenge Records

For this CD recording Cappella Pratensis has joined forces with internationally renowned conductor and musicologist Joshua Rifkin to explore the musical taste of the infamous Pope Leo X, who reigned from 1513 to 1518. The repertoire consists of works by the established great masters of the time such as Josquin Desprez and Jean Mouton, but also shows the appreciation of Pope Leo for the new generation of composers such as Adrian Willaert and Costanzo Festa. From the first work, Gaude felix Florentie – written for the pope’s triumphant entrance into his hometown of Florence – to Josquin’s monumental Miserere May, Deus’ repertoire is colorful and dramatic. The program draws a vivid picture of Italian music life at the height of the renaissance. Rifkin’s longstanding relationship with this repertoire guarantees an animated and deliberate performance. The album was awarded a Diapason d’Or.

This CD is no longer available.


MISSA DE SANCTO DONATIANOcp_cd1
Bruges 1487; Jacob Obrecht
2009 | Fineline Classical

With this CD / DVD we return to the Sint Jacobskerk in Bruges in October 14, 1487, when a mass was held there in memory of fur trader Donaes de Moor with music written especially for the occasion by Jacob Obrecht.
The DVD contains a filmed reenactment of the mass plus an extensive documentary with professor Jennifer Bloxam of Williams College (Massachusetts, USA) and Stratton Bull – artistic director of Cappella Pratensis – filmed on location in Bruges. More information in English at www.obrechtmass.com. This CD / DVD was awarded a Diapason d’Or Découverte.

Available in the webshop.


STABAT MATER 2013CD Stabat Mater 2013

Jsoquin Desprez, Hawar Tawfiq, Giovanni Pergolesi (performance by Cappella Pratensis a.o.)
2013

Concert registration of the Stabat Mater concerts in Oirschot in 2013, in which Cappella Pratensis performed Josquin Desprez’s masterful version of the famous passion text and was also the musical heart of the world premiere of Hawar Tawfiq’s atmospheric new Stabat Mater composition.

Soon again available in the webshop.

 


Afbeelding cd Kaisei NariKAISEI NARI

Paul van Kemenade Quintet in cooperation with Cappella Pratensis
2012 | KEMO 011

Alto saxophonist Paul van Kemenade in duos and trios with Aki Takase and Han Bennink, Three horns and bass, Cappella Pratensis and others.
Featuring: Aki Takase, Han Bennink, Renaissance ensemble Cappella Pratensis (Stratton Bull, Lior Leibovici, Pieter Stas, Olivier Berten), Three horns and a bass (Angelo Verploegen, Louk Boudesteijn, Wiro Mahieu), El Periquin, Serigne C.M.Gueye.

Buy this CD via Paul van Kemenade’s website.

 


LA POLYPHONIE FLAMANDEAfbeelding cd-box La Polyphonie Flamande
Collection box with Cappella Pratensis
2011 | Ricercar

Box with 8 CDs (and accompanying book) with a compilation of music by Flemish polyphonists from the 15th and 16th centuries: including Ockeghem, Grenon, De Lantins, Dufay, Binchois, Brumel, De la Rue, Pipelare, Obrecht, Prioris, Desprez, Brumel.
Performers: Cappella Pratensis, Capilla Flamenca, Continens Paradisi, Diabolus In Musica, Discantus, Ensemble Musica Nova, Ensemble Organum, Oltremontano, Piffaro, Psallentes, Romanesque, Vox Luminis.

Buy this CD through the Ricercar label.

 

 


CLOSE ENOUGHreplicdboek2 close enough.mac
Paul van Kemenade Quintet in cooperation with Cappella Pratensis
2010 | KEMO 09

On this CD altoist Paul Van Kemenade plays the composition FANTASY COLORS in various settings with Cappella Pratensis.
Buy this CD via Paul van Kemenade’s website.

 

 

 

 


BOSCH REQUIEM 2010Afbeelding cd-dvd Bosch Requiem 2010

This booklet + DVD contains the entire registration of Bosch Requiem 2010. Cappella Pratensis, conducted by conductor Bo Holten, sings requiem ‘Missa pro fidelibus defunctis’ by Pierre de la Rue and the monumental motet ‘Misere mei, Deus’ by Josquin Desprez (ca 1450-1521). The Matangi Quartet performs the string quartet “… miserere …” by Louis Andriessen.

This DVD is no longer available.

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