The Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, Kirsty Whatley harp, directed by David Skinner
80:18
Inventa Records INV1017
A disciple and student of Josquin, like so many of his contemporaries, Jacquet was drawn to leave his native France for Italy, undoubtedly in search of fame and fortune, and his soubriquet derives not from his place of birth but his ultimate destination and the place of his death at the age of 75. Regarded as one of the leading composers of choral polyphony between Josquin and Palestrina, Jacquet held various positions throughout Italy under the patronage of the Este and Gonzaga families, and intriguingly research by David Skinner indicates that he may have spent some time in England at Magdalen College Oxford, where an Italian named Jacquet directed the collegiate choir for some years and where a copy of Jacquet of Mantua’s motet Aspice Domine (recorded here) is found in the Peterhouse Partbooks. Whether these Jacquets are one and the same man remains inconclusive, and at any rate there is little evidence of English influence on Jacquet of Mantua’s music. The Choir of Sidney Sussex College is perhaps less prominent than other Oxbridge Choirs, but the college has a long tradition of musical activity, and since the admission of women in 1976 has established a considerable reputation for performing contemporary and Renaissance choral music – in 2009, choral composer Eric Whitacre was appointed Composer in Residence. The combination of this established Oxbridge choral group and the renowned musicologist and choral director David Skinner, whose work particularly with The Cardinall’s Musick was ground-breaking, is a winning one, and these performances are meticulously prepared and beautifully executed. Mention should also be made of Kirsty Whatley, who contributes solo harp accounts of three of Jacquet’s three-part motets and also joins the singers for three of his secular songs, for one of which she switches on her brays! This is an important CD which can only enhance Jacquet’s reputation as a leading master of polyphony.
D. James Ross