Ymaginacions
Ludford: Mass Upon John Dunstable’s Square
La Quintana, Jérémie Couleau
Paraty 1123291. 61’15

Following on from their Heavenly Songes recording, reviewed here, the four strong enseble La Quintana returns to Nicholas Ludford for another of his mass settings, the Missa Feria II based, as the title reveals, on “John Dunstable’s Square”. The Square is a complex bit of Renaissance musicology that is helpfully explained in the CD notes. The recording is based on music that might have been heard in the medieval Royal Chapel of St Stephen’s, the undercroft of which still exists in the bowels of the Houses of Parliament in Westminster.

If you visit Parliament, you will probably enter by the St Stephen’s entrance and pass through St Stephen’s Hall towards the famous ‘Lobby’, all built around 1850 to the design of Charles Barry. You may not realise the significance of the St Stephen’s name, or what lies hidden beneath your feet. The current High Victorian St Stephen’s Hall replaced the mediaeval Royal Chapel of St Stephen’s. This was originally a private chapel for the King and his family and was only accessible from what was then the Royal Palace of Westminster. Barry’s ceremonial hall was built on top of the surviving undercroft of the Royal Chapel, now known as St Mary Undercroft. The chapel was first mentioned in 1184, was rebuilt by Edward I around 1292, and was raised to the status of a college by Edward III in 1348. It developed an outstanding music tradition that lasted until the dissolution in 1548 when it became the first meeting place of the English House of Commons. Incidentally, many current parliamentary traditions stem from these years of being housed in a chapel, including the collegiate-style opposing seats separated by a central aisle, and the custom of bowing to the Speaker who used to sit on the altar steps, the latter probably being what was being bowed to.

In 1527, Ludford became organist at the Collegiate Chapel of St Stephen’s. Seven Lady Masses by Ludford survive in a manuscript that once belonged to Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon and is now in the British Museum. They can be dated to the 1520s. There is one for each day of the week, and are the only surviving complete set of English daily Lady Masses. Each Mass includes texts for the Proper and the Ordinary. One of the part books indicates the use of alternatim for the Kyrie, Gloria and Credo. The organist (who may have been Ludford himself) would probably have improvised on the notated chant, a practice reflected in this recording.

As with their previous Ludford recording, I found the performance compelling and attractive, with excellent clear and cohesive singing and inventive interpretations. However, as with their earlier Ludford recording, it is perhaps not entirely historically accurate. There are several matters of interpretation which are worth discussing, many of which I also mentioned in my review of their first recording. The Cantus/Treble voice is female rather than the original male, but Esther Labourdette’s voice makes a suitable replacement. The other singers are Sylvain Manet, Altus and Jérémie Couleau, Tenor and director.

Christophe Deslignes plays a portative organ. One of the questions of authenticity is this use of a portative – tiny organs sitting on the knee and played with one hand while the other pumps little bellows at the back. They can be carried in procession, and are often seen played by angels on medieval iconography. But is it the right choice for these English Lady Masses? We know the Chapel of St Stephens had four organs in the early 16th century (reference here), with three in the main upper chapel. At least one of these would have been the main organ standing on the floor with several ranks of Principal pipes producing quite a bold sound. Many such organs are known to exist. Three have been reconstructed in the UK – the most recent example is pictured below. The current organ in St Mary’s Undercroft is based on a design by Pugin and reflects the HIgh Victorian splendour of the restored chapel.

The others are likely to have been smaller but were probably also standing on the floor in fixd positions in different parts of the chapel. They could be referred to as ‘positive’ organs but were unlikely to have been easily moveable. A portative organ is a completely different beast. The precise control of the winding of the pipes allows all sorts of effects that a larger positive or full-sized organ would not produce. These include the ability to change the pitch, timbre and volume of a sounding note, something that Christophe Deslignes does frequently in this recording. There is very little evidence, if any, on how portative organs of the period were played in England, and to what extent the various effects were used in practice. If only on the grounds of ‘if you’ve got it, flaunt it’, the use of a portative is fine, but it does produce a sound that is almost certainly not one that can be associated with the Lady Masses performed in a solemn liturgy in a Royal chapel. The programme notes mention the well-known fact that Henry VIII has portatives in his collection of musical instruments, but they would have almost certainly have been intended for his secular household music. The publicity video for the recording shows the portative organ used, its open metal principal pipes at least being of the type that would have formed the basis for the organs in the original chapel, although the sound is very different, not least in the winding flexibility of the portative.

There is a vast amount of English organ music of the period, showing how the organist might have improvised on a chant theme. However, there is not much evidence on this recording that the style of organ playing here represents that style. But, despite questions of authenticity, this is a fine demonstration from Christophe Deslignes of the flexibility of such tiny portative organs. For a contrasting, and rather more authentic recording, it is worth listening to the Delphian recording (DCD34158, reviewed here) by the Choir of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge with Magnus Williamson, organ.

Various different options are explored during the alternatim sections, including organ solos, vocal solos, with or without an organ drone, and faburdon, the addition of another voice added to solo line. The chant sections are interpreted with considerable rhythmic freedom, again something that I don’t think has much solid evidence from early 16th-century England.

All that said, this is an impressive recording, and the focus on Ludford is very welcome.