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Recording

Saint Louis: Chroniques et musiques du XIIIe siècle

Ensemble vocal de Notre-Dame de Paris, Sylvain Dieudonné
72:35
Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris 006

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his CD resulted from a 2014 concert programme marking in the music of his time the 800th anniversary of King Saint Louis’s birth and following the course of his life and involves the vocal ensemble of Notre-Dame de Paris, the Maitrise Notre-Dame de Paris (adult choir) and an instrumental ensemble as well as a narrator, reading in medieval French from contemporary accounts of the King-Saint’s life. The musical performances are beautifully executed with the solo voices of the vocal ensemble blending well with the instruments and the adult choir providing spirited performances of chanted liturgical items. The confidence and authority of the singing, surely the result of this programme having received several concert performances before it was recorded, are impressive and it is also exciting to find the pioneering work of groups such as the Ensemble Organum incorporated effortlessly into the florified chant. This CD is a feast of 13th-century sacred and secular material vividly performed in the rich acoustic of the Chapelle Notre-Dame de Bon Secours in Paris.

D. James Ross

Categories
Recording

Ritus Orphaeos – Il cantore al liuto

Simone Sorini
Baryton SO/11

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] really did approach this with an ‘innocent ear’ and thoroughly enjoyed it. We are offered an anthology of (mainly) Italian songs from the medieval and renaissance periods in which the singer accompanies himself on an impressive array of period-specific plucked instruments, played with an equally impressive array of period-specific techniques (various plectra and fingers) and textures (drones to polyphony). Doubtless specialists will criticise points of detail in the performance practice but it convinced me. The singing is an interesting mix of Sting (in his Dowland mode), Nigel Rogers (a willingness to experiment with technique) and Emma Kirkby (a strong engagement with the texts) and becomes increasingly ‘orthodox’ as the music becomes more modern. By our normal standards the booklet is a graphic disaster. Small and densely packed print is on a patterned background and the English ‘translation’ features regular mistakes as well as unidiomatic turns of phrase and the song texts are online only. But it’s worth persevering for the amazing amount of interesting information in there. Overall, the impression is of a performer passionately committed to what he does and I recommend this very strongly for slightly off-piste Summer listening.

David Hansell

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Recording

Nostre Dame

The monophonic Repertoire of the famous NotreDame School
Sanstierce
55:01
Talanton TAL90016

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his is a beautiful recording by Early Music enthusiasts with a special interest in the surviving oral traditions rooted in the Christian and Islamic world. Sanstierce have taken as their theme the Virgin Mary, since she appears in both the Qur’an and the Bible. Two members of the ensemble are German while Bassem Hawar is originally from Baghdad. Some source material for improvisation and embellishment is taken from early manuscripts (Cod. Guelf. Helmst., MS. Pluteus  and Egerton 274); but both Hawar and Schneider have devised their own pieces in appropriate styles and adapted or reconstructed their instruments.

In the opening piece Maria Jonas shows the fine quality of her voice in its range, purity and power, her breath control and command of ornaments, conjuring up the sounds of Islam, which share their roots with Christianity. She masters prolonged vowels, microtones, cadences, and the occasional Arabic catch in the voice, and the sound rings out as if it were a Call to Prayer. The shruti  box provides a drone, and her voice is complemented sympathetically by flute and djoze  accompaniment.

The Middle Eastern atmosphere is further captured in a piece devised by Bassem Hawar with tremulo, pulsing high notes, sliding tones, long phrases and occasionally two strings played simultaneously. Embellishments on high notes are accompanied by plucking and dance-like percussion. In another piece by Hawar djoze  and gittern interweave their sounds, bowing and plucking, with embellishments and off-beats.

Not to be overshadowed, though, Our Lady of Roman Catholicism is asserted with intensity and fervour in two pieces drawn from the Egerton manuscript. One begins with a slow plaintive narrative style and is followed by a fast tuneful movement occasionally slowing into long phrases. Midway is a heartfelt cry “O Maria!” and a harmonium effect from the shruti box. This cry recurs dramatically in the final piece, after slow plucking, wide-ranging tones in the voice, deep string sound and a plaintive mood. The recording ends with a slow dignified dance rhythm which illustrates the divergence of the two cultures brought together by Sanstierce.

