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Vox Luminis; Lionel Meunier, music director
Vox Luminis is a prize winning Belgian early music vocal ensemble created in 2004 by Artistic Director Lionel Meunier. The ensemble performs over 60 concerts a year, appearing on stages in Belgium, across Europe and around the world. Since its inception, the ensemble has been defined by its unique sound, appealing as much through the personality of each timbre as it does through the color and the uniformity of the voices. The repertoire for this concert includes selections by Heinrich Schutz and Thomas Morley leading up to Henry Purcell’s exquisite and poignant Funeral Sentences and Elegy on the Death of Queen Mary.
“The ensemble of twelve singers, an organist and a violist, led by bass Lionel Meunier, is perfectly balanced…the particularity of Vox Luminis is the mastery of sound spatialization.” – Le Devoir
To view/download the programme for this concert, please click here.
This concert is generously supported by the EMV Board of Directors
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Programme
Martin Luther (1843 – 1546)
Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin
(Chorale, verses 1 & 4)
Heinrich Schütz (1585 – 1672)
Musikalische Exequien
- Concert in Form einer teutschen Begräbnis-Missa SWV 279
- Motette: Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe SWV 280
- Canticum B. Simeonis: Herr, nun lässest du deinen Diener in Friede fahren SWV 281
INTERMISSION
Henry Purcell (1659 – 1695)
Hear my Prayer, O Lord
Music for the Funeral for the Queen Elizabeth – 21 February 1695
Thomas Morley (1557 – 1602)
The first dirge Anthem:
- I am the resurrection and the life
- I know that my Redeemer liveth
- We brought nothing into this world
The second dirge Anthem
- Man that is born of a woman
- In the midst of life
- Thou knowest, Lord
The third dirge Anthem
- I heard a voice from heaven
Henry Purcell:
O dive custos – Elegy on the death of Queen Mary
Henry Purcell:
Funeral Sentences
- Man that born of a woman
- In the midst of life
- Thou knowest, Lord
Programme Notes
‘With peace and joy I go on my way, in accordance with God’s will.’ So opens Martin Luther’s German paraphrase of the Nunc Dimittis, the canticle sung by the aged Simeon on witnessing the presentation of the infant Christ in the Temple. Luther’s setting was published in the first Lutheran hymnal, Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn (Wittenberg, 1524), and later included in the Christliche Geseng zum Begrebniss (1542), a collection of chants and chorales for Lutheran funerals. Combined with a simple yet haunting melody reminiscent of Gregorian chant, Luther’s words capture the serenity of the believer whose faith in Christ is firm, and for whom death is nothing to be feared.
One of the seminal features of the Lutheran Reformation was its abandonment of purgatory—the middle estate between heaven and hell. Luther taught that human life was akin to a pilgrimage, and that good works did not guarantee entry to heaven; man could only attain salvation through faith alone.
Luther’s doctrine exerted some significant influence on Anglican theology from the mid-sixteenth century onwards, with both churches upholding the importance of their followers living lives grounded in faith, in order to be resurrected with Christ on the day of judgement. Thus, in the early modern Protestant mindset, death was considered of equal importance to birth, as the point at which man discovered his fate. The strength of this belief is articulated by the texts chosen for settings of seventeenth-century funeral music, which provoked profound artistic responses from German and English composers alike.
Heinrich Schütz—Musicalische Exequien
Heinrich Schütz’s Musicalische Exequien was commissioned for the funeral of prince Heinrich Posthumus von Reuss. Under Reuss’s jurisdiction, the town of Gera had been virtually sheltered from almost all conflict during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) and continued its calm existence. Reuss was also considered to be a skilled diplomat and his advice was frequently sought by others. A deeply religious man of letters, he planned every detail of his own funeral, including how his coffin should be constructed, the eulogy and the choice of texts to be read. He had ordered a coffin made of copper, the surfaces of which to be painted and covered with the texts he had chosen. This sarcophagus was rediscovered in Gera in 1995. Schütz and Reuss had known each other for many years, with the nobleman having employed the musician to conduct an audit of his chapel’s musical institutions in 1617. Reuss died on 3 December 1635. As was customary, he was embalmed and his funeral rites were celebrated on 4 February 1636. Schütz was therefore likely to have had very little time in which to compose this score, unless we assume that the prince had already commissioned the work before his death.
