(SAMPLE TRACK) On 21 January 1532 Giovanni Gioacchino da Passano left the shores of Dover to return to his family seat in the seaside town of Levanto, near Genoa. His time in England had been a success, and as the French ambassador to the court of Henry VIII his mission simple: to get the French on side for Henry's divorce so that he might marry his mistress Anne Boleyn. The story of that union is well known, but relatively little has been said about those who worked in the background concerning Henry's 'Great Matter'.
Passano seems not to have been a remarkable figure in early Tudor history; indeed few ambassadors tend to be singled out for major treatment among historians. His successor, Jean Dinteville, who appears on the front of this CD, is known largely by the simple fact that he was painted by Hans Holbein. The Genoese diplomat Giovanni Gioacchino Passano came to England in 1524, first as a spy and in consultation with Thomas Wolsey (who then sought peace with the French), and returned in 1526 as a Francois I's ambassador to Henry's court (Genoa was at that time under the control of the French). During his time he became very close with Henry and with Anne Boleyn, and there are numerous reports of his close personal contact with both. When Passano's time was up, he left on excellent terms with the king, and, according to his license to depart, took with him a number of personal gifts from the king himself. Diplomatic gifts were not uncommon, but it is indeed rare to trace such treasures to the modern-day world. Passano's English treasures, it seems, remained in the family well into the early 20th century. Manfredo da Passano, the then marquis, boasted of his great ancestor, and the family's earlier connections with the Tudor court (a contemporary stone memorial of 1549 in Levanto confirms this association). In 1882 an English traveller who stayed with Manfredo claimed to have been shown the range of diplomatic gifts which Giovanni Gioacchino received from Henry. These included seven 'missals' and an eagle lectern from Westminster Abbey, and a portrait of Anne Boleyn by none other than Hans Holbein (no contemporary portrait of Anne today exists). There were reports of these items as late as 1927, when they are last mentioned in an English document, and it may well be possible that they still might one day be found.
One supposed gift from Henry VIII that did not remain in the family is a beautiful chalice, now in Levanto, and reputed to have been won by Passano in a chess match with the king. He then donated the chalice to the town's parish church of St Andrea. Whether or not this is true, it may well have been among the 'gold and silver coined plate' that Passano took with him in 1532.
The music on this CD (SAMPLE TRACK) , recorded in St Andrea's church in Levanto, represents composers and works that a Genoese-born French ambassador to the court of Henry VIII might have experienced: music from his native Italy, the French court, and Henry VIII's England. Indeed, music served ambassadorial roles from time to time and it was a good way to exchange ideas and artistic culture. Passano is known to have been at a number of royal entertainments during his travels, and it is likely that he would have come in contact with music from some (if not all) of the composers represented on this recording.
Clemens non Papa (Jacob Clement) was one of the most prolific composers of the early part of the sixteenth century, having produced a great number motets, Masses, and Magnificat settings; the sobriquet 'non Papa' was appended to his name in a number of contemporary musical sources, presumably in jest, in order to distinguish the composer from Pope Clement VII who died in 1534. Clemens was particularly well known for his sacred music, and the majority of his compositions (both sacred and secular) were published during his lifetime (some by the famous Antwerp printer Susato). As such, he enjoyed an enviable international reputation throughout Europe and England. Jean Richafort, another famous Netherlander, was employed for a time at the French royal court. Vincenzo Galilei mentions that he, with other musicians, came from France to Rome in 1513 at the time Pope Leo was elected; Richafort is also known to have traveled to Bologna in 1516 with the entourage of Francois I, during which time the same pope was greatly impressed with his ability (the Salve regina being a good example of Richafort's adventurous harmonic ear).
The Italian composers represented on this disc were, like Passano, much well travelled. Francesco dell'Aiolle (Layolle) was born in Florence in 1492, and is unusual in that while many composers of the time aspired to Italy, dell'Aiolle migrated to France and spent much of the latter part of his career in Lyons. He seems to have moved quite freely among litterary circles in both Italy and France, and is certainly one of the last unsung masters of the early sixteenth century. The Pater noster, where influence of the post-Josquin generation is evident, is notable in its simplicity and bold counterpoint with double suspensions and unexpected harmonic turns. Giachetto de Mantova (Jacquet of Mantua), a pupil of Josquin, was better known, and some of his music even ended up in an English source of c.1541, thought to contain the repertoire performed at Magdalen College, Oxford (suggesting that the 'Master Jackett' who was Informator Choristarum there in the late 1530s might well have been the composer). Dum vastos Adriae fluctus is a tribute motet to his master Josquin, in which, while travelling across the Adriatic Sea, Giachetto recalls the joys of his master's works; later in the work, no less that five of Josquin's motets are found imbedded in Giachetto's polyphony.
English composers of the early sixteenth century, by comparison, absorbed little artistic influence beyond their shores, and developed their own 'insular' style of composition: here, as may be heard in the music of John Sheppard and Robert Fayrfax, sonority and grand textures take precedence over word-setting and imitative counterpoint - a technique which may be traced back to John Dunstable and before. John Sheppard spent much of his working life in and around Oxford, and was Informator Choristarum at Magdalen College in the 1540s. There is little evidence that Sheppard travelled outside of England, although there may have been some opportunity when he was a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal under Mary Tudor. The great Robert Fayrfax, however, was known to have at least been in attendance in France at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in the summer of 1520, when Henry VIII and François I famously met for great festivities and music-making. Fayrfax was considered to be the 'prime musician of the nation' and his style typifies the zenith of English composition before the onslaught of the mid-sixteenth-century Reformations.
