These responsories were completely ignored in the first Lassus complete works edition (1894-1926) and only received their first practical edition in the late 1970s.
Composition History
These responsories were likely intended for private liturgies in the Munich Hofkapelle, where Lassus served Duke Albrecht V and Wilhelm V, and were never sent to print.
Recording & Production
This Ars Cantica recording is the first complete recording of Lassus's Responsoria pro Triduo Sacro to be based on the critical edition prepared by Peter Bergquist in 1993.
Composition History
Lassus's polyphonic responsories, including those on this album, were a peripheral part of his late output, all dating to 1580-85.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Lassus's mastery in these responsories lies in balancing musical effectiveness with textual and liturgical structure, often using specific musical choices to highlight the text's meaning.
Composer Biography
Orlande de Lassus (1530/32-94) was one of the most prominent and prolific composers of his time, writing over 70 Masses, 700 motets, 300 madrigals, and 100 Magnificats.
Compositional Technique
Lassus's responsories feature a drastic reduction of the choral texture to two-voice sections (bicinium) in the middle, which was uncommon for his time and evokes his earlier motets.
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