Lasso: Lagrime di San Pietro

Featuring

Christopher Jackson
Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal
Orlando di Lasso

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Composer Biography

Roland de Lassus, hailed by Ronsard as "the more than divine Orlando," served the court of Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria in Munich for several decades.

Compositional Technique

The Lagrime di San Pietro consists of 21 pieces for seven voices: 20 spiritual madrigals in Italian and a concluding motet in Latin.

Composition History

Lassus completed the dedication of his final work, Lagrime di San Pietro, to Pope Clement VIII just three weeks before his death in 1594.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Lassus identified with the character of Saint Peter in his work, associating his own distress with the apostle's grief by setting the first 20 stanzas of Luigi Tansillo's poem.

Performer Biography

The Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, directed by Christopher Jackson, has been performing Renaissance and Baroque vocal repertoire since 1974.

Composer Biography

In 1590, Lassus suffered a serious crisis, likely a stroke, after which his wife reported he did not recognize her and spoke often of his death.

Composer Biography

Lassus's correspondence with Duke Wilhelm, his new employer, was filled with wordplay, puns, and jokes, which Romain Goldron notes "shine singular light on the musician's personality."