Liber unUsualis
Program
O virum omnimoda - O lux et decus - O beate Nicholae -- Johannes Ciconia (c1370 – 1412)
O rosa bella -- Ciconia
La fiamma del to amor -- Ciconia
Aler m'en veus -- Ciconia
Più chiar che'l sol -- Antonello da Caserta (late 14th and early 15th centuries)
Le ray au soleyl -- Ciconia
Del glorioso titolo -- Antonello
Una panthera -- Ciconia
INTERMISSION
Venecie, mundi splendor - Michael, qui Stena domus -- Ciconia
O Petre, Christi discipule -- Ciconia
Doctorum principem super ethera - Melodia suavissima cantemus - Vir mitis -- Ciconia
Per quella strada lactea -- Ciconia
Con lagreme bagnandome -- Ciconia
Gli atti col dançar -- Ciconia
La doulse cere -- Bartolino da Padova (c1365 – 1405)
O Padua, sidus preclarum -- Ciconia
Program Notes
In the Company of Mars is a program designed by Liber unUsualis to explore the importance of patronage in Northern Italy in the late fourteenth century. There is an irrevocable link of patronage to music and by focusing on the career of Johannes Ciconia (c.1370-1412) one can delve into not only glorious musical repertoire but also the political intrigues and blood curdling betrayals of the ruling families of Milan, Padua, and Venice. Ciconia managed to please the powerful Visconti and Carrara families while at the same time earning a living as a musician, never suffering in his patrons’ demises. He and his contemporaries, Antonello da Caserta (late 14th and early 15th centuries) and Bartolino da Padova (c.1365-1405), praised their patrons with the military might of Mars and the political prowess of Jupiter. The composers celebrated noble families and glorious cities, often mentioning both by name.
Johannes Ciconia was originally from the city of Liége, now in Belgium. Ciconia may have traveled to Rome as a young man as a part of the entourage of Cardinal Philippe d’Alençon sometime around 1391. Alençon had strong connections to the Carrara family in Padua and was possibly Ciconia’s link to the north of Italy later in his career. Musicologists propose that Ciconia was with Alençon in Rome by at least 1394 when he composed the motet O virum omnimoda – O lux et decus – O beate Nicholae.
Ciconia is known as a purely Italian composer. The ballata La fiamma del to amor is a prime example of the Italian style and contains features of notation and of rhythm that are found only in Italy during the fourteenth century. Likewise, Aler m’en veus is striking in the very Italianate technique of imitation at the unison between two voices. Aler m’en veus remains a difficult piece to define because it combines a very Italian sound with a French text and a French song form, the virelai. As the text is one of bitter remembrance, perhaps Ciconia intended this to be a song in honor of the home he left behind.
After a period of time in Rome, Ciconia most likely went into service for the Visconti family in Milan and Pavia. The ruler of Milan during Ciconia’s time was Giangaleazzo Visconti, a very powerful and cruel man. Giangaleazzo was not afraid to use whatever means possible to retain control of and expand the region that he ruled, including imprisonment, torture, and murder of his rivals. Giangaleazzo was also a shrewd politician. He arranged a number of important marriages between the Visconti and the royal family of France, including his own. During Ciconia’s time in Milan he composed the complex canon Le ray au soleyl and the magnificent madrigal Una panthera.
Antonello da Caserta was another composer associated with the ruling family of Milan. He might have originally hailed from the Naples region, but he has associations only with the Visconti family in the north. In 1395, Antonello composed a complex and ornate madrigal in honor of Giangaleazzo’s coronation as Duke of Milan, Del glorioso titolo, and the ballata Più chiar che’l sol in honor of the 1399 wedding of Giangaleazzo’s niece and ward, Lucia.
At some point between 1399 and 1401, Ciconia left the service of Giangaleazzo and went to work in Padua. The Visconti and the Carrarese were often at war with each other and Ciconia’s reasons for departing to a rival city are unknown. It may be that Alençon at this time introduced Ciconia to the Paduan family. Perhaps Ciconia also met Francesco Zabarella, the archpriest of Padua Cathedral and advisor to the Carrarese. Zabarella obviously thought highly of Ciconia and granted him financial support through the Cathedral of Padua.
