Le Miroir de Musique & Baptiste Romain - Tinctoris: Secret Consolations (2017) [CD Rip]

While 15th century theoretician Johannes Tinctoris is chiefly remembered for his treatises on music, including a dictionary of musical terms and writings on composition, notation, and counterpoint, little of his own music survives. Examples of his vocal and instrumental works are presented on this 2017 Ricercar release, smoothly performed by Baptiste Romain and the Basel-based ensemble Le Miroir de Musique, and supplemented with pieces by Robert Morton and Johannes Ockeghem (as arranged by Francesco Spinacino and Alexander Agricola, as well as Tinctoris), and one anonymous piece. Likely the most familiar works of Tinctoris are his Missa L'Homme armé, represented here by the Kyrie, and the Missa sine nomine, of which four movements are performed. The rest of the program includes the motets O virgo miserere mei and Virgo Dei throno digna, the canzona O invida fortuna, and the Magnificat verse Fecit potentiam, along with a handful of instrumental and vocal arrangements of rondeaux. The listener may be forgiven if the album's selections seem a bit random and slightly arcane, requiring additional research into the composer's obscure life and times, but Le Miroir de Musique offers an attractive mix of voices and accompaniment on Renaissance instruments, such as the viola d'arco, harp, lute, vielle, and rebec, and the music is introspective and tinged with medieval coloration. The sound of the recording is clear and vibrant, and the acoustics of the Schloßkirche, Beuggen give the ensemble a wonderful resonance without overwhelming the intimacy of the setting. -- Blair Sanderson