Josquin: l'Homme Armé Masses

During the Renaissance period, composers regularly wrote what are now called cantus-firmus Masses — Mass compositions that used preexisting songs as a melodic basis. For some reason, the most popular of these songs was a brief chanson called “L’Homme armé,” a musical warning to watch out for the guy with a weapon. Dozens of “L’Homme armé” Mass settings by such eminent composers as Guillaume Dufay, Johannes Ockeghem, and Antoine Brumel were composed during the 15th and 16th centuries and survive today — and the great Franco-Flemish composer Josquin des Prez wrote two. Both are featured on this fine recording by the Tallis Scholars choral ensemble. Helpfully, they open the program with a robust rendition of the original song, making it easier for listeners to track the original melody as it snakes its way through the two polyphonic Mass settings.