The CD cover is illustrated strikingly with the eyes of Maria Jonas appearing as through a hijab. As a substitute for a more expensive booklet, there is small close writing in German and English crammed on to the unfolding cover, and a little about the instruments can be learnt from a Sanstierce website. But then, Talanton specialises in some wonderfully unusual recordings.

Diana Maynard

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Recording

Firminus Caron – Twilight of the Middle Ages

Huelgas Ensemble, Paul Van Nevel
54:39
deutsche harmonia mundi 88875143472
Movements from five masses + four secular chansons

[dropcap]O[/dropcap]f the 15th-century Franco-Flemish composer Firminus Caron practically nothing is known. He may have been a pupil of Dufay and his masses and chansons were widely admired by, among others, Tinctoris and copied throughout Europe during his lifetime. In modern times his work has fared less well, appearing as fillers on several CDs, but not receiving anything like the attention it deserves, so this complete if rather short CD devoted entirely to his sacred and secular music is truly welcome. Rather than record one of his complete settings of the mass, Van Nevel selects consecutive movements from five different settings, giving us a valuable cross-section of the composer’s contribution to the genre. The music is indeed distinctive and accomplished with more than a passing similarity to the music of his more famous near-contemporary Josquin – as we have no record of Caron’s death he may have continued composing into the 16th century, and much of his sacred polyphony and indeed his chansons sound as if they come from after the turn of the new century. In this respect the title of the CD is slightly misleading in that Caron’s idiom looks forward to the Renaissance rather than back to the Middle Ages. The Huelgas Ensemble, highly experienced in the choral music of this period, give musically powerful and sensitive accounts of Caron’s sacred music under the insightful direction of Paul Van Nevel. The second half of the CD is devoted to Caron’s secular music, with his famous chanson Accueilly m’a la belle  providing a nice link, following his own Agnus Dei  based upon it. The chansons are suitably performed by solo voices, with the exception of the raunchy Corps contre corps, and are given beautifully delicate performances – not every vocal ensemble is as versatile as to be able to sing this sort of sacred and secular music equally effectively. The singing on this CD is comprehensively enjoyable, and the performers make a very good case for Caron’s re-instatement alongside his contemporaries Busnois, Ockeghem and Josquin.

D. James Ross

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Recording

Machaut: Messe de Nostre Dame

Graindelavoix, Björn Schmelzer
72:50
Glossa GCDP32110

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ell, I suppose it was just a matter of time before Machaut’s Messe de Notre Dame  was given the Graindelavoix treatment. As chance would have it, I had just been re-acquainting myself with two of the leading performances on CD, by Marcel Pérès and his Ensemble Organum (HMG501590) and The Taverner Consort directed by Andrew Parrot (CDC 7479492), when the present recording arrived. Always guaranteed to stimulate thought, Björn Schmelzer’s readings of early choral music are never less than controversial, and this recording is no exception. In a densely philosophical programme note, he pays passing homage to Pérès, and indeed the whole approach is very reminiscent of Ensemble Organum’s 1996 account.

