Unsatisfyingly sweet: Josquin’s Mille Regretz

MAIN SOURCE:

Josquin des Prez, Mille Regretz
Recommended modern edition by Allen Garvin [cpdl]. See APPENDIX I below for the historical sources.

FOOTNOTES:

1. [01:33] The most recent discussion of Mille Regretz’s attribution is found in David Fallow, ‘The Two Egenolff Tenor Partbooks In Bern’, in Henricus Isaac: Composition, Reception, Interpretation (Hollitzer Verlag, Wien 2019). Other articles include: 1. David Fallows, "Who composed Mille regretz?", Barbara Haggh, editor(s). Essays on Music and Culture in Honor of Herbert Kellman. Minerve; 2001. p. 241-52. 2. Joshua Rifkin, ‘Who Really Composed Mille regretz?’, in Quomodo cantabimus canticum?, Miscellanea 7 (Middleton, WI, 2008), 187–208. 3. Fabrice Fitch, ‘Who Really Knows Who Composed Mille regretz?’, in Essays on Renaissance Music, Studies in medieval and Renaissance music 11 (Woodbridge, 2011), 272–8. 4. Joshua Rifkin, ‘Sound and Structure: Le marteau sans maître and Mille regretz’, in Qui musicam in se habe, Miscellanea 9 (Middleton, WI, 2015), 635–73.

2. [02:17] Mary Beth W. Marvin, "'Regret' Chansons for Marguerite D’Autriche by Octovien de Saint-Gelais", Bibliothèque d'Humanisme et Renaissance T. 39, No. 1 (1977), pp. 23-32 [jstor].

3. [02:55] Funnily enough, even if the attribution of Mille Regretz to the third mode is rather convincing according to contemporary mode theories, one of the sources of the piece refers to it as in the fourth mode (Narvaez 1538, see details in APPENDIX I below). Otherwise, to learn more about the subject check out our episode “Modes in the 16th and 17th centuries” [link].

4. [03:00] Examples for sources that categorize the third mode as appropriate for lamentations and mournful subjects are: Glareanus 1547, Zarlino 1558, Diruta 1609, Herbst 1643, Sweelinck, ca. 1600. See Anne Smith, The Performance of 16th-Century Music, pp. 179-184.

5. [03:22] See our episode “Musica ficta!” [link].

6. [04:01] If you are not sure about the terminology related to cadences, check out our episode “Cadences in the 16th and 17th centuries” [link].

7. [07:32] This detail about fauxbourdon was mentioned in our episode “Falsobordone, the Miserere of Allegri, and a most bizarre musicological error” [link].

8. [07:55] More about musical rhetorical figures, see for example Joachim Burmeister, Musica Poetica (Rostock, 1606) [SBB]. English translation is available by Benito V. Rivera (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1993) (specifically about the figures see chapter 12).

9. [10:05] The two examples shown in the video, both of pieces in a Phrygian mode with sections ending clearly in minor, are: 1. Josquin des Prez, Missa La sol fa re mi [imslp]; 2. Pierre de la Rue, Missa Ista Est Speciosa [cpdl]. More such examples may be found in these pieces, as well as other pieces in this mode from this time.

10. [14:45] The two versions that do not add a sharp to the F (the penultimate note) are: 1. Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Musiksammlung, Musica MS 1516, No. 22, Anon. [lute tablature] 2. Klagenfurt, Kärtner Landesarchiv, MS GV 4/3, ff. 23v-24r, Anon. [German organ tablature].

11. [15:05] See appendix II below.

APPENDIX I - Surviving sources of Mille Regretz:

(according to David Fallows’s article “Who composed Mille Regretz”; see footnote 1 above)

Vocal version:

Manuscripts:

• Basel, Öffentliche Bibliothek der Universität, MSS F.IX.59-62, SATB f. 29r (no. 59), Anonymous

• Basel, Öffentliche Bibliothek der Universität, MSS F.X.17-20, S f. 10r; AB f. 11v; T f. 11v (no. 21), Anonymous

• Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz, MS Mus. 40194, ff. 12v-13r [T partbook only], Anonymous

• Cambrai, Mediatheque Municipale, MSS 125-128 (olim 124), SATB f. 131r, Anonymous. Full text in S partbook

• Gdansk (Danzig), Biblioteki Polskiej Akademii Nauk (Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences), MS 4003 (olim Mus. q.20 ), SATB f. 16v, Anonymous. All voices carry full text

• Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Musiksammlung, Musica MS 1501 (= Maier 207), S f. 20v; ATB f. 21v (no. 40), Anonymous

• Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Musiksammlung, Musica MS 1516 (= Maier 204), SATB no. 22, Anonymous

• Regensburg, Fürst Thurn und Taxis Hofbibliothek, MS Freie Künste Musik 3/I, no. 46 [B partbook only], Anonymous

