Untitled

17. O Sapientia

Work on preparing this album began in 2019, when I first encountered Mykola Dyletsky’s music – we performed fragments of his Requiem Liturgy with Wrocław Baroque Ensemble in Kyiv. At that time, they made a great impression on me, which, along with my subsequent work as a conductor on this artist’s works and subsequent concerts, strengthened my feeling that I was dealing with a unique repertoire. Dyletsky’s work is a fascinating encounter between the East and the West – the language, liturgy and melody of the Eastern Church harmonise with Western compositional techniques and musical styles. There are clear inspirations from the Venetian polychoral style and stile concertato, and tutti sections are often intertwined with figurative fragments in a solo ensemble. You can also see elements of musical rhetoric (...)
Both liturgical pieces presented on the album were written for two fourpart vocal ensembles. In my opinion, the way they are performed should be similar to the way we perform religious polychoral music of that period,
created for the Catholic Church in the Western Latin rite. I have a strong impression that if the a cappella texture present in these works were supplemented with instruments typical of European music from the first half
of the seventeenth century (e.g. cornets and trombones), i.e. instruments used, among others, by Claudio Monteverdi or Bartłomiej Pękiel and Mikołaj Zieleński, then it would transpire how close Dyletsky’s music was
to what was happening in Western Europe at that time. (...)
This project was an opportunity for me to come into contact with music that was created in the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but at the same time lies at the source of Ukrainian polyphonic music.
A great discovery was the fact that one of the ways through which polyphony entered the field of Orthodox Church music was Dyletsky’s work – his relations with Polish artists and his knowledge of the Italian style.
Interestingly, this process was one of the reasons why Orthodox music did not return to full monody, such as in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Therefore, we have evidence that the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
in Dyletsky’s times was a space of unrestricted exchange of artistic ideas and their mutual interpenetration, and that the foundations of European integration in the field of culture were laid there.
I would like to thank the artists and all the people who participated in the preparation of this album. In addition, I would like to express my special gratitude for all help and substantive support to Dr Irina Gerasimova (Bazylowa), Prof. Aleksander Naumow, Dr Łukasz Hajduczenia, as well as Ludmila Kapustina and Volodymyr Andrushchak.

Andrzej Kosendiak (tranls. Anna Marks)

ACD 338 - Track 1 - Dyletsky - Requiem Liturgy

The Whole Bright World Rejoices

Recordare Virgo Mater by Josquin des Pres (d. 1521). Performed by Ignea Strata, recorded live in concert January 2017. 
Lucy Conklin, soprano; Leslee Wood, soprano; Kirsten Hyde, alto; Joanna Ehlers, alto.

image: 'Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist' by Sandro Botticelli, Louvre

A Crown of Roses

Recordare Virgo Mater

Recordare Virgo Mater - Josquin des Pres

Salve Virgo Singularis by Francisco Layolle (1492-1540). Performed by Ignea Strata, recorded live in concert January 2017. 
Lucy Conklin, soprano; Leslee Wood, soprano; Kirsten Hyde, alto; Joanna Ehlers, alto.

image: Leonardo da Vinci, 'Virgin of the Rocks', Musee de Louvre.

Salve Virgo Singularis

Salve Virgo Singularis - Francisco Layolle

Eya explores the connection of the human spirit to the celestial realm through songs and hymns devoted to the Virgin. Includes music of medieval England, France, and Spain of the 12th through the 14th centuries. 

Recorded at Washington National Cathedral.

Eya: Ensemble for Medieval Music
Allison Mondel, soprano, director
Crossley Hawn, soprano
Kristen Dubenion-Smith, mezzo-soprano
with guest:
Nola Richardson, soprano

Worcester Conductus / Salve Virgo Tonantis Solium

Las Huelgas Codex Conductus / Ave Maris Stella

I: Sajak Putik (Pure Verse)
II: Kita Gujah Lemah (We wobble along)
III: Siap Sedia (We're Ready)
Recorded/Premiered at the University of Kansas New Music Guild Concert 3/12/2018
Composer: Leslee Wood
Text: Chairil Anwar
Pianist: Klaus Nugraha
Tenor: Neal Long
Mezzo: Anna Patterson

Tiga Puisi Chairil Anwar by Leslee Wood

A rare example of 12th century Aquitanian polyphony. Performed by Ignea Strata, May 2018.

O Primus Homo Coruit

L.V. Wood is a composer, performer, and musicologist. She serves as Artistic Director of vocal ensemble Ignea Strata, whose performances focus on medieval, renaissance, and contemporary polyphonic repertoire. From 2016-2021, she served as the composer-in-residence for KC VITAs Chamber Choir, an organization dedicated to the performance and promotion of contemporary choral music. Ms. Wood was awarded a 2016 prize for new music by the International Alliance for Women in Music.

Salve Virgo Singularis - Francisco Layolle

L.V. Wood

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