As in their model, encrustations of ornamentation and free glissandi mean that the music is only occasionally allowed to settle on the perfect fifths that make it so distinctive, but the Graindelavoix reading also feels free to add pedal bass octaves at key cadences, and the full choir sections almost threaten to degenerate into a mob anarchy. Due to a closer acoustic, the ‘solo’ episodes sound less chaotic, but still seem to me to exemplify a triumph of individualism over group thinking, surely precisely the sort of inappropriately modern mind-set Schmelzer’s note is at pains to condemn. Schmelzer’s reading of the mass is on a temporally epic scale, and in my opinion much of the rhythmical energy is dissipated as a result – the Kyrie for example is a full minute longer than Pérès already unhurried account, and more than five minutes longer than Parrot’s rhythmically tight version! When I reveal that my listening prior to hearing the Graindelavoix recording had led me to the conclusion that Pérès had ‘gone a bit far’ in elaborating upon Machaut’s polyphony, you will realize from my comments that Schmelzer goes much further, and that I am reluctantly less than convinced by this approach. I would have liked the programme note specifically to explain why Schmelzer believes that Machaut’s singers would have sung his music like this, or whether in light of the programme note this is even his main priority. The motets and chant which sketch in a liturgical context, although not as completely and consistently as Parrot’s 1984 account, are generally more plausible than the ordinary of the mass, and items like the opening account of Inviolata genetrix  and the later Beata viscera  are radical but intriguing. I wanted to like this recording much more than I did, but I feel it would be unfair to gloss over its ultimately very idiosyncratic and self-indulgent approach to this iconic music. Much of the account of the Mass is quite unpleasant to listen to, not because of the shock of Schmelzer’s iconoclastic approach but because the voices slide around randomly and aren’t always in tune when they settle; they rarely blend; and ultimately for me the recording seems to have priorities other than the pursuit of historical authenticity – indeed it seems at times to have the tiresomely adolescent aim of ‘seeing what it can get away with’. On a purely practical level, I find it very hard to believe that Machaut’s employers, who we know surrounded themselves with the ultimate in precise sophistication and refinement such as Machaut’s own Louange des Dames  and Livre de Voir Dit, would have tolerated for one moment this sort of musically permissive approach in their church music. If, like me, you are generally instinctively drawn to Graindelavoix’s performances, you should probably give this recording a try, but I can’t help feeling that it adds little to Pérès’ account, which is as near the knuckle as I personally would care to go. However, for a ‘purer’, and in my opinion much more honest and convincing account of Machaut’s polyphony and a substantial liturgical framework, I would thoroughly recommend Parrot’s clinically precise but barn-storming 1984 recording, one of his very finest performances on CD.

D. James Ross

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Book

The Musica of Hermannus Contractus

Edited and translated by Leonard Ellinwood, revised with a new introduction by John L. Snyder
University of Rochester Press, 2015
xvii + 221pp, £55.00
ISBN 978 1 58046 390 4

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] tried to find a reviewer, but without success, partly because I am now out of touch with my earlier interest in the subject. Hermann was born on July 18th 1013 and died on 24 September 1054. He had a paralytic condition from an early age, but his intellect was outstanding. His languages were primarily German and Latin: later suggestions were Greek (plausible) and Arabic (unlikely), but Hebrew is more plausible. He wrote about history, the astrolabe, the dating of Easter, the length of the lunar cycle, and eclipses. This volume is concerned with music. Most of my material isn’t easily accessible, but I had read (probably in the mid-1960s) the first Ellinwood edition of 1936. After a few attempts, anyone who knows Hermannus can easily master the 1000-year-old Latin with only a few difficulties. It is an essential book and anyone interested in the chant should buy a copy.

Clifford Barlett

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Recording

Music & Poetry from Thirteenth Century France: Conductus 3

John Potter, Christopher O’Gorman, Rogers Covey-Crump
Hyperion CDA68115

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] spent a lot of time working on this repertoire in the 1960s and 70s, and the editors then assumed that the notation must be according to the six metrical modes. These follow the main four sources, “Notre Dame” sources: W1, W2, F & Madrid (any textbooks will give the information), but there is no certainty that the conductus  should use the metrical modes except for short openings. (Other forms in the main sources are also not necessarily metrical.) The short lines of the conductus  are based on the texts. The number of voices can be one, two, three or (though not on this CD) four. Three of the 11 are vernacular, and of the remaining eight none relate to the Notre-Dame MSS. The flexibility of what is heard here is intensely refreshing.

First time through, concentrate on the words. The stanzas are rythmically accurate, but the poems avoid normal hymn-style patterns and have mostly short lines: Vite perdite, for instance, has syllable-lengths of 5, 3, 4, 5, 3, 4; 7, 6, 7, 6. Rhymes are in use as well: the first section contains 6 lines, in two groups of three different rhymes; the last four lines are simple ABAB. It must be deliberate that the total number of syllables is 50. I haven’t seen the source, but each syllable has the same length, with breaks at the end of each line. Short additional notes are sung within the main note. The story relates a man who mostly lived badly, the last line finishing with Miserere mei. There are also versions in French and Provençal. But I’m not going to write paragraphs for each of the 11 items in the CD!

