VOCES8: Ave Maria, Virgo Serena (Josquin des Prez)

VOCES8 sings 'Ave Maria, Virgo Serena' by Josquin des Prez at the VOCES8 Centre in London. 2021 marks the 500th anniversary of Josquin's death; in his lifetime he was considered the Michaelangelo of music, and this motet is considered to be amongst the first ever published.
TEXT
Ave Maria, gratia plena,
Dominus tecum, virgo serena.
Ave cujus conceptio,
Solemni plena gaudio,
Coelestia, terrestria,
Nova replete laetitia.
Ave, cujus nativitas,
Nostra fuit solemnitas,
Ut lucifer lux oriens,
Verum solem praveniens.
Ave, pia humilitas,
Sine viro fecunditas,
Cuius annunciatio,
Nostra fuit salvatio.
Ave, vera virginitas,
Immaculata castitas,
Cuius purificatio
Nostra fuit purgatio.
Ave praeclara omnibus,
Angelicis virtutibus,
Cujus fuit assumptio
Nostra glorificatio.
O Mater Dei,
memento Mei.
Amen.
TRANSLATION
Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with you, gentil Virgin.
Hail, whose conception,
Full of solemn joy
Fills the heaven, the earth,
with new rejoicing.
Hail, thou whose birth
Was our festival
As our luminous rising light,
Coming before the true sun.
Hail, pious humility,
Fertility without a man,
Whose annunciation,
Was our salvation.
Hail, true virginity,
Unspotted chastity,
Whose purification
Was our cleansing.
Hail, famous with all,
Angelic virtues,
Whose assumption
Was our glorification.
O Mother of God,
Remember me.
Amen.

[@fcalderone-steichen610]

Extraordinary. Eight voices singing as one, breathing as one, never rushing. Clarity in tone and musical perfection. Impossible . . . but they do the impossible. And aren't we the lucky ones who get to listen!

[@christiankurek9225]

Well said

[@johncameron4295]

So beautiful when are you coming to New Zealand. John Cameron

[@jamesduthie8024]

Choral perfection. It really doesn't get any better than this. Special congratulations to Molly Noon, who has so quickly achieved a perfect blend with Andrea Haines, and fits perfectly into the group.

[@realsonhador]

Eu gosto de mais de Voces8, em especial "Ne irascaris Domine....", aqui em casa ouvimos muito. Outro grupo até mais antigo e com uma evolução harmonica é o Tallis Scholars". Se você ainda não viu, eu indico uma busca "The Tallis Scholars - Obrecht. Missa de Sancto Donatiano"

[@Lardenoy]

​@@realsonhador merci ! ✨😇✨

[@juhanpuhm7020]

Transcendent, breathtaking, unreal. I can't imagine a finer vocal ensemble has ever existed. It is hard to know how this is even possible. Everything floats, not a single strained note, perfect intonation, perfect ensemble. Shear divine beauty, transcending to the divine, inspired by the divine. What more words can one use? (I would dearly love one day to hear Voces8 sing the chromatic harmonic progressions of Gesualdo! That would also be amazing and other worldly!)

[@zigosepalum5641]

C'est la perfection ! À l'image de la musique de ce sublime compositeur

[@jaywray4834]

Celestial. You all sound so beautiful together. So incredibly talented. Thank you for sharing your amazing gifts of the voice.

[@mathieuguillet4036]

Thank you, VOCES8. Your work is an instrument of God's Light on Earth. 🙏🏼

[@fritzlotscher9602]

This hymn of praise to St Mary is sung in perfect style by the double quartet VOCES8. I congratulate the singers for the impeccable polyphony in this piece of music. Best regards, Fritz from Switzerland

[@cynthiat6505]

This sends thrills through my soul. God must smile when He hears you. Your Amen had beautiful overtones! Glorious!

[@vivacantando]

Switching Blake and Katie for this was a stroke a genius. Beautiful work!

[@FruitofSilence]

Yes noticed this - brilliant!!

[@richardforshaw8479]

If Josquin had only written the last three phrases of this work, and nothing else, here we have enough proof of greatness. It‘s perfect….

[@davidfrech9176]

A musical experience that takes you to another realm --- one of calmness, truth and purity. Such an incredible performance.

