Chapter 9: Orlando di Lasso

The History of Essential Music, Chapter 9: Orlando di Lasso - Psalmi pœnitentiales Davidis

The year is 1584, Ivan the Terrible dies, and King Charles IX of France orders the seven Penitential Psalms of David.

Year: 1584
Composer: Orlando di Lasso
Album: Lassus: Psalmi Davidis Poenitentiales
Performer: Collegium Vocale Gent & Philippe Herreweghe
Genre: Renaissance Music, Choral

Orlando di Lasso (c. 1532-1594): (Also named Roland de Lassus or Orlande de Lassus) was born in Habsburg Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He was one of the most prolific composers of the late Renaissance. He wrote more than 2,000 works in all genres in Latin, French, Italian and German.

Collegium Vocale Gent: The Collegium Vocale Gent, or Collegium Vocale de Ghent, is a Belgian choir founded in 1970 on the initiative of Philippe Herreweghe by a group of young musicians.

Philippe Herreweghe (1947-): He is a Belgian conductor and choirmaster. Founder of the vocal ensemble La Chapelle Royale, which initially devoted itself to French Baroque music, he is a renowned interpreter of the vocal works of Johann Sebastian Bach and other major composers of the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods.

Psalmus Sextus Poenitentialis "De Profundis Clamavi Ad Te Domine": Orlando's version of the Penitential Psalms of David (Psalmi pœnitentiales Davidis) is one of the most famous of the entire Renaissance. De profundis, the sixth of seven Psalms, is considered by many scholars to be one of the peaks of Renaissance polyphony.

If you're feeling motivated, you can listen here to the 7 Psalms of Orlando di Lasso, clocking in at 2 hours 20 minutes:

New song of the day

Artist: Pole
Album: Tempus
Song: Firmament
Genre: IDM, Ambiant Dub

The German electronic music artist Pole, aka Stefan Betke, just released his tenth album, Tempus.

From Wikipedia: “Pole took his name from a Waldorf 4-Pole filter, which he accidentally dropped and broke in 1996. Though the filter was perhaps no longer appropriate for DJ work in its damaged state, Betke found the strange hissing and popping noises the filter now made interesting sounds. He then began using the broken filter to create music, launching his musical career." ¹

1. Pole (musician). 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole_(musician)