PIERRE MOULU: Mater floreat; Missa Missus est Gabriel angelus; In pace; Missa Alma redemptoris mater; JOSQUIN: Missus est Gabriel angelus – Brabant Ensemble/ Stephen Rice, conductor – Hyperion 67761, 74:38 [Harmonia mundi] ****:
The notes to this excellent release do not give us much information about Pierre Moulu, Renaissance composer (?1484 – c.1550) who was active in Paris for most of his life. The reasons are secure—we simply don’t know a lot about him. The Meaux Cathedral is mentioned in Vatican documents as having Moulu assigned there, but otherwise there is not a lot of documentation.
So it appears that his music will have to do his talking for him. And this is not a bad thing; Moulu’s style is one of primarily clarity. Though you will find complexity aplenty here it is so organized and mathematically precise that its difficulties elude the listener and one goes away thinking how simple the music is. In fact Moulu uses such a finite and rigorous method of construction that an option is offered in performance to shorten the work simply by eliminating many of the rests, all things falling beautifully into place. According to the notes his mass “Alma redemptoris mater” is the most extensive in the entire Renaissance to make use of this technique.
While that work might be his most celebrated—if such a word can be used in his case—it is certainly the “Missa Missus est Gabriel angelus” that I find the most appealing, where this imitation of Josquin—he was said to have been a disciple of the great man—is the most evident. One can listen to the Josquin work here are make comparisons for oneself. But the inescapable fact you encounter in this recording is that this composer is eminently worthy of this recording and of an assured place in the pantheon of great Renaissance composers.
As a curio one can hear the Mater floreat, a work that praises—and mentions by name, ending with Josquin—the greatest composers, according to Moulu, of the day.
This is an exceptionally fine disc, the Brabant Ensemble proving itself worthy of its Hyperion contract, and the terrific sound they provide. Early-music lovers will want this for sure, all others may sample with confidence.
— Steven Ritter
