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Welcome to Harmonia . . . I’m Angela Mariani. Animals have long inspired art of all kinds, from the prehistoric cave paintings of Lascaux to oil paintings of dogs playing poker. This hour, we’ll explore how Renaissance musicians captured the sounds of animals in their music as we take a trip through a musical zoo. Along the way, we’ll hear the beautiful calls of the Nightingale, chase a pig as it gets loose in the market, glimpse the sweet swan, and hear a choir of all the animals singing together. Plus, our featured release this hour is Animali in Musica nel Rinascimento, “Animals in Renaissance Music,” recorded by soprano Renata Fusco and lutenist Massimo Lonardi.

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MUSIC TRACK
N’espérez plus, mes yeux
Les Arts Florissants Ensemble
Harmonia Mundi | HAF8905318DI
Claude Le Jeune
Tr. 13 Rossignol mon mignon (4:31) (4:25)

Les Arts Florissants Ensemble performing Claude Le Jeune’s setting of “The Fair Nightingale.” The text is based on a poem of the same name written by Pierre de Ronsard about the sweet voice of the Nightingale. In the poem, Ronsard speculates that the Nightingale’s song is so beautiful because it must be calling to its mate. He goes on to lament the fact that his lover has left him, so unlike the Nightingale, he does not have anyone to sing a love song about. We will hear another setting of Ronsard’s poem later this hour.

“Awake, sleepy hearts, the god of love calls you. The birds will make you marvel. Unclog your ears and you will be moved to joy.” Thus begins Clément Janequin’s “Song of the birds.” This chanson is one of Janequin’s most famous works and the perfect place for us to start our stroll through the zoo. Janequin imitates a different bird in each verse; first we’ll hear the royal song flush thrush sing, then the blackbird as he laughs. Next, the Nightingale will come out of the woods to “drive our regrets, tears, and worries away,” as the poet writes. Finally, we’ll hear the trickster cuckoo as he sneaks into the other birds’ nests. Listen closely and see if you can hear the distinctive bird calls that Janequin so cleverly uses the choir to produce.

MUSIC TRACK
Le Chant des Oyseaux
Ensemble Clément Janequin
Harmonia Mundi | HMC 901900 (1983)
Clement Janequin
Tr. 1 Le Chant des Oyseaulx (5:27)

Ensemble Clément Janequin singing “Le Chant des Oiseaux”; or, “The song of the birds,” by Clément Janequin.

Our next piece introduces us to Philip the sparrow, the treasured bird of an anonymous poet. The poet writes: “There is no bird so fair, so fine, nor yet so fresh as this of mine.” Each verse extols a different virtue of Philip the sparrow: her beauty, her voice, her flight, and her dance. John Bartlet, the composer of this madrigal, includes Philip’s lilting chirps in each refrain.

MUSIC TRACK
Madrigals and Songs from the Renaissance
The King’s Singers
Warner Classics | 190295691004 (2018)
John Bartlet
Tr. 10 Of all the Birds that I do Know (2:16)

The King’s Singers performing John Bartlet’s madrigal “Of all the Birds that I do know.”

We return to the composer Clément Janequin, whose “Song of the birds” we heard a few minutes ago. Janequin was particularly inspired by animals and natural imagery; his secular works contained multiple chansons where the singers imitate the sounds or actions of different animals. Our next piece is a chanson about a particular bird, the nightingale. We’ll see the nightingale a few more times during our stroll through the aviary. In this piece, Janequin uses the singers to imitate the calls of the nightingale with the syllables “ah-see, ah-see, ah-see,” repeated on the same pitch by each voice part. In this chanson, the poet describes the joy of listening to the nightingale’s song and the love it inspires.

MUSIC TRACK
Le Chat des Oyseaux
Ensemble Clément Janequin
Harmonia Mundi France | HMC 901900 (1983)
Clement Janequin
Tr. 20 Le chant du Rossignol (2:01)

We heard the Ensemble Clément Janequin singing Janequin’s “The Song of the Nightingale.”

So far, we’ve encountered a chorus of nightingales, a mischievous cuckoo, the laughing blackbird, and a treasured sparrow. But what about birds that are a bit more inconspicuous? Thomas Vautor wrote the poem “Sweet Suffolk Owl” and set it to music in 1619. His poem has been used by composers many times over the last 400 years, the most recent setting in 1981 by American composer Richard Hundley.

Vautor imitates the sounds of an owl with smooth, long-running scales and the syllables “whit” and “woo.” He remarks that the owl always sits alone in the night, with feathers like a lady bright. Listen now to hear the majesty of the sweet Suffolk owl.

MUSIC TRACK
English Madrigals
Bless B Quintet
ALM Records | ALCD-1104 (2008)
Thomas Vautor
Tr. 18 Sweet Suffolk Owl (2:51)

Thomas Vautor’s “Sweet Suffolk Owl” sung by the Bless B Quintet.

