WTJU
Jan 14th, 2021 | By Ralph Graves
This is a release I’ve long been waiting for. In the early Renaissance, the Burgundian folk song
L’Homme Armé (The Armed Man) was used by many composers of the period. This album does what I’ve always wanted to do — bring together several of those settings to compare side-by-side.
It’s an album of great beauty and surprising variety. The Studio de music ancienne de Montreal under Andrew McAnerney’s able direction, sing with clarity and subtle expression. The room ambiance is spacious, letting the voices expand, blending in glorious resonance.
The album begins with the chanson itself, followed by a version by Robert Morton. It continues with various mass movements and motets. Antoine Busnois, Guillaume Dufay, Johannes Ockeghem, and Josquin des Pres are all represented with movements from their respective Missa L’Homme Armés.