[@rfpnc]

Oh, my heart. Such ageless beauty. Thank you.

[@turbine6202]

Perfect choice for this Advent.

[@donna30044]

Superbum more solito. Voces referunt miram majestatem universi.

[@alessandro2421]

Et parant in orbe Caelum

[@simonangel871]

Another serenely beautiful piece, sung by the serenely beautiful voices of Voces 8....I could listen to them all day!

[@finstrand]

Sorry, I’m out of superlatives. “Sublime” is an adjectival failure. No words, just heartfelt appreciation for your artistry.

[@gabyfarfan8121]

They are wonderful... My respect and admiration.. Greetings from Mexico 🇲🇽

[@PLTarchitect]

Fabulous as ever, - such sensitivity and a lovely acoustic in that space.

[@wacawlubinski5218]

Arcydzieło śpiewane przez Mistrzów. Dziękuję i pozdrawiam serdecznie, w oczekiwaniu na kolejne. PL

[@dbadagna]

Thank you for this ravishing, truly ideal performance of one of the best known Renaissance motets. The singers' attention to the proper tuning of pure major thirds (especially on the third and seventh scale degrees for I and V chords), narrowing them slightly to avoid the beats that characterize 12-equal-tempered major thirds, is especially appreciated, as is the avoidance of constant or overly wide vibrato. Bravi, tutti.

[@dbadagna]

@@beeswaxartist8332 The equally-spaced tuning of all 12 divisions of the octave wasn't the tuning that was used in the late Renaissance or Baroque periods, where pure (or at least purer) thirds were valued, and thus the intervals of the scale were unequally spaced to allow for the production of thirds closer to those that occur in the harmonic series, at least in the most commonly used keys, and usually with small compromises (usually involving a narrowing of the fifths). If you simultaneously strike middle C and the E above on a piano, with its 12-equal-tempered tuning, you'll hear around 7 "beats" per second, creating a kind of fast "wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wah" effect, since the interval is actually not in tune with the harmonic series. On a voice or unfretted bowed string instrument like a violin, however, small adjustments can be made, lowering the E by 14 cents (i.e., 14 percent of a half step) and thus eliminating the beats. But, it seems, most choral singers, even those singing repertoire from this period, still don't know to do this, and sing in something close to the 12-tone equal temperament they probably grew up with, from singing with piano accompaniment their whole lives prior to getting into the historically informed performance of early music. This video of a harp ensemble that has tuned their major third (above the tonic) to this pure/narrower interval to avoid the beats is the best example of this that I know of. Can you hear the special quality once they go up the scale from C to E? v=L-boPkQJKDA

[@dbadagna]

@@beeswaxartist8332 Regarding the vibrato, surely you've heard choirs singing Palestrina or similar unaccompanied Renaissance polyphony, and they're all wobbling their voices rather than singing with more or less straight tone. That's the norm, and this makes what Voces8 are doing here especially valuable, as it brings the purity of the tuning, and the directness of the expression, into even sharper focus.

[@lonniethomas2649]

@@beeswaxartist8332 @dbadagna is right! Good choirs don’t do that! But I find in general that in bigger choirs there is often way too much vibrato - you’re supposed to try to blend in, not stand out!

[@juliemichellerobinson1841]

@@dbadagna I'll say that the "straight" tone (allowing for limited and natural vibrato to occur) is pretty normal for many British choirs, at least when singing church and/or early music. You're probably noticing that more here because Voces 8 is a mixed choir as opposed to e.g. The King's Singers. That doesn't mean Voces 8 is a "normal British choir" - they're absolutely phenomenal.

[@catkin3]

Crickey!

[@peterlowie5067]

Goosebumps from the very first bar ending into tears at the "O Mater Dei" I do love you all. From Amsterdam Peter

[@donsharpe5786]

What a beautiful piece of music, so well performed by Voces 8. It is lovely to hear both male counter tenor and alto working together in such a beautiful way.

[@Petert19046]

You continue to thrill me with your seemingly effortless performance. The blend and attention to detail are amazing. Thank you, thank you!

[@RobertAMRoss]

One of the best performances I have ever heard of this classic! Bravi tutti!