French composer Guillaume Boni published a collection of chansons based on the poetry of Pierre de Ronsard in the late 16th century. The text of Ronsard’s poem, “Fair Nightingale,” extolls the beauty of the nightingale’s song and contrasts it with the pain of unrequited love. The poet reflects on the sounds of love inherent in the song of the nightingale, saying [quote] “there is one difference between us: Although we both have the same music, you are loved, and I am not.”

MUSIC TRACK
Les Chateaux de la Loire
Ensemble Clément Janequin
Harmonia Mundi | HMX290855051DI (2016)
Guillaume Boni
Disc 1 Tr. 8 Rossignol mon mignon (3:02)

That was Guillaume Boni’s setting of Ronsard’s poem “Fair Nightingale” sung by Ensemble Clément Janequin.

[Theme music begins]

Early music can mean a lot of things. What does it mean to you? Let us know your thoughts and ideas. Contact us at harmonia early music dot org, where you’ll also find playlists and an archive of past shows.

You’re listening to Harmonia . . . I’m Angela Mariani.

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1:00 Mid Break

MUSIC TRACK
Johann Froberger
Harpsichord Suites
Tr. 12 Gigue from Suite no. 20 in D Major (excerpt)

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Welcome back. This hour, we’re taking a trip through a musical zoo and exploring the many ways Renaissance composers took inspiration from animals in their music.

Next, we turn our attention to the swan and perhaps one of the most well-known madrigals of the Renaissance. Jacques Arcadelt published Il bianco e dolce cigno, “The white and sweet swan” in his first book of madrigals in 1538. Arcadelt does not attempt to recreate the literal call of a swan with the singers, as we’ve heard so far this hour. Instead, he focuses on the legend that swans only sing when they die, yielding the term “swan song” today. This legend of the swan captivated many poets and composers in the Renaissance. Orlando Gibbons wrote a 5-voice setting of the anonymous poem, “The Silver Swan,” in 1612. In this poem, the swan swims to the shore as she is about to die and sings: [quote] “Farewell, all joys! O Death, come close mine eyes! More geese than swans now live, more fools than wise.” Let’s hear both madrigals performed by the King’s Singers.

MUSIC TRACK
Madrigals and Songs from the Renaissance
The King’s Singers
Warner Classics | 190295691004 (2018)
Jacques Arcadelt
Tr. 3 Il bianco e dolce cigno (2:04)
Orlando Gibbons
Tr. 13 The Silver Swanne (1:23)

That was “The Silver Swanne” by Orlando Gibbons performed by the King’s Singers arranged for soprano soloist and viol consort. Before that, we heard Jacques Arcadelt’s madrigal “The white and sweet swan,” “Il bianco e dolce cigno,” also sung by the King’s Singers.

Birds like the nightingale known for their beautiful song and graceful creatures like the swan probably seem like obvious choices for composers to write music about. Let’s visit some animals that may strike you as a little less music worthy.

In 1505, Josquin des Prez published a frottola called, “the cricket.” The frottola begins, “The cricket is a good singer who can hold long notes.” The poet goes on to compare the cricket to birds. While birds fly somewhere else after they have sung for a little bit, the cricket stays in one place and sings loudly. Josquin imitates the volume and nuisance of a chirping cricket by quickly repeating a single chord on long lines of text. See if you can hear the loud, unwavering, sometimes annoying cricket as we listen.

MUSIC TRACK
Motets et Chansons
Hilliard Ensemble
Angel | S-38040 (1984)
Josquin des Prez
Side 2, tr. 3 El grillo (1:49)

That was “The cricket” by Josquin des Prez, sung by the Hilliard Ensemble.

In the same patch of grass as our loud crickets, we spot a few bees buzzing among the flowers. For some of us, the sight of bees may bring worries of painful stings, but that’s not what our next piece is about. John Wilbye’s madrigal “Sweet Honey Sucking-Bees” comes from his second collection of madrigals, published in the late 16th century. Wilbye’s madrigal opens with flitting counterpoint in 5 voices that imitates the hurried and chaotic flight of bees as they dash from flower to flower. The poet then wonders why the bees are so attracted to roses and violets, when the lips of his lover are much sweeter than their nectar. The poem ends with a warning that the bees should be careful not to sting the woman’s lips as they taste their sweetness.

MUSIC TRACK
John Wilbye: Draw On Sweet Night
I Fagiolini
Coro | COR16190 (2022)
John Wilbye
Tr. 4 Sweet Honey-Sucking Bees (4:44)

We just heard the ensemble I Fagiolini singing John Wilbye’s “Sweet Honey-Sucking Bees.”

We move now from loud crickets and sweet bees to a mischievous pig, and perhaps the raciest and most humorous selection of this hour. The chanson “Martin took his pig to market” by Clément Janequin tells the story of Martin and Alix, two lovers that meet while Martin is on his way to sell his pig at the market. Alix begs Martin, as the poet puts it, “to commit the sin” with her. Martin’s only concern is not the fact that they are outdoors, but of who will hold their pig. Alix suggests that they tie the pig to her leg. Once they begin, the pig gets scared and starts to run away, dragging poor Alix with it through the market, as Martin chases after them. Janequin’s clever text painting at the end of the chanson evokes Alix’s cries as the pig drags her away.