The three singers are impressive. All are titled “tenor”, but not particularly high. John and Rogers I’ve known for decades – Rogers goes back to the ‘60s. I don’t know Christopher, but the three singers match well. Mark Everist offers a valuable introduction. It was generally assumed the conductus  implied a medieval procession, but an alternative is “conduct”, as in the ultimate good conduct in Vite perdite.

I hope this will be popular!

Clifford Bartlett

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Recording

Arnold & Hugo De Lantins: Secular Works

Le miroir de musique, Baptiste Romain
67:00
Ricercar RIC365

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he brothers (or possibly cousins) de Lantins were born in Liège and sought their fortune in Northern Italy. Their close career connections with each other and with Dufay, a fact confirmed by recent scholarship, suggests that the three were close acquaintances socially and musically. In fact, Arnold and Hugo’s music is a distinctive blend of advanced and archaic features, anticipating the music of the later 15th century, but occasionally recalling that of the ars subtilior  of the end of the 14th.

The present selection of settings by both men of French, Italian and Latin texts is beautifully presented by the singers and instrumentalists of Le Miroir de Musique. They are absolutely at home with this repertoire, and their intelligent and highly musical readings are augmented by a genuine passion for the music. In fact, notwithstanding the title of the CD, three of the works are sacred works, the different musical texture also marking them out from the secular repertoire. The instrumental accompaniment to the voices revolves around a pair of vielles with lute, guittern, recorder and hurdy-gurdy although in a couple of the instrumental pieces the band branches out very effectively on to bagpipes, shawm, slide trumpet and pommer. These are lovely subtle but authoritative performances of little-known repertoire highlighting the strengths of contemporaries of Dufay and augmenting our knowledge of a fascinating period of musical flux.

D. James Ross

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Recording

Llibre Vermell

Canti di pellegrinaggio al Monte Serrato
Micrologus
57:20
Micrologus CDM0002.08.3

[dropcap]H[/dropcap]aving been beguiled by the Llibre Vermell  of Montserrat ever since acquiring as a student the famous 1979 CD account by Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XX, I was delighted to be sent this account by Ensemble Micrologus. This group has been releasing a large number of CDs in the UK recently, all of which apply their uniquely spontaneous and dynamic approach to music of the Middle Ages. I was sure their approach would suit the music of the Llibre Vermell  and I was not disappointed. The manuscript consists largely of a collection of songs for use by the pilgrims to Montserrat, although no doubt many of them are simply written records of pre-existent folk and pilgrim material. The simple and lively music, the football chants of their day, is given a variety of sparkling performances by Micrologus, who call upon their wide range of instruments and vocal permutations to bring the repertoire vividly to life. There is little music from the 14th century which so dramatically brings to life the everyday religious life of the common people, and in these sparkling performances we can easily picture the pilgrims clustered round an open fire or marching cheerfully up the hill to the shrine to the Blessed Virgin. Montserrat was the second most famous shrine in Spain after Santiago de Compostela and a popular focus for local adoration. Fortunately for those compiling CDs based on the contents of the Llibre, the forthright, uncomplicated walking and fireside repertoire is complemented by a number of more lyrical and contemplative pieces such as the enigmatic Mariam matrem virginem, although it has to be said that Micrologus take a less sympathetic approach with this fragile material than did the late great Montserrat Figueras and the vocal ensemble of Hespérion XX. The other problem with the Micrologus CD is the lack of an English translation of the notes, which appear only in Italian, with no translations at all of the song texts. This surely ought to have been a priority if the group are hoping seriously to market their recordings in the UK.

D. James Ross

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Book

​​Troubadour Poems from the South of France

Translated by William D. Paden and Frances Freeman Paden.
D. S. Brewer 2014 . xiii + 278pp pb.
ISBN 978 1 84384 408 2

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his contains 126 poems from the 10th century to Petrarch. I had a book some years ago which gave the music and first verse in Occitan and English, but I cannot now find it. As a musician, I regret that the syllables do not match those of the original, though I sympathise that any attempt to match the rhymes will disrupt the meaning. My days of learning the language started in 1960-61 at Magdalene College, just at the time John Stevens was doing the same thing, though I spent more time then and later on Latin poetry of the period. The publication of Occitan texts is sensible if the poems have a variety of sources, but otherwise at least two aