An unfortunate consequence of living to a ripe age is that after a sustained period of retirement people tend to assume you are long-gone. Such is the case with René Clemencic, whom, I am stunned to learn, died only days ago at the age of 94. For all I know, he could have still been active until comparatively recently, but I have not seen any new recordings for decades.

A true blast from the past, then, Clemencic was a major player from the infancy of the modern HIP (historically informed performance) movement. In 1958, he created Musica Antiqua with the purpose of resurrecting music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance on period instruments. A decade later, he founded the Clemencic Consort. His recordings on the Harmonia Mundi label now seem as ancient as the music he championed. The style is at times a little heavier, a little thicker than we’ve become used to in this particular repertoire. Still, there’s no denying the quality of the musicianship. And who can really say for sure what performance sounded like in the Middle Ages anyway?

Interestingly, in addition to being a musicologist, a conductor, and a talented performer – with a mastery of the recorder, clavichord, and harpsichord – Clemencic was also a composer. In fact, with a well-rounded education and broader interests in art and philosophy, he was something of a renaissance man himself.

I am happy to learn he seemed to have enjoyed life. He could have picked no better time to depart it than March, which is, after all, Early Music Month. R.I.P.

https://www.archyworldys.com/early-music-specialist-rene-clemencic-died-kurier-at/

A more extensive biography from his website

http://www.clemencic.at/en/frbiography.html

A favorite Clemencic album of old Hungarian dances

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsyDsydQxiU

Centuries before Carl Orff, the roots of “Carmina Burana”

Something entirely new to me, Clemencic’s opera “Gilgamesh”