The moresca, an Italian musical genre, caricatured Black Africans and often featured macaronic texts combining Italian, Neapolitan, and Kanuri, the language of the Kanem-Bornu Empire.
Composition History
This album reconstructs music for the 1568 wedding of Renate of Lorraine and Wilhelm V, heir to the throne of the Duke of Bavaria, an 18-day celebration.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The director, Eric Rice, aims to show the presence of Black Africans in 16th-century European musical works and how music was used to perpetuate the myth of white European superiority.
Interpretation
The recording includes instrumental performance in the Te Deum and Gratia sola Dei, even though the original accounts don't mention instruments, based on common practice for festive contexts.
Historical Context
Massimo Troiano, an Italian musician, recorded the 1568 wedding events in a description published as a dialogue in 1569, which helps reconstruct Lassus's musical contributions.
Recording & Production
This recording was funded by grants from the University of Connecticut School of Fine Arts, the UConn Research Excellence Program, and UConn Global Affairs.
Composer Biography
Orlande de Lassus, also known as Orlando di Lasso, was the maestro di cappella for Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria since 1556, and modelled the court's musical establishment on Italian courts.
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