In his motets, Giaches de Wert uses contrasting musical styles, such as strict stile antico dissonances for sorrow and ornate, shorter notes for joy, to depict emotional themes.
Composer Biography
Giaches de Wert, born in 1535 near Antwerp, spent most of his life in Italy, serving the Gonzaga family in Mantua as maestro di cappella.
Compositional Technique
In 'Ascendente Jesu', Giaches de Wert uses dramatic musical effects like an awkward rising point for climbing, repeated notes for a storm, and extreme syncopation for a swamped boat.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Giaches de Wert uniquely combined the textual clarity and conciseness advocated by the Council of Trent with the dynamic word-painting techniques found in madrigal composition.
Composition History
Giaches de Wert's sacred motets, though less known than his madrigals, are highly individual and imaginative, with works from his 1581 collections featured on this album.
Compositional Technique
For narrative texts with dialogue, Giaches de Wert employed polychoral techniques, using separate vocal groups for different speakers, as seen in 'Saule, Saule' and 'Egressus Jesus'.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Giaches de Wert's motets often use texts directly from the New Testament, rather than traditional liturgical sources, possibly due to the unusual liturgical practices at Santa Barbara, where he worked.
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