[@Lardenoy]

Merci ! Magnifique sérénité ! J'ai les larmes aux yeux en écoutant cet Ave Maria (découvert quand j'avais 30 ans et j'en ai 65)...Ars longa, vita brevis...

[@lynholl]

Awesome performance!! Their captivating, ethereal voices have managed to capture in full the essence of this incredible sacred piece.💖

[@grahamrankin]

Magnificent in every respect. Thank you so much for sharing your perfection with the world.

[@robfoxcroft]

Did anything ever sound more lovely? The final phrase is exquisite in its stillness, prayerfulness and purity.

[@richardforshaw8479]

Why is it that, in the closing bars, seemingly basic harmonies can sound so utterly beautiful in the hands of a great master of the renaissance. It is indefinable gift called genius- it destroys me every time!

[@EvrenselKilise]

What a glorious time to be living in, it's a great grace to be able to access this kind of art. Praise be to God, and thank you!

[@christophergreen3809]

Sang this in college as part of an early music group. One of Josquin's finest!

[@ellet2942]

Wonderful, as always. It appears that Blake is singing Alto 1 and Katie is singing Tenor 1 - pretty impressive. The part-swapping works really well here.

[@mwnyc3976]

They pretty much have to do it that way. In Josquin (and with most of his contemporaries on the Continent) the altus and tenor parts cover basically the same range; the altus tends to sit higher than the tenor, but the parts regularly overlap and their total ranges may differ by only one or two notes. So in an SATB group, to get the lines to sound good throughout, you need to put tenor(s) with an easy high range on the altus part and alto(s) with an easy low range on the tenor part. This is why, for instance, the terrific group New York Polyphony (kzbin.infovideos) rarely sings Josquin: it's an ATBarB quartet, and while the baritone (the excellent Christopher Dylan Herbert) can sometimes do a damn good imitation of a tenor, you can't ask him to regularly sing high Gs the way a Josquin tenor part does.

[@selgeaus]

a lot of the scores suggest mixing the tenors and altos. It works well with this piece as 2 parts intertwine throughout

[@mathieuguillet4036]

@@mwnyc3976 Thank you for that explanation! This setup is certainly a testament to the extraordinary quality of these musicians -- not that more evidence was needed! 🙏🏼

[@etiennegillard8500]

Qu'est-ce que c'est beau ! Bravo mille fois ! Et un grand merci de nous faire découvrir ces airs de la renaissance !

[@user-km8im3rl5i]

The finest Ave Maria. I thank you for meeting this performance.

[@michaeld5888]

An brief interlude of sanity and purity in a mad world. This is so refreshing and we are so lucky to still be able to access this quality of performance. Perfectly pitched voices not hidebound by however well tempered instruments is something totally different and special.

[@MrMarioman107]

So beautiful-love the alto and tenor lines sounding so pure and lovely:)

[@tomasvictor2124]

One of Josquin Desprez's finest compositions & my favourite performed gloriously here.

[@Nadia-qh1fe]

Thank you for your celestial and heavenly voice !!! May THE LORD bless you. O Mater DEI ora pro nobis.

[@rafaelhbordini3231]

So moving, so perfect, thank you once more!

[@justeme8876]

J'adore vos voix combinées en une superbe chorale

[@yurykondratyev1596]

Огромное спасибо! Как приятно вас слушать! Завораживают ваши голоса!

[@XM525754]

Stunning rendition - thank-you

[@ThunderBolt-dc1xt]

Among the best humans have to offer right here. Astounding composition sung to perfection. Thanks for posting.

[@richardscrimger3969]

Way to go, humans!

[@milespro4907]

Once again the new gold standard recording for a classic!

[@annalyubushkina7296]

Thank you for such an amazing performance! I would be happy to hear more Josquin from your group!

[@frankorusso]

Suprema maestria, grazie infinite!

[@richardforshaw8479]

The last three phrases are transcendental, and utterly beautiful.

[@musicmanni4932]

So wonderful !! Thank you, voces!

[@LittleFiddlyBits]

I"ve sung this! It's always a delight to hear a song one recognizes, sung so exquisitely.

[@teresamartinlorenzo5741]

Qué maravilla. ¡Gracias!

[@michaelskelton8516]

Simply beautiful, the tuning and acoustics are perfect. Bravo!

[@stephenweigel]

Wow!!! New favorite rendition of this classic!

