Josquin des Prez : Mille Regretz [w/ score]

Josquin's Mille regretz, with the score. Performed by The Scholars of London.

Mille Regretz is a French chanson which in its 4 part setting is usually credited to Josquin des Prez. Josquin's version is in the Phrygian mode. Its plangent simplicity made it a popular basis for reworkings (such as the mass setting by Cristóbal de Morales, and the 6vv (SATTBB) setting by Nicolas Gombert), the variations for vihuela known as "La Canción del Emperador" by Luis de Narváez, as well as more recent sets of variations and threnody. Translations of the song differ in their interpretation of the words 'fache/face amoureuse' in line 2. (variously 'amorous anger' or 'loving face'.)

Text:
Mille regretz de vous abandonner
Et d'eslonger vostre fache amoureuse,
Jay si grand dueil et paine douloureuse,
Quon me verra brief mes jours definer.

In Modern French:
Mille regrets de vous abandonner
et d'être éloigné de votre visage amoureux.
J'ai si grand deuil et peine douloureuse
qu'on me verra vite mourir.

English Translation:
A thousand regrets at deserting you
and leaving behind your loving face,
I feel so much sadness and such painful distress,
that it seems to me my days will soon dwindle away.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• josquin
• ockeghem
• belgium
• franco-flemish
• chanson

[EazyRyder69]

They're not singing any of the proper ficta at the cadences. Great singing but not very accurate stylistically.

[flammesombres]

@EazyRyder69

yep, this has been discussed in the comment section. I was going to use the Hilliard Ensemble recording but used this one because I thought the singing (and pronunciation of the text) was far superior, and had greater warmth and character. And they sing it like a chanson, Hilliard sing this piece as if it's a mass.

[ernierap]

I'm pretty sure the tenor is singing a G natural instead of a G sharp (as written)

[flammesombres]

@ernierap Yes, of course. 

[ionatorthegreat]

thank you so much for uploading it's a very pretty piece. :)

[fnordly]

@EazyRyder69 The general rule is that ficta isn't used if the modal third suffices, and the cadence is not a major structural point. There was one place where it went into the tonality of A where I thought they needed it, otherwise to my ear the pure modal sound is preferable.

[brechteketje]

@skadoedels They can't handle real life!

[rijste94]

@skadoedels LOOOOOLLLLZZZZZ

[skadoedels]

lol, why is the reaction of krikje010 deleted?

cant handle a bad reaction?

u krijgt nog steeds de groeten van ons mevrouw keersmakers! :D

[biamaxado]

Great! But all the G sharp are missed =(

[kluke1000]

This is so beatiful. After 500 years we're still listening to it. Only really good musicians can do that, like Josquin des Prez