MUSIC TRACK
Les Cris de Paris
Ensemble Clément Janequin
Harmonia Mundi | HMC 901072 (1982)
Clement Janequin
Tr. 14 Martin menait son pourceau (1:52)

“Martin took his pig to market” sung by the Ensemble Clément Janequin.

In this next chanson, two women are gossiping with each other about their husbands. One of the women proclaims that her husband is so good to her, he does all the chores, even feeding the chickens. Throughout the chanson, the lower voices imitate the “cluck, cluck, cluck” sound of the chickens while the women exclaim their joy.

MUSIC TRACK
French Chansons
The Scholars of London
Naxos | 8.550880 (1994)
Pierre Passereau
Tr. 19 Il est bel et bon (0:56)

That was “He is handsome and fine” by Pierre Passereau, sung by the Scholars of London.

We return to the field for a set of connected madrigals by William Byrd that tell a story of the end of winter and the coming of spring through the eyes of two insects. It’s that classic tale of the grasshopper and the ant: The ant stored food for winter while the grasshopper did not. The first madrigal, “In Winter Cold,” details a conversation in which the grasshopper asks the ant for help. The second madrigal, “Whereat an Ant,” gives the ant’s response, admonishing the grasshopper for being ill-prepared and asks what the grasshopper did all summer. The grasshopper replies that she hopped and danced throughout the summer. The madrigal ends with the ant refusing to give the grasshopper food, telling her to dance through the winter as well.

We’ll hear the two madrigals followed by a playful one by Adriano Banchieri -- “Counterpoint of the Animals.” Banchieri writes this note for the singers: [quote] “A dog, a cat, a cuckoo, and an owl, for amusement improvise counterpoint over a bass.” The bass is the only singer that gets words.

MUSIC TRACK
Byrd: Psalmes, Songs and Sonnets
The Sixteen
Coro | COR16193 (2022)
William Byrd
Tr. 3 and 4 In Winter Cold – Whereat an Ant (2:54)

MUSIC TRACK
Madrigals and Songs from the Renaissance
The King’s Singers
Warner Classics | 190295691004 (2018)
Adriano Banchieri
Tr. 156 Contrapunto bestiale (1:02)

As our stroll through the zoo nears its end, we heard a choir of all the animals singing together. The King’s Singers performed “The Counterpoint of the animals” by Adriano Banchieri. Before that, we heard William Byrd’s “In Winter Cold – Whereat an Ant” sung by The Sixteen.

Finally, we end with three short solo madrigals from our featured release this hour, Animali in Musica nel Rinascimento, “Animals in Renaissance Music,” inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s bestiary, and recorded by soprano Renata Fusco and lutenist Massimo Lonardi.

First, we’ll hear “the weeping crocodile” by Vecchi Orazio Orazio Vecchi, about a crocodile who is regretful for killing his prey. The poet compares the crocodile to his lover: while the crocodile weeps over its dead prey, the poet’s lover has no remorse for hurting him. He concludes that his lover is crueler than even the mighty crocodile. Then, we’ll spend a moment with a grieving snail reflecting on the loss of her companion, as we listen to “La Turturella” by Giacomo Gorzanis. Finally, We’ll end our trip to the musical zoo with Pietro da Lodi’s madrigal “the Basilisk,” about slithering, lively, joyful snakes.

MUSIC TRACK
Animali in Musica nel Rinasciemento
Renata Fusco and Massimo Lonardi
La Bottega Discantica | 8015203102552 (2013)
Orazio Vecchi
Tr. 21 Il coccodrillo geme (1:58)
Giacomo Gorzanis
Tr. 19 La Turturella (3:02)
Pietro da Lodi
Tr. 16 Il Basillischio (1:39)

We heard three pieces from our featured recording, Renata Fusco and Massimo Lonardi’s 2013 album, Animali in Musica, or Animals in Renaissance Music. First, “The Weeping Crocodile,” by Orazio Vecchi, followed by Giacomo Gorzani’s “La Turturella,” and finally, “the Basilisk,” by Pietro da Lodi.

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Harmonia is a production of WFIU and part of the educational mission of Indiana University.
Support comes from Early Music America: a national organization that advocates and supports the historical performance of music of the past, the community of artists who create it, and the listeners whose lives are enriched by it. On the web at EarlyMusicAmerica-dot-org.

Additional resources come from the William and Gayle Cook Music Library at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

We welcome your thoughts about any part of this program, or about early music in general. Contact us at harmonia early music dot org. You can follow us on Facebook by searching for Harmonia Early Music.

The writer for this edition of Harmonia is Travis Whaley.

Thanks to our studio engineer Michael Paskash, and our production team: LuAnn Johnson, Aaron Cain, and John Bailey. I’m Angela Mariani, inviting you to join us again for the next edition of Harmonia.

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