The first musical evidence of Ciconia’s new home is the madrigal Per quella strada lactea. Per quella strada lactea is a text full of heraldic symbolism and emblems of the Carrarese. Sometime during Ciconia’s association with the Carrara, he also wrote a motet honoring the city of Padua, O Padua, sidus preclarum. Although there is no definitive date for the composition of the ballata Gli atti col dançar, the name Francesca, the feminine version of his patron’s, might indicate that this was composed during Ciconia’s employment with the Carrara.
Bartolino da Padova worked for his entire career in the service of the Carrara family. Like Ciconia’s Per quella strada lactea, Bartolino’s madrigal La doulse cere incorporates a number of heraldic emblems of the Carrara family. Most likely this song was composed sometime during Francesco II il Novello Carrara’s rule of Padua, between 1390 and his capture and execution by the Venetians. When Venice, under Doge Michele Steno, conquered the Padua in 1405 and arrested Francesco Novello on grounds of treason, Ciconia simply composed another motet, Venecie, mundi splendor – Michael, qui Stena domus, praising the noble city of Venice, the doge, and all Italy. Meanwhile, Ciconia composed Con lagreme bagnandome with a text attributed to the Venitian poet, Leonardo Giustiniani (c.1383-1446), in private honor of the death of Francesco Novello. Another piece from Ciconia’s association with Giustiniani is O rosa bella.
The end of Ciconia’s career is marked by a close association with Zabarella who may have been responsible for employing Ciconia to honor events related to the Council of Pisa in 1409. This conclave was arranged by the Roman Church in an attempt to reunify the church divided by schism since 1378. During the council, assembled cardinals chose Pietro Filargo as a new prelate to replace two rival popes, one in Rome and one in Avignon. Unfortunately, all negotiations failed, and the new Pope Alexander V was simply the third rival claimant to the papacy. It is possible that Ciconia composed O Petre, Christi discipule in honor of Filargo’s election, but it is even more likely that the motet was composed for Alexander V’s appointment of Pietro Emiliani as Bishop of Vicenza one month after the council. Either of the two Pietros would be honored by the references to St. Peter as shepherd, first prince of the church, and a rock of faith.
The latest datable song on this program is a motet in honor of Zabarella, Doctorum principem super ethera – Melodia suavissima cantemus – Vir mitis. The future Cardinal of Florence was long aware of Ciconia while in Padua and was responsible for granting Ciconia a number of benefices as well as his appointment as a musician at the cathedral. Zabarella and Ciconia were in an unusual relationship as they shared a mutual respect for the other despite their relative differences in status. The text of Doctorum principem super ethera – Melodia suavissima cantemus – Vir mitis indicates that this motet was in recognition of Zabarella’s rhetorical triumphs during the Council of Pisa. Ciconia extends his skills as a composer for this motet, equally enhancing the fame of Zabarella and his own for years to come.
notes by Carolann Buff
Ensemble and Performer Biographies
Hailed by The Boston Globe as "deeply moving," Liber unUsualis is internationally recognized for their interpretation and performance of medieval music, engaging audiences with inventive programming and technical mastery of the repertoire. Audiences, critics, presenters, and scholars alike consider Liber unUsualis a "rising star" of early music performance and the ensemble is gaining an international reputation for their "warm and compelling" performances.
Since forming in 1996, the ensemble has garnered critical acclaim both in the United States and abroad, as winner of the 2002 International Young Artist's Presentation-Early Music (Belgium), an unprecedented "Honourable Mention" at the 1997 Early Music Network's International Young Artists Competition (U.K.), and as a semi-finalist in the 1999 Concert Artists Guild's Competition (U.S.).
The trio has performed extensively throughout the United States, and has performed abroad at music festivals in England, Wales, Belgium, Spain, and France. Performances in 2003/2004 included the York Early Music Festival (England), International Medieval Congress (England), Lower Machen Festival (Wales), Laus Polyphoniae/Festival van Vlaanderen (Belgium), Day of Early Music (Belgium), La CaixaForum (Spain), Rencontres de Musique Médiévale du Thoronet (France), Amherst Early Music Festival (U.S.), Phoenix Early Music Society (U.S.), and Cambridge Society for Early Music (U.S.). Performances for 2004/2005 include the Seattle Early Music Guild International Series (U.S.), San Diego Early Music Society International Series (U.S.), Milwaukee's Early Music Now (U.S.), Early Music Columbus (U.S.), and Tage Alter Musik Regensburg (Germany).
