The Sword & the Lily: 15th-Century Polyphony for Judgement Day | INV1008

The Sword & the Lily: 15th-Century Polyphony for Judgement Day

£12.99
Total playing time [67:57]

Fount & Origin
James Tomlinson (director)

In their debut album, early music ensemble Fount & Origin present a musical meditation on the Franco-Flemish painter Rogier van der Weyden’s altarpiece image of The Last Judgement at the End of Time. This multi-panelled work survives as a monument of fifteenth-century art, relating in vivid detail and colour van der Weyden’s dynamic and terrifying account of the world’s final moments.

The nine polyphonic settings recorded here were composed in Europe in the mid- to late-fifteenth century and include works by composers such as Johannes Ockeghem, Johannes Regis, Johannes Martini and Antoine Brumel, with each piece thematically tied to an element or figure in the painting.

Album Booklet (PDF)

Tracklist

Johannes Ockeghem (c.1410–1497)
1. Requiem: Domine Jesu Christe

Anonymous
2. Exultet celum laudibus

Anonymous
3. Clare sanctorum senatus

Johannes Regis (c.1425–c.1496)
4. Missa L’homme armé / Dum sacrum mysterium: Kyrie

Anonymous
5. Ut queant laxis

Johannes Martini (c.1430–1497)
6. Magnificat (Mode IV)

Anonymous
7. Venite benedicti patris

Anonymous
8. Urbs beata Jerusalem

Antoine Brumel (c.1460–c.1512/13)
9. Requiem: Dies irae

“

'This, Fount & Origin’s debut album, leads me to hope for many sequels. [...] they produce a warm, clear, luminous sound, with the parts beautifully blended yet clearly articulated. [...] While some of the texts contain dire warnings, the music (often mixing plainchant with polyphony) is full of gorgeous sonorities and graceful melodies. Even Brumel’s setting of the chilling Dies Irae conveys gentle compassion.'

- BBC Music Magazine

'This, Fount & Origin’s debut album, leads me to hope for many sequels. [...] they produce a warm, clear, luminous sound, with the parts beautifully blended yet clearly articulated. [...] While some of the texts contain dire warnings, the music (often mixing plainchant with polyphony) is full of gorgeous sonorities and graceful melodies. Even Brumel’s setting of the chilling Dies Irae conveys gentle compassion.'
BBC Music Magazine

Credits
© 2022 Resonus Limited
Ⓟ 2022 Resonus Limited
Catalogue No. INV1008
Producer, engineer & editor: Adam Binks
EAN: 5060262793381
Cover image: Detail from The Last Judgement at the End of Time altar piece by Rogier van der Weyden (c.1400–1464)
Release date: 7 October 2022