LUDFORD 'Ymaginacions’

Ymaginacions
Mass upon John Dunstable’s square
World premiere recording Nicholas Ludford (ca. 1490 - 1557)
La Quintina: Jérémie Couleau ténor & direction Esther Labourdette soprano Sylvain Manet contre-ténor Christophe Deslignes orgue portatif


For their second album, La Quintina premiere an unknown Mass by English Renaissance composer Nicholas Ludford (c1490-1557), performed by three crystal-clear singers and a sprightly organetto. It’s not so straightforward, though, for this is also an immersion into improvised musical practices via squares (square note notation). Little known today, the concept is simple enough: a pre-existing tune such as a popular song forms the basis for melodic invention. Squares are therefore a deliberately incomplete notation, an invitation to imagine two-part polyphonic music floating above. You could liken it to a cantus firmus Mass made up on the spot but within a very specific tradition, of which La Quintina and Jérémie Couleau have made a decade-long study. Intriguingly, though, there are also sections of polyphony borrowed from other sources and retexted (contrafactum) in this programme that flow seamlessly with the many faburdens and discant sections.

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For the full text of this review please click: Gramophone, February 2024