The Renaissance was a particularly exciting and rich period for the recorder. Combining several varieties of consorts (vocal, different kinds of renaissance wind instruments and viols), the ensemble Schola Stralsundensis mainly interprets the polyphonic music that was written, or printed in the German speaking areas of Europe. The ensemble always performs directly from the original notation, often grouped around a single music stand, using a choir book.
Heinrich Isaac
Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Isaac composed his six-voice motet Christus Filius Dei in a grand manner, matching the celebration of the election of the (catholic) emperor Charles V, the festive occasion for which the piece was originally intended (Augsburg, 1507). However, the text of the motet was soon altered by the protestant reformists, and it is in this version that we chose to record this truly monumental composition.
Arnold Feijs (ca. 1510)
In this live recording, five members of the vocal consort of Schola Stralsundensis interpret the splendid penitentiary motet Emendemus in melius, written by the netherlandish composer Arnold Feijs.
Ludwig Senfl (+1543)
For the CD-recording of this intimate 'nightly' Alleluia, mane nobiscum Domine by the Swiss composer Ludwig Senfl, we put to heart Michael Praetorius' advice to 'sing softly when accompanied by large recorders' (Syntagma Musicum, 1619).
Thomas Stoltzer (+1526)
is a relatively unknown composer nowadays, even among specialists. This five-voice setting of the psalm Beati Omnes is a very fine example of his remarkable emotionally charged style. To highlight Stoltzer's personal reading of the text (Psalm 128), we opted for a interpretation with solo-soprano and a consort of viols in this CD-recording, only adding low voices for the cantus firmus melody (text: Psalm 127, 3).
Silvestro Ganassi dal Fontego
was, in my opinion, the absolute GOAT as far as recorder-playing is concerned. Elsewhere on this website, you can find more about my lifelong fascination for Ganassi and his seminal treatise on the recorder, 'Opera intitulata Fontegara' (Venice, 1535).
In this instrumental performance of Jehan Ghero's (+1555) intricate three-voice Madrigal Io penso pensieri, the ornamentation for the upper-voice is entirely assembled from the numerous music examples that Ganassi proposed in this treatise (live recording).
John Dowland
The dark melancholy and the elegantly meandering melodic lines of Goe nightly cares, taken from Dowland's memorable song collection from 1611, A pilgrimes solace, do fit the timbre of the (tenor)recorder remarkably well (live recording).