Das Gansebuch (The Geese Book): German Medieval Chant. Naxos 8.557412

Composer(s): Brumann, Conrad; Finck, Heinrich; Isaac, Heinricus; Kotter, Hans; Osiander, Lucas; Othmayr, Kaspar; Paumann, Conrad; Schlick, Arnolt; Senfl, Ludwig

Conductor(s): Dobszay, Laszlo; Szendrei, Janka

Choir(s): Schola Hungarica

Artist(s): Ank, Matthias

Das Gansebuch Review

“I admit it was the cover that got my attention-first, the title, referring to an 1120-page manuscript collection containing the only existing original copies of pre-Reformation liturgical music from Nuremburg; second, the illustration, an illumination from the collection that depicts a wolf directing a choir of geese singing from a large music book, a hungry-looking fox sitting on hind-quarters just behind the choir. Upon listening to the music, I was reassured that there was more to appreciate here than the intriguing, colorful illustration and charming title. The focus of the singing is late-medieval chants from various Masses particular to the church of St. Lorenz in Nuremburg. The disc's producers wisely interspersed the chant selections with short organ pieces from 15th- and 16th-century German composers. The combination works well, retaining the appropriate celebratory mood and church ambience while offering the ear welcome variety of sounds and textures. (The notes also mention that organ music was part of the St. Lorenz liturgy, thus its inclusion here, performed on the St. Lorenz organ by the church's music director Matthias Ank.) Some of the chants offered are

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