The past year also saw the release of Liber unUsualis' first compact disc, Unrequited (featuring the music of Guillaume de Machaut), which has received stellar reviews from Gramophone, Fanfare, Goldberg, and Early Music America magazines. The ensemble's second compact disc, Flyleaves (featuring music of medieval England), will be available on the Passacaille label in August, 2004.
In addition to performances, Liber unUsualis continues to lead lectures, workshops, and master classes emphasizing their unique approach to historical performance at major academic institutions throughout the United States including Harvard, Boston, and Tufts Universities. Liber unUsualis recently completed a four year residency at the Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston where they presented an annual concert series along with performance workshops.
The members of Liber unUsualis, Melanie Germond (soprano), Carolann Buff (mezzo-soprano), and William Hudson (tenor), each hold a Master's degree in historical performance from Longy School of Music. This shared academic background allows the group to unify their programs with research into both original manuscripts and scholarly editions as well as a thorough attention to historical context. The ensemble remains strongly committed to reaching beyond the academic and technical aspects of performing Medieval and early-Renaissance repertoire, continually exploring ways to express the underlying emotion of the music.
Armed with a "clean and supple fioratura" and a "dewy-fresh" voice (Boston Globe), soprano Melanie Germond received a Master of Music with Distinction in Early Music Performance from Longy School of Music (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and a Bachelor of Arts in Voice from the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis). In addition to her work with Liber unUsualis, she has performed as a soloist with various groups, including the Newberry Consort, Boston Secession, King's Chapel Choir, Brown University Choir, Musica Sacra, Ex Machina Baroque Opera Company, and Composers in Red Sneakers. Ms. Germond has performed as a soloist in concerts at the Harare International Festival of the Arts (Zimbabwe), Boston Early Music Festival Concurrent Events Series, and on WFMT Chicago's Live from Studio One. Major teachers include Nina Hinson and Laurie Monahan. She has also participated in master classes and workshops with Sequentia, Jill Feldman, Kees Boeke, William Christie, and Catherine King.
Hailed by international audiences and critics alike, mezzo-soprano Carolann Buff has been described as "ardent," "stunning," "effortless," and "sturdy." Ms. Buff holds a Master of Music Degree with Distinction in Early Music Performance from Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she studied with Laurie Monahan. A founding member of Liber unUsualis, Ms. Buff also performs regularly with the women's ensemble, Tapestry, and is featured on their recent recording, Sapphire Night. Ms. Buff toured for many years with the Waverly Consort and has appeared as a soloist with Musica Sacra, the Back Bay Chorale, and the Andover Choral Society. Performances include concerts at the Kennedy Center, the Cloisters Museum, Festival van Vlaanderen, the Festival de Musiques Sacrées de Québec, and the Internationale A-Cappella-Woche Hannover. She can be heard on MDG, Arsis Audio, Titanic, and WAV recordings. Ms. Buff is frequently invited as a guest teacher and lecturer for workshops on medieval music and history throughout the United States.
Gramophone Magazine extols tenor William Hudson's performance as "positively hypnotic." He is a highly sought after specialist in historical performance and has performed with The New York Collegium, Boston Early Music Festival Opera, Blue Heron Renaissance Choir, The Rose Ensemble, Contrafacta, Bachworks, Boston Bach Ensemble, and Ensemble Project Ars Nova (PAN). His solo roles include Testo in Monteverdi's Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorida, the title role in Carissimi's Jephte, "Lucano" in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea, J.S. Bach's St. John Passion, and A. Stradella's oratorio San Giovanni Battista with the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra. Mr. Hudson frequently tours and records with the Waverly Consort. He can be heard on Arsis, Titanic, WAV, and BBC Radio 3. Mr. Hudson holds a Master's degree in Historical Performance from the Longy School of Music. He also teaches Medieval theory at the "Midsummer in Minnesota" workshop, masterclasses at Luther College and Wingate University, and demonstrations in the performance of medieval music at Tufts, Harvard, and Boston Universities.