Lamentatio Sanctae Matris Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae 0:06 Version 1: a cappella for 4 parts 3:59 Version 2: chorus and 4 medieval trombones Guillaume Dufay's "Lamentation of the mother church of Constantinople" is one of the very few works by a famous composer that commemorated the Fall of the Byzantine capital to the Ottoman Army in 1453. Although the Catholic See in Rome had maintained for centuries a deeply contentious relationship with the Eastern Roman Church, the fall of the Byzantine capitol came as a shock to Europeans who learned about it. They saw Constantinople as the last vestige of a much mythologized Roman Empire that had all but faded from Western memory by the late Middle Ages. This short, but magnificent song is a secular motet in the late French Medieval style with the words of the Latin Requiem in the tenor line. There is some debate regarding the venue for this work. Some have speculated that it was used for the occasion of the grandiose "Banquet of the Pheasant" ordered by Phillip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, one year after the Fall. Using computer generated sounds, I created two different versions of the piece. The first is a somewhat more intimate and somber a cappella version for 4 voices that might have been appropriate for a small, private chamber. The second version is a performance that one might have heard at a grand festival fit for kings and dukes where there may have been large, noisy crowds. In the second scenario, one might have heard louder instruments (such as slide trumpets and other brass instruments) to double a chorus that had more than one singer per part. From the earlier soundtrack, I removed the boy soprano voice in the cantus line and replaced it with a countertenor. I think this makes for a more balanced sound with the rest of the chorus. I also added a few extra phonemes to the American English dictionary in Vocaloid to improve the pronunciation of Late Middle French. In this latest version, I also added a stereophonic effect and tweaked the filters for a more "exposed" (perhaps harsher) sound. The tempo is also a little bit faster than the previous incarnation. ++++++++++ French & Latin text: O très piteux de tout espoir, fontaine, Père du fils dont suis mère éplorée, Plaindre me viens à ta cour souveraine De ta puissance et de nature humaine Qui ont souffert, telle dure vilaine, Faire à mon fils qui tant m’a honorée, Dont suis de bien et de joie séparée, Sans qui vivant veuille entendre mes plaintes. À toi, seul dieu, du forfait me complains Du gref tourment et douloureux outrage Que voit souffrir plus bel des humains Sans nul confort de tout humain lignage. Tenor: Omnes amici ejus spreverunt eam Non est qui consoletur eam Ex omnibus caris ejus. English translation (from cpdl.org): Most merciful source of all hope, Father of the son whose weeping mother I am, I come to complain at your sovereign court Of your authority and of human nature, Which have allowed such harsh cruelty To be inflicted on my son, who has so honoured me; Whereby I have been parted from happiness and joy, Without any living being who will hear my complaints. To you, only God, I appeal from the sentence, From the grievous torment and painful injury That I watch the fairest of men suffer, With no consolation from your human speech. Tenor: All her friends have betrayed her: Among all her lovers there is none to comfort her. ++++++++++ Description of the photos in the order of appearance: 1. Siege of Constantinople, Anonymous French, BnF ms Fr9087, c1455 2. Siege of Constantinople, Anon. Venetian, c1490 3. Marian mosaic with Emperor Constantine presenting the city, Hagia Sophia, c1000 4. Siege of Constantinople, Anon. French, BnF ms Fr2691, c1470 5. JHS (Greco-Roman abbreviation for Jesus) in the Byzantine style, Andreas Ritsos, c1480 6. City view of Constantinople, Michael Wohlgemut, c1493 7. Constantinople in the 15th century with a view of the Church 8. Byzantine walls of Constantinople in the current century 9. Rampart ruins of Constantinople 10. Duke Phillip the Good, Anon. Burgundian, c1450. 11. Garden of Love (wedding scene of Phillip the Good and Isabella of Portugal), c1432, 16th century copy 12. Narcissus, detail of pheasant, Anon. French tapestry c1500 13. Julius Caesar entering Rome, Anon. French tapestry, c1460. Note trumpets in the background 14. King Ahasuerus at banquet, Anon. French tapestry, 15th c 15. Jean Miélot presenting a history book to Phillip the Good, Jean le Tavernier (?), 1457 16. Coronation of the Virgin (details), Master of the Lyversberg Passion, c1463. 17. Phillip the Good in the royal bedchamber (detail from miniature), Rogier van der Weiden, c1447

• published: 28 Apr 2019
• views: 1741