Mass for 24 Voices

"Paul Van Nevel has no equal in the art of transforming the most intellectually complex music into fountains of youth and emotion, an emotion born of perfection of line, of skilled balance between voices and instruments, of rhythmic vigour." (Renaud Machart, "Le Monde"). After a much acclaimed exploration of the rarely frequented world of isorhythm (Dufay Motets), the Belgian musicologist and conductor now offers us the world premiere recording of this extraordinary mass for 24 voices by Padovano - a composer underestimated today but who was considered in 16th century Italy as "one of the founders of modern music" (Galilei)…

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Founded and directed by Paul Van Nevel, the Huelgas Ensemble has emerged as one of Europe's premiere vocal ensembles dedicated to the performance of music from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Combining academic erudition with extraordinary skill and verve, the Huelgas Ensemble brings to life long-forgotten works of music that all too often have lain in dark corners of archives and libraries across the European continent.

Through his work with the Huelgas Ensemble, Van Nevel initially focused on contemporary music. He gradually began to concentrate more on Medieval and Renaissance music, developing a specialty in the rich repertoire of Flemish polyphony. He approaches this music from an historical perspective and his interpretations reflect the spirit of the age. At the heart of the group's interpretative style is the recognition of the symbiotic relationship that existed between the arts in the Medieval and Renaissance mind. Bringing together everything from Albertus Magnus's study of temperaments to the "memory theatre" of Giulio Camillo and the oratorical techniques espoused by rhetoricians of the period, the Huelgas Ensemble offers performances that are at once surprising and yet singularly apt.

The Huelgas Ensemble has been awarded many prestigious prizes for their work including the Prix in Honorem from the Académie Charles Cros in 1994, the Diapason d'Or de l'année in 1996, the German ECHO in 1997 and the Cannes Classical Award in 1998. The group's first recording for harmonia mundi Lamentations of the Renaissance (HMC 901682) was awarded the Diapason d'Or and the Recommandé par Classica and was hailed by The Sunday Times as "impeccably sung". Future projects include the June 2000 release of O Gemma Lux 13 Isorhythmic Motets by Guillaume Dufay (HMC 901700) and the Fall 2000 release of Precum Vespertinarum by Christophorus Demantius.

In addition to his extensive work with the Huelgas Ensemble, Van Nevel has devoted much time to researching and transcribing music from the Medieval and Renaissance periods. A number of these transcriptions are available through the German publishing house Bärenreiter. His articles include a monograph on Johannes Ciconia and a popular essay, "Nicolas Gombert and the adventures of Flemish polyphony". Currently, he is preparing a piece on the "Franco-Flamands", the French-Flemish composers in Northern France during the 15th and 16th centuries.

Paul Van Nevel has appeared as guest conductor for several renowned groups, including the Collegium Vocale Gent, the Nederlands Kamerkoor and the choir of the Nederlandse Bach Vereniging, and has served as a guest lecturer at the Sweelinck School of Music in Amsterdam where he taught a course on notation and interpretation to the choirmaster section.