Early printed editions:

• Chansons musicales a quatre parties (Paris: Pierre Attaingnant, 1533) [S partbook only], f. 11r, J le maire. All voices carry full text

• L'unziesme livre contenant vingt et neuf chansons amoureuses a quatre parties (Antwerp: Tylman Susato, 1549), SATB, ff. 9v-10r, Jo de Pres (ascription in S and T partbooks only; A and B are anonymous). All voices carry full text [IMSLP]

Instrumental intabulations:

Manuscripts for lute instruments:

• Amsterdam, Toonkunst-Bibliotheek, MS 208. A. 27 (olim Maatschappij tot Bevordering der Toonkunst,Bibliotheek, MSV. B. 13), ff. 27v-28r, Anonymous. In German lute tablature

• Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Musiksammlung, Musica MS 266 (= Maier 248), f. 41r, Anonymous. In Italian lute tablature

• Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Musiksammlung, Musica MS 272 (= Maier 253), f. 47v, Anonymous. In German lute tablature

• Wroclaw (Breslau), Biblioteka Kapitulna, MS 352, ff. 54V-56r (no. 54), Anonymous. In German lute tablature

Printed editions for lute instruments:

• Tabulatur auff die Laudten ... Durch Hanns Gerle ... (Nuremberg: Hieronymus Formschneider, 1533), ff. 40v-41r (no. 32), Anonymous. In German lute tablature

• Der ander theil des lautenbuchs ... durch mich Hansen Newsidler (Nuremberg: Johann Petreius, 1536), ff. Ee3v-Ee4v, Anonymous. In German lute tablature

• Los seys libros del Delphin de musica ... por Luys de Narbaez (Valladolid: Diego Hernandez de Cordova, 1538), ff. 40V-42r, Jusquin. In Spanish vihuela tablature. Ascription is on preceding page (f. 40r): "Comiençan las canciones Francesas y esta primera es una que llaman la cancion del Emperador del quarto tono de Jusquin:” [Performance by Paul Kieffer on YouTube]

• Carminum quae chely vel testudine canuntur; trium, quatuor; et quinque partium liber secundus (Louvain: Pierre Phalese, 1546), ff. e3v-e4r, Anonymous. In French lute tablature on 5-line staves. This intabulation concords with Gerle 1533

• Des chansons reduictz en tabulature de luc a trois et quatre parties livre deuxieme (Louvain: Pierre Phalese, 1546), ff. e3v-e4r, Anonymous. In French lute tablature on 5-line staves. This is bibliographically identical with Phalese publication from the same year (see one point above) and similarly concords with Gerle 1533

• Hortus musarum in quo tanquam jlosculi quidam selectissimorum carminum collecti sunt (Louvain: Pierre Phalese, 1552), pp. 52-53, Anonymous. In French lute tablature on 5-line staves

• Lautten Buch ... Durch Wolffen Heckel von München ... (Strasbourg: Urban Wyss, 1556), "Discant" [ = 1st lute part], pp. 66-69, Anonymous; no copy survives of the "Tenor" partbook. In German lute tablature

• Lautten Buch ... Durch Wolffen Heckel von München ... (Strasbourg: Christian Muller, 1562), "Discant" [ = 1st lute part], pp. 66-69, Anonymous; "Tenor" [ = 2nd lute part], pp. 55-57, Anonymous. In German lute tablature

• Theatrum musicum (Louvain: Pierre Phalese, 1563), f. 22r, Anonymous. In French lute tablature on 5-line staves. This concords with Phalese 1552

Manuscript for keyboard instruments:

• Klagenfurt, Kartner Landesarchiv, MS GV 4/3, ff 23v-24r, Anonymous. In German keyboard tablature

APPENDIX II - Other versions of Mille Regretz, inspired by the original one:

• Tielman Susato, Mille Regretz a 3 [cpdl]

• Tielman Susato, Mille Regretz a 4 [cpdl]

• Nicolas Gombert, Mille Regretz a 6 [cpdl] (Gombert was a pupil of Josquin)

• Jean de Castro, Mille Regretz a 3 [cpdl]

• Christobal de Morales, Missa Mille Regretz a 6 [imslp] [facsimile]

APPENDIX III - Newly written arrangements of Mille Regretz:

• Orí Harmelin [YouTube]

Credits:

Created by Elam Rotem, September 2021

Performance: Profeti della Quinta - Giovanna Baviera, Doron Schleifer, Jacob Lawrence & Elam Rotem

Audio: Karel Valter

Lute examples: Ryosuke Sakamoto

Excerpt from Morales's Mass: Cantoría (dir. Jorge Losana) [YouTube]

Special thanks to Iason Marmaras, Emma-Lisa Roux and Anne Smith.