Da Vinci: Music from His Time

1	Tu solus qui facis mirabi / Josquin Desprez
2	Intrada, for chamber ense / Marchetto Cara
3	Quanto e misero l'uom / Serafino Dall'Aquila
4	Italia mia, madrigal / Philippe Verdelot
5	Pavana / Anonymous, Italian
6	Quando ritrovo la mia pas / Costanzo Festa
7	Madonna, oymè, per qual c / Costanzo Festa
8	Frottola, for chamber ens / Filippo de Lurano
9	El grillo, song for 4 par / Josquin Desprez
10	In te Domini speravi, fri / Josquin Desprez
11	Ave Maria... virgo serena / Josquin Desprez
12	Venite adoremus/Venite ex / Gregorian Chant
13	Inviolata, integra et cas / Josquin Desprez
14	Doleo super te, motet (po / Josquin Desprez
15	Miserere mei deus (Psalm / Josquin Desprez
16	Missa "La Sol Fa Re Mi", / Josquin Desprez
17	Missa Re fa mi re fa, for / Alexander Agricola
18	Virgo sub ethereis / Alexander Agricola
19	Deo gratias, canon for 36 / Johannes Ockeghem
Da Vinci: Music from His Time
1.	Tu solus qui facis mirabilia, motet for 4 parts 3:25
	Composed by Josquin Desprez
	Performed by Capella Antiqua München
2.	Intrada, for chamber ensemble 1:17
	Composed by Marchetto Cara
	Performed by Huelgas Ensemble
3.	Quanto e misero l'uom 1:31
	Composed by Serafino Dall'Aquila
	Performed by Huelgas Ensemble
4.	Italia mia, madrigal 3:34
	Composed by Philippe Verdelot
	Performed by Huelgas Ensemble
5.	Pavana 2:42
	Composed by Anonymous, Italian
	Performed by Huelgas Ensemble
6.	Quando ritrovo la mia pastorella, frottola in 4 parts 3:10
	Composed by Costanzo Festa
	Performed by Huelgas Ensemble
7.	Madonna, oymè, per qual cagion m'havete, madrigal for 4 voices 4:32
	Composed by Costanzo Festa
	Performed by Huelgas Ensemble
8.	Frottola, for chamber ensemble 2:24
	Composed by Filippo de Lurano
	Performed by Huelgas Ensemble
9.	El grillo, song for 4 parts 1:39
	Composed by Josquin Desprez
	Performed by Waverly Consort
10.	In te Domini speravi, frittola or motet for 4 parts 2:50
	Composed by Josquin Desprez
	Performed by Waverly Consort
11.	Ave Maria... virgo serena, motet for 4 parts 6:48
	Composed by Josquin Desprez
	Performed by Waverly Consort
12.	Venite adoremus/Venite exsultemus (Gregorian antiphon with falsobordone psalm) 3:56
	Composed by Gregorian Chant
	Performed by Niederaltaicher Scholaren
13.	Inviolata, integra et casta es, motet for 5 parts 4:31
	Composed by Josquin Desprez
	Performed by Capella Antiqua München
14.	Doleo super te, motet (poss. spurious) 2:36
	Composed by Josquin Desprez
	Performed by Capella Antiqua München
15.	Miserere mei deus (Psalm 51), motet for 5 parts 12:23
	Composed by Josquin Desprez
	Performed by Capella Antiqua München
16.	Missa "La Sol Fa Re Mi", for 4 parts: Gloria 4:17
	Composed by Josquin Desprez
	Performed by Capella Antiqua München
17.	Missa Re fa mi re fa, for 4 voices: Sanctus 3:46
	Composed by Alexander Agricola
	Performed by Huelgas Ensemble
18.	Virgo sub ethereis 2:17
	Composed by Alexander Agricola
	Performed by Huelgas Ensemble
19.	Deo gratias, canon for 36 voices (attributed) 2:09
	Composed by Johannes Ockeghem
	Performed by Huelgas Ensemble

Barnes & Noble

Released in conjunction with The Da Vinci Code -- the film version of Dan Brown's chart-topping novel -- this CD highlights music from the time of Leonardo Da Vinci. Josquin, Ockeghem, Agricola, and other composers feature on this well-chosen collection of Renaissance gems, both sacred and secular, performed by premier early-music groups the Huelgas Ensemble, the Waverly Consort, and others.

All Music Guide

The cover of this album implies that the music within has something directly to do with Leonardo da Vinci or the story of the Da Vinci Code book and film, which it does not. But the success of the whole Da Vinci Code phenomenon provides a reasonable excuse for a disc that introduces a bit of the music da Vinci would have heard and known. Most people have at least a passing acquaintance with the masterpieces of Renaissance art and can recognize Michelangelo's David, maybe Botticelli's Venus, and certainly the grandmother of them all, da Vinci's Mona Lisa. But Renaissance music has been a different matter, with even its greatest figure, Josquin Desprez -- a nearly exact contemporary of da Vinci, as the booklet for this disc points out, and a creative figure that an educated Renaissance courtier would have regarded as da Vinci's equal -- nearly unknown except among the subgroup of classical listeners interested in the era. The reason, stated briefly, is that Renaissance music is more distant from modern sensibilities than is Renaissance art; the great leap toward a modern sound in music, the invention of functional harmony (chords that seem to move purposefully from one to another) awaited the flowering of opera in the early seventeenth century.

Da Vinci: Music from His Time isn't a perfect introduction to Renaissance music, but it may nurture the interest of someone who's never heard a note of it. Josquin is a great place to start, and he is represented by half a dozen sacred pieces, five motets, and one mass section (the Gloria from the "Missa La sol fa re mi," complete with cute but likely folkloric story about the pun involved in its name), plus two secular songs generally attributed to him. The rest of the music is secular, lighter, and mostly lesser-known, but it does focus on da Vinci's lifetime rather than trying to encompass the entire Renaissance. The booklet is pretty sparse. There are no texts, and there isn't much of the kind of specific information that might get listeners excited enough to go deeper into the music (if you're searching for hidden meanings in music, "El grillo" is a goldmine). But it's fine as far as it goes. The performances are recycled from fairly old albums that don't represent the state of the art in the performance of this music; they're rather dry. They're competent, but more contemporary performances do a better job of bringing this music to life. For the car on the way home from the movie this could be an acceptable pick, but a better choice if you have a few hours to get to know Renaissance music would be Harmonia Mundi's "Sacred Music of the Renaissance" and "Chansons of the Renaissance" (also known as "Renaissance Song") releases. James Manheim