Tag: Medieval

Music of Hildegard von Bingen
Vajra Voices, dir. Karen R. Clark, Shira Kammen vielle & medieval harp
50:22
Music & Arts CD-1291

It is hard to remember a time without Hildegard, but (of course) the rediscovery of her remarkable music after centuries of silence was a relatively recent affair. Many of us remember the effect of first hearing recordings by Gothic Voices and Sequentia of this extraordinary repertoire, and it remains just as distinctive today. Of course, it goes without saying that you need singers capable of doing it justice, but in the American ensemble Vajra Voices we have a group who have specialized in Medieval and modern music and in Hildegard’s music in particular. Under the expert direction of Karen R. Clark, they bring an engaging drama to Hildegard’s music, soaring and swooping with ease and evident delight. They are ably supported by Shira Kammen on vielle and medieval harp, who also takes a couple of solo and duet instrumental slots with Allison Zelles Lloyd. It is nice to note that they are playing a Kentigern harp by the Highlands’ own Ardival Harps. When reviewing, I tend to put on CDs at random to get to know them thoroughly before passing judgment – it is interesting that, of all my current batch, the Hildegard one has been the one I was able to identify instantly.

D. James Ross

Roses, Lilies & Other Flowers in Medieval Song
64:58
First Hand Records FHR68
Ciconia, Hildegard of Bingen, Machaut, Zacara

The ensemble The Telling comprises three women singers, Clare Norburn, Ariane Prüssner and Leah Stuttard, who also plays harp and frame drum. In their group notes, descriptions of concerts in which the performers move among the audience to the light of candles helped to bring this programme to life. It is a varied programme of medieval music from throughout Europe, which includes many of the big names of medieval music such as Hildegard, Machaut and Ciconia but principally anon! There are some lovely moments as the medieval harp blends with the female voices in beautiful slow airs. Things are perhaps slightly less comfortable when the tempo picks up a bit, and animated pieces employing all three voices frequently lack the defined articulation and pin-point tuning necessary to show this tricky material to best advantage. On the other hand, the blended voices work beautifully in the more contemplative repertoire such as is their lovely account of the 14th-century English carol Ther is no ros. This CD recalls the work of the New York-based ensemble Anonymous 4, whose wonderfully blended women’s voices set a new standard for performances of this sort of repertoire. In my opinion, The Telling don’t quite achieve the degree of perfect intonation, blend and articulation of the Americans, but this CD provides a pleasing and effective introduction to this repertoire.

D. James Ross

Baptiste Romain, Le Miroir de Musique
67:19
Ricercar RIC 388

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his CD provides so much more than its title promises. In fact, it is a survey of medieval bowed instruments in general, but also a beautiful programme of songs and instrumental pieces from the 13th-15th century, mainly anonymous but some by named composers such as Perdigon, Ciconia and Dufay. Playing vielle, rubeba, crwth and bagpipes, and directing the ensemble Le Miroir de Musique, Baptiste Romain is the main focus for these performances, but the group also boasts three further vielle players as well as four fine singers. When three vielles, bagpipes and lute strike up in the anonymous Tenor “La belle”, the sound is stirring indeed, while Grace Newcombe’s singing in the opening track, the anonymous “Ar ne kuthe ich sorghe”, is beautiful, as is Paulin Bündgen’s languid countertenor contribution to Perdigon’s “Bele Ysabelot”. Béatrice Dunoyer supplies a lovely account of Dufay’s “La bellese siet au pié de la tour” and the concluding beautifully blended duet version of “Soyés loyal” from Grace Newcombe and Sabine Lutzenberger is a fitting way to complete this attractive programme. The performers display a wonderful musical instinct with repertoire which, in the wrong hands, can sound cold, abstract and distant, while a CD like this could so easily have been an academic introduction to long-dead instruments rather than the dynamic revelation that it is. The Miroir de Musique have brought this lovely repertoire vividly to life.

D. James Ross

Medieval Lais & Cantigas from France and Spain
Maladança, Francisco Luengo
61:52
Brilliant Classics 95689

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]inger Maria Giménez is accompanied by a consort of medieval instruments derived from sculptures including the organistrum, five-stringed vyola, vyolón, citole, Romanesque harp and skin-faced medieval lute (all beautifully illustrated in the programme booklet). Daringly the performers open with a 16-minute account of the Plainte de la Vierge au pied de la croix, and, as it turns out, the compelling singing and creative use of the instrumental accompaniment more than hold the attention. Xurxo Varela provides a wonderfully contrasting male voice for the Recordare for the Feast of Mary Mediatrix, but it is Maria Giménez who chiefly holds our attention for what turns out to be a riveting sequence of medieval Marian music. The narcotic effect of drones and Giménez’s engaging narrative style lead us through a couple of lengthy but compelling items, concluding with one of Alfonso X’s Cantigas de Santa Maria, Virgen Madre groriosa. This is a very atmospheric and informative CD, presenting music which can be challenging to the modern listener, but which they perform so persuasively that we are drawn in. Helpful would have been texts and translations so that we knew what was being sung, but otherwise this is an admirable package.

D. James Ross