Dear Pluckers!

I had the pleasure of receiving a review copy of Jacob

Heringman's new CD recording playing `sixteenth

century vocal arrangments of the greatest of

Renaissance composers Josquin des Prez. Mr Heringman

plays works by Bakfark, Spinacino, Capirola, Gerle,

Newsidler, Ripa, Fuellana, Narvaez, Mudarra, and

Gintzler. The only work I'm really acquainted with is

`Mille regretz' - a work which most guitarist and

vihuela players would know be very familar with.

Jacob has gone down a very specialised, [music-wise]

path, choosing renaissance arrangements of a composer

to which was a popular source of material for the

budding lute player of the time. We should be very

grateful for this repetoire path of performance

because the music is rich in texture and counterpuntal

richness, and really deserves more attention by both

lute players and listeners. Mr Heringman plays three

different lutes - all six course instruments, and he

succeeds in producing a wonderful tone with each one.

I was initially surprised that Jacob did not include

the arrangments of one of the greatest composers and

arrangers of the day, Francesco da Milano, though I

suspect we might see another recording which will

include these works in the future.

The CD cover notes are generous in historical

background material explaining the historical context

of the compositions. Jacob makes note that the six

course lute and vihuela music came into three

categories: fantasias and other freely composed

pieces, 2) dances, and 3) intabulations of vocal

originals. Further detailed notes about the

intabulations is provided by David Fallows.

For those interested in finding out more about the use

of pre-existent material, particularly in the context

of the very popular `Allez regrets' I can highly

recomment the paper by Irena Cholijin in the Copmanion

to Medieval & Renaissance music edited by Knighton and

Fallows and published by Oxford University press.

There is much to commend Jacob Heringman for this

delightful CD recording, but for me it is provides a

welcome relief from the standard Baroque lute

repetoire. The recording is clear and warm withut the

excessive reverbration. The publisher is Discipline

Global Mobile and you can acquire a copy by contacting

them directly on theNet at:

disciplineglobalmobile.com The CD is highly

recommended.

Michael Stitt