Lamentations de la Renaissance – Settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah by Orlando de Lassus, Robert White, Tiburtiano Massaino, and Marbrianus de Orto

The Lamentations of Jeremiah appear in the old Catholic liturgy only once a year–during Holy Week–yet during the Renaissance and Baroque eras, Lamentations became a separate compositional genre comparable to Masses, Magnificats, and Requiems. The vivid imagery in the texts, along with the solemnity of Holy Week and the opportunity for “pure music” offered by the Hebrew letter that begins each verse, proved very attractive to composers. Particularly famous settings include those by Thomas Tallis and François Couperin. True to form, Paul van Nevel and the Huelgas Ensemble (in their debut recording for Harmonia Mundi) revive fine examples of the genre by two all-but-forgotten composers, Tiburtio Massaino and Marbrianus de Orto, alongside settings by the better-known Orlando di Lasso and Robert White. The dark-hued voices of the Huelgas Ensemble suit this marvelously melancholy music well; Van Nevel and his singers deserve particular praise for maintaining clarity of line in some very densely written music. (One notable point: while 16th-century Lamentation settings are usually performed a cappella, Van Nevel uses recorders and viol in the de Orto setting to alternate with and occasionally replace the voices.) Perhaps the Lasso could stand a little more high drama, but the plain-spoken sobriety of the Massaino and the suave solemnity of the White come across eloquently. –Matthew Westphal