Ensemble Arborescence & David Chappuis - Philippe de Vitry: Douce playsence (2025)

Poet, friend of Petrarch, and ecclesiastic, Philippe de Vitry was also one of the leading figures of the Ars Nova, a movement that brought polyphonic and poetic refinement to its peak. This album, the debut recording of Ensemble Arborescence, is the result of extensive research by David Chappuis, following a meticulous study of the sources. It seeks to place the singers in the performance conditions of the 14th century, including historically informed Latin pronunciation. Recorded at Royaumont, the programme weaves together motets by Philippe de Vitry—from early works to those of his maturity—with interludes composed by David Chappuis on Vitry’s own poetry. This carefully crafted perspective invites us to rediscover the work of one of the most fascinating musical figures of the Middle Ages.

The term "concert", in the sense in which the word has come to be used today, did not correspond to anything known in the Middle Ages. At the time, it would never have occurred to anyone to perform a series of motets for a paying audience. Even when sung in the most respectful way, this six-century-old music still gives rise to a contemporary creation today. The one presented by Arborescence is the fruit of several years' work on the motets of Philippe de Vitry. All that remains of this bishop of Meaux (1291-1361) today is a great name and a rather limited collection of musical and poetic compositions (of disputed attribution). Philippe de Vitry was an academic and a close associate of the French court, and epitomised all the medieval figures of the scholar. The man to whom Petrarch addressed himself as "a poet without equal in France" remains associated with the musical movement known as "Ars nova", of which he is a major theorist, poet and composer. David Chappuis has been working on these motets for over six years under the aegis of the Haute école de musique de Genève. He has prepared a new edition and trained young singers at Royaumont in their interpretation. Their a capella singing brings out as fully as possible the interplay of consonances and dissonances that are the lifeblood of polyphony. The multiple facets of the ensemble are highlighted in turn, from solo to tutti, through various combinations of voices, from the most suave to the most grating. The eight motets are linked by musical interludes composed by David Chappuis to verses by the Master of Meaux. The final piece of the concert, Lugentium siccentur oculi, dedicated to Pope Clement VI, is grandiose in its exceptional scope and the complexity of its architecture. A wonderful celebration of the culmination of a great musicological adventure, coinciding with the release of Arborescence's first album on the Swiss label Claves Records, recorded in the refectory of the monks of Royaumont!

Ensemble Arborescence
David Chappuis, conductor

TRACKLIST

1. Ensemble Arborescence & David Chappuis - Chappuis: Adesto
2. Ensemble Arborescence & David Chappuis - Chappuis: Decens
3. Ensemble Arborescence & David Chappuis - Vitry: Rex quem metrorum
4. Ensemble Arborescence & David Chappuis - Vitry: Adesto sancta Trinitas
5. Ensemble Arborescence & David Chappuis - Vitry: Quoniam secta latronum
6. Ensemble Arborescence & David Chappuis - Chappuis: Orbis
7. Ensemble Arborescence & David Chappuis - Vitry: Vos pastores
8. Ensemble Arborescence & David Chappuis - Vitry: Douce playsence (poem)
9. Ensemble Arborescence & David Chappuis - Vitry: Gratissima
10. Ensemble Arborescence & David Chappuis - Vitry: In arboris
11. Ensemble Arborescence & David Chappuis - Vitry: Hugo princeps
12. Ensemble Arborescence & David Chappuis - Chappuis: Douce playsence
13. Ensemble Arborescence & David Chappuis - Vitry: Garison
14. Ensemble Arborescence & David Chappuis - Vitry: Lugentium