The composition was intended for an ensemble of six to eight voices plus ripieno singers, with basso continuo accompaniment provided by the organ and a ‘violone’. However, two pieces of information provided by Schütz in his preface supply further information regarding the realisation of the basso continuo: ‘Bassus continuus vor die Orgel / Bassus continuus vor den Dirigenten oder Violon.’ (‘Violon should here be read as Violone’). This indication occurs frequently and implies a bass string instrument that does not necessarily play one octave lower than written. Schütz’s work is divided into three parts that correspond to the three sections of the liturgy. We nonetheless know that the funeral procession was accompanied at the start of the office by the chorale Mit Fried und Freud, this being sung by all present.
The word ‘concert’ was much employed by Schütz and his contemporaries and was clearly derived from the term ‘concerto’ employed by seventeenth-century Italian composers (above all by Monteverdi in his Vespers and other works) to describe sacred compositions for solo voices accompanied by basso continuo. Schütz developed this style of composition in his two volumes of Kleine Geistliche Konzerte and in other works during the years of economic difficulty during and in the aftermath of the Thirty Years’ War. The composer here uses a systematic alternation of sections intended for solo voices (ranging between one and six) with sections for six-part Capella (i.e. chorus), recommending that at certain points the voices are doubled.
This first section is by far the longest of the three, and is made up of two sections that Schütz (following Reuss) would have associated with two sections of the Deutsche Messe: the Kyrie and the Gloria. The texts used here are not those of the Mass as used by Lutherans, but a series of scriptural texts that are thematically related. The two sections are easily recognisable, each one being introduced with a plainsong incipit. It is not possible to mistake the origins of the Kyrie: the verses sung by the Capella are closely related to those of the Kyrie proper, with invocations to the three members of the Holy Trinity. ‘Lord God the Father who art in heaven, have mercy on us / Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us/ Lord God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.’ This triple invocation by the Capella is also linked to the Latin Kyrie, in that the same music is used for the first and also for the third invocation.
The relationship of the Gloria with the original Mass text is less straightforward: here Schütz sets a succession of texts that are not only intended to glorify God, but also present a call for hope and redemption for the deceased. The settings of the verses for the solo voices are highly active in character, making frequent use of imitation between the vocal parts. This contrasts with the settings of the verses intended for the Capella, which are largely homophonic (i.e. comprised of block chords), although in the Gloria Schütz provides music for verses sung by the larger ensemble that are much more varied in style, also employing imitation and setting passages antiphonally between the upper and lower voices. Amongst the texts chosen by von Reuss is one of the verses of the chorale Mit Fried und Freud; Schütz employs Luther’s chorale melody in imitative basis. In contrast to his contemporaries and colleagues Schein, Scheidt and Praetorius, such a practice is extremely rare in Schütz’s work.
Henry Purcell—Funeral Sentences and Full Anthems
Whilst Schütz was at the forefront of German music in the seventeenth century, Henry Purcell’s output marks the high-point of the Anglican tradition following the English Civil War and the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. As one of the organists of the Chapel Royal, Purcell contributed music for several royal funerals. According to recent musicological research, however, it now seems clear that the Funeral Sentences composed by Purcell—long been assumed to have formed part of the funeral music for Queen Mary—were actually composed for another occasion, although the reason for their composition remains unclear. Purcell set three of the Anglican funeral sentences: Man that is born of a woman, In the midst of life and Thou knowest, Lord—the three texts spoken or sung at the graveside. Purcell’s funeral music is therefore incomplete, and Purcell does not seem to have produced any other settings of the remaining sentences.
These three pieces and the anthems (Hear my prayer for eight voices and Remember not, Lord, our offences for five voices) included in this programme are thought to date from the same period. Two main types of anthem had been in use in England from the beginning of the seventeenth century: the so-called ‘full anthem’ and the verse anthem. The full anthem was for vocal ensemble, with organ, (and sometimes wind instruments or viols) doubling the vocal lines and, by Purcell’s time, providing basso continuo. By contrast, the verse anthem alternated polyphonic passages with sections for one or more solo voices accompanied by the organ or instruments. Following the Restoration, and the increasing influence of French music on the Chapel Royal composers, this accompaniment was performed by violins and violas, supported by the basso continuo. As an inheritor of the great English polyphonic tradition, Purcell brought together the two styles in a perfect synthesis, with his unique talent for using chromatic harmonies to render the intensity of emotion in the texts.
Thomas Morley—Music for the Funeral of Queen Elizabeth
Much of the literature and music composed during the later years of Queen Elizabeth I’s reign (1558- 1603) makes reference to melancholia—one of the four humours that had been believed to regulate the human body by the Ancient Greeks. Thought to have corresponded with the levels of black bile in the body, melancholy was associated with the season of Autumn. It found expression in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, in the poetry of John Donne and, of course, in music. For the Elizabethans, musing on death and grief was seen as one of the marks of a profound and sincere artist.
When Elizabeth died in 1603, departing from this life ‘mildly like a lamb, easily like a ripe apple from a tree’, according to a contemporary diarist, England entered a period of intense mourning. Thomas Morley’s setting of the Funeral Sentences was sung at her funeral (although Morley had in fact died the previous year). The three ‘Dirge Anthems’ set the words appointed in the Book of Common Prayer to be read at the burial service. In its austere beauty, the language of this liturgy has since passed into quasi- immortality. Morley’s setting was to prove popular, being performed at many subsequent state funerals, and used as a model for future settings by composers notably including William Croft.
The first anthem was intended to be sung at the entrance to the churchyard, before the procession moved into the church or towards the grave. The second was to be sung at the graveside, and the third as the earth was cast onto the coffin. Morley’s music beautifully conveys the sense of grief at the inevitability of death mingled with the hope of the resurrection—the very apposition of light and shadow.
Henry Purcell—O Dive Custos
Despite the circumstances surrounding Purcell’s funeral sentences remaining unclear, we know that Purcell did, in fact, compose at least one tribute in memory of Queen Mary. In May 1695, Henry Playford published Three Elegies upon the Much Lamented Loss of our Late Most Gracious Queen Mary. The texts were by a ‘Mr Herbert’, and the print included settings by both Purcell and his teacher John Blow. Taken from the collection, Purcell’s ‘O dive custos’ is a florid, Italianate duet, invoking the rivers of both Oxford and Cambridge in grief for Mary.
***
Thus, despite coming from different doctrinal backgrounds and being professionally active at opposite ends of the seventeenth century, Schütz, Morley and Purcell are united by a number of common features. Each of them demonstrates intensely focused attention to their texts, and displays a unique ability for capturing and distilling the affects latent in the scriptural and liturgical texts. Together, they exemplify the increasing power music acquired from the Renaissance into the Baroque, which allowed it to function as a means of connection between individual human subjects, and to provide a means for personal meditation on the powerful emotions associated with grief and loss.
Jérôme Lejeune & David Lee
Vox Luminis
Vox Luminis is a Belgian early music vocal ensemble created in 2004 by Artistic Director Lionel Meunier. The ensemble performs over 60 concerts a year, appearing on stages in Belgium, across Europe and around the world. Since its inception, the ensemble has been defined by its unique sound, appealing as much through the personality of each timbre as it does through the color and the uniformity of the voices. The size and composition of the group depends on the repertoire, with the core of soloists, mostly from the Royal Conservatory of the Hague, often joined by additional performers. The repertoire is essentially Italian, English and German and spans from the 16th to the 18th century.
