1980 LP text:
The early music ensemble Hortus Musicus was founded in 1972 at the initiative of artistic director Andres Mustonen. The ensemble's repertoire includes music from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance — from Gregorian chant to complex polyphony, from early dances to instrumental suites, from troubadour lyrics to madrigal comedies.
The ensemble consistently revives the style and manner of performance from past eras. The vocal group of the ensemble (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) and the instrumentalists are highly popular among music lovers. The instruments used by the performers are exact replicas of those from the Renaissance period. These instruments include the rebec, fiddle, viola da gamba, and from the wind section — crumhorn, recorders, transverse flutes, shawm, cornetto, trombone, bagpipes; various plucked instruments, positive organ, spinet, percussion, and more.
Since 1976, the vocal group has been led by Tiit Tralla. In addition to a broad concert activity, great attention is given to recording programs. This record is the fifth in their discography.
The French chanson has a long history. The so-called new chansons began to take shape in the 1520s and 1530s. The impetus for this was the secular works of Clément Janequin, who abandoned the complex Flemish counterpoint and created a simpler style that matched the brilliant and flowing text of the verse.
Three collections of four-part songs (chansons) and the posthumously published "Airs spirituels" by Antoine de Bertrand (birthdate unknown, died in 1580) allow us to assert that he and Guillaume Costeley were outstanding composers of the generation that followed Janequin. The six chansons presented here open the third collection.
Starting in 1529, collections of musical works arranged for instrumental ensembles began to appear more frequently. Many of these collections were published in Paris by the publisher Pierre Attaingnant. The dances presented on the record (pavane, gaillarde, basse dance, branle, tourdion) are taken from collections published in 1529 and 1530.
