On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the death of Josquin des Prez, the musicians and singers of the Clarion Choir and the Clarion Orchestra gather at the Met Cloisters on June 8 (3 p.m.-8 p.m.) and June 9 (7 p.m.-8 p.m.) to tell the the story of one of the most important artistic figures of the Renaissance in one of New York’s most extraordinary museums. From his most significant early works to more mature expressions that changed the course of music, Clarion explores Josquin’s music in an inspiring marriage of music, art and architecture.

On June 8, for five hours, recorders, brass, viols and vocal consorts of the Clarion Orchestra and Choir perform a repertoire including the spiritual Italian madrigals Scaramella and El Grillo by Josquin, in addition to some of his most beloved and historically important. , the grandiose setting of De Profundis and its famous Ave Maria. They also interpret the poignant tribute he wrote to Ockegham, Nymphes des Bois, on a poem by Jean Molinet.

The marathon also includes music from three of Josquin’s complete mass arrangements – the largest and most ‘symphonic’ form of the early 16th century. The Clarion Choir sings the Kyrie de Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae, a mass written for the Duke of Ferrara, and built on a cantus firmus melody derived from the spelling of the Duke’s name, two movements from the last masterpiece, Missa Pange Lingua, and, at the end of the day, a complete interpretation of the Missa L’Homme Armé sexti toni, based on one of the most popular folk tunes of the Renaissance, “The Armed Man”.

Each work in the marathon is chosen based on the setting of the surrounding medieval architecture, with its fusion of different styles, some sacred and some secular. A sacred work is performed in one of the sacred galleries surrounded by sacred medieval art, as the songs are sung in the secular spaces of the building. Performance spaces include the Romanesque Hall, the Cloister of Cuxa, the Langon Chapel and the Cloister of Saint-Guilhem. All the singers and musicians come together for a final performance of the Missa L’Homme Armé sexti toni mass to close the June 8 performance at the Fuentidueña Chapel.

While tickets for the June 8 marathon sold out quickly, tickets are now available for $65 for a performance of Josquin’s mass – Missa L’Homme Armé sexti toni accompanied by the motets De Profundis and Ave Maria – June 9 at 7 p.m. Please contact Laurent at lauren@clarionsociety.org be put on the waiting list for the June 8 marathon. Admission to the Museum on the same day is included with the purchase of tickets for the June 9 show. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Met Cloisters location is Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan. For more information on these Josquin performances, visit Clarion website.

Hailed by the Wall Street Journal as “a revelation”, The Clarion Choir is one of the country’s leading professional vocal ensembles. Their recent recording of Kastalsky’s Requiem reached No. 1 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Charts and was nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Choral Performance. The Clarion Choir has performed regularly in recent years as part of the MetLiveArts Series at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; including depictions of large-scale Renaissance works by Victoria, Palestrina, Taverner and Guerrero in the Met’s Medieval Sculpture Hall and Cloisters. The Choir, and Artistic Director Steven Fox, have collaborated in recent years with renowned artists such as Harry Bicket and The English Concert at Carnegie HallEric Jacobsen and The Knights, Suzanne Graham, Leonard Slatkin and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and Madonna at the 2018 Met Gala.