Vox Luminis boasts 12 albums on the labels Alpha Classics, Ricercar, Ramée, and Musique en Wallonie. These recordings have enjoyed international critical acclaim, and have won numerous prizes including the prestigious Gramophone Recording of the Year in 2012 for the Musicalische Exequien by Heinrich Schütz.
Vox Luminis has performed extensively at festivals in Belgium, Europe and overseas, and has performed in prestigious venues such as Wigmore Hall in London, the Oratoire du Louvre in Paris, the Auditoria Nacional de Música in Madrid, the Concertgebouw in Brugge, the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht. Residencies for the ensemble have been held at the Abbey of Sainte-Marie-des-Dames, the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels, the Concertgebouw in Brugge, the prestigious Festival of Early Music in Utrecht, and the “Musique et Mémoire Festival.” In 2017, the Aldeburgh Festival in England, founded by Benjamin Britten, hosted the ensemble for the first time.
Recent international highlights include performances at the Berlin and Cologne Philharmonics, Arnstadt’s Bachkirche, the Thüringer Bachwochen and the Bachfest Leipzig. 2017 marked the group’s debut in the grand Salle Henry Leboeuf in Brussels, to inaugurate the beginning of a five-year residency. In the coming years, Vox Luminis will also be “huisartiest” at the Concertgebouw in Brugge.
Most recently, the ensemble released recordings of Handel’s Dixit Dominus and J.S. Bach’s Magnificat. In addition to working with its own orchestra, Vox Luminis also frequently collaborates with other internationally renowned ensembles and orchestras. In 2017, such collaborations have included projects with the Franco-Canadian Ensemble Masques and with the Freiburger Barockorchester.
One project, one objective, one path: introduce today’s audiences to early vocal music, passionately conveying its quintessence and touching the light through the voice. Vox Luminis.
Vox Luminis receives support from Federation Wallonia-Brussels, the city of Namur and Namur Confluent Culture and is recognized by the Art and Life Tours.
Lionel Meunier, music director
Lionel Meunier is a singer and the founder/artistic director of the early music vocal ensemble Vox Luminis. Being passionate about music from a very young age, he started his musical education in the city of Clamecy (France) with the trumpet, recorder and solfège. Lionel then continued his studies at Institut Supérieur de Musique et de Pédagogie (the Superior Institute of Music and Pedagogy – IMEP) in Namur where he earned his degree in recorder with great distinction. He took classes from Tatiana Babut du Marès and Hugo Reyne, and masterclasses with Jean Tubéry.
Meunier then focused his attention on vocal studies with Rita Dams and Peter Kooij at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague (NL). At the same time, he started a career as a concert musician. He was soon in demand as a soloist, and he joined prestigious ensembles like Collegium Vocale Ghent (P. Herreweghe), World Youth Choir, Arsys Bourgogne (P. Cao), Amsterdam Baroque Choir (T. Koopmann), the Chamber Choir of Namur, the Favoriti de la Fenice (J. Tubéry), the Soloists of the Chamber Choir of Namur, Cappella Pratensis (S. Bull) and the soloists of the Dutch Bach Vereniging (J. Van Veldhoven).
Over the past two years, Lionel Meunier has been increasingly in demand from many ensembles throughout Europe as coach, conductor and artistic leader. His passionate yet thoughtful approach to the early music and a capella repertoire, combined with the understanding of and respect for the singers, has allowed him to achieve progressively ever-higher standards. Moreover, he is jury member for many international festivals and competitions.
In 2013, Lionel Meunier was given the title of Namur Person of the Year for Culture.
Just as mindful about education, Lionel and Vox Luminis regularly offer masterclasses, coaching sessions and conferences on the repertoire from the end of the Renaissance period and from the Baroque period.
