Corpus Christi Church, New York; February 26, 2006
The final program in this season’s “Music Before 1800” series featured the Renaissance vocal ensemble Pomerium. Led by director Alexander Blachly, Pomerium, whose name translates as “garden,” is distinguished by its beauty and purity of sound, remarkable inner voice clarity, and always impeccable intonation — qualities which sounded forth perfectly in the splendid acoustic of Manhattan’s Corpus Christi Church.
Their program, entitled “Ockeghem and his Circle”, was a celebration of the fifteenth century composer, as well as those with whom he worked and influenced. The opening Ave Maria made immediately clear why Ockeghem was so beloved by his contemporaries — it is a miracle of ever-expanding and interweaving polyphony captured in exquisite, immaculate timbres. Ockeghem’s Missa L’homme armé dominated the first half, and here Pomerium’s arresting qualities were at their most audible, as Blachly and his singers maintained a tonal variety that ever captivated the ear throughout six movements all in the same key.
But perhaps the most intriguing Ockeghem work appeared on the second half: the comparatively brief Mort, tu as navré (Lament on the death of Binchois) with its dual-layer construction in which the lower voices repeat the Requiem Mass while above the higher voices sing three strophes honoring the departed composer Gilles Binchois. Binchois himself was represented by a moving Kyrie “Angelorum” and Psalm 110 (sung in plainchant), as well as the endearing love ballade De plus en plus. This last was one of the pieces wherein Pomerium subdivided into smaller units (in this case a vocal trio); others included the humorous Filles a marier (Binchois) and the more serious Vergene bella (male trio) by Guillaume Du Fay, whose Il sera par vous combatu featured as well.
Perhaps the most familiar name on the program was that of composer Josquin Desprez whose haunting Ut Phebi radiis closed the first half. Desprez would have a similar honor at the program’s end which offered the deeply felt Nymphes des bois (Lament on the death of Ockeghem). For this last work, Pomerium sounded just as fresh and captivating as it had in the beginning. The audience’s applause for this remarkable group was prolonged and appreciative.
Victor Carr Jr