[@Robertmeulendijk]

As always impeccable Voces8: in tune, good balance and perfect timing.

[@iansimpson4236]

Wonderful. Thank you for sharing this. 🌈

[@GianfrancoFrancia]

Bravi! Grazie per la pubblicazione

[@nh5747]

thank you. thank you so much for your beautiful and gentle harmony. i have loved this song. now you made me love this one even more ever.

[@charlessawyer6123]

You must devote your whole lives to music to achieve such perfection with no pitch drop Such a gift to music lovers. Greetings from Australia.

[@kevinw6814]

This has always been my favorite rendition of Ave Maria. Thank you and God bless you.

[@Schrabnella]

Wunderschön, vielen Dank!

[@ks.wojciechiwanecki3547]

Beautiful! Thank's "Music Divina" for share this video.

[@lenanielsen5903]

Wonderful performance🍃thank you

[@margaretosborne6144]

Another absolute treat for my ears. Thanks guys

[@sabineschett6277]

So so schön ❣️ danke

[@Jenifer.flute20]

Beautiful piece beautifully sung by a magnificent ensemble

[@ceciliaeberlin2946]

Awesome performance!!

[@mkshffr4936]

Every voice essential. Outstanding.

[@jacquelinevirginia686]

Marvelous performance! Amazing sopran🙏🙏

[@debo977]

Magnificent --with gratitude!

[@inaciosodre3508]

500 anos é prova do valor dessa peça sublime.

[@luiginosenzo]

Braviiiiiiii. Grazie.

[@HRB123]

Ultimate performance. Just gorgeous.

[@andrewmildinhall8210]

Utterly exquisite. There's something about Joaquin's music is so special

[@AndrewDonald-submergency]

Such a serene and thoughtful performance. Thank you all for making my morning more beautiful.

[@cmm170526]

Wow! Amazing! Thank you

[@biancaganesh4721]

Bravo! Je suis au ciel, les anges me frôlent. Merci

[@dangaines405]

Magnificent! Thanks for your dedication in playing choral songs!

[@CarolynFahm]

Sublime music, superb musicianship.

[@PLA5207]

Brava et bravo. TY!

[@hoffy63]

Bravi! So thrilled to hear the voice blending for the two tenor lines as my choir had done. But, dare I say with greater purity, as we've come to expect of Voces8.

[@johnalexander6867]

Wionderful music, wondefully performed. Thank you

[@luciasona2231]

Grazie! È meraviglioso ascoltare Voces8 nell'esecuzione di un raro mottetto Rinascimentale polifonico. . Bellissima la voce e la parte del contralto.

[@richarddebroise123]

Magnifique !

[@merri-toddwebster2473]

This is my favorite of Josquin's works and one of my favorite anthems I've performed. Thank you for a splendid, exalting performance.

[@zemane91]

Excelente!

[@nicklamb4546]

Just utterly lovely. Medicine for the body and soul.

[@cohort075]

Sublime as always. Calmness in a world of turmoil.

[@rfeenstra5996]

Too beautiful for words…! Bellissima!

[@liliaaliciaduhaldebruz6712]

Amo esta obra y a Josquin Despres... Y alabo vuestra interpretación excelente...!!!

[@danielhenriquesorucoolivei4570]

Extraordinariamente afinados e engajados! Perfeitíssimo.

[@djr1943]

Totally, wonderfully beautiful!

[@jonathanevans7224]

I run out of superlatives for this group. Thank you Voces8.

[@lowroar5127]

beautiful, as always

[@AndrewDean777]

Bravo, you wonderful things!

[@jefersonrafael2648]

É como ouvir os próprios anjos cantando 🤯✨🤍

[@yaacovaskayo4437]

מדהים מהנה .

[@fulgenjbatista4640]

🕊🌟🕊 ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL 🙏💜🙏 💜🎵💜

[@AnthonyOzimic]

Glad to hear VOCES8 sing early 16th century works. I would like to hear them go even earlier: Dunstable, Machaut, Dufay, the Eton Choir Book, etc

[@fabioaltafim1571]

Maravilhoso!!

[@ecclesiastes8224]

Wonderful !!! God bless you. Warm regards from Germany

[@dfishpool7052]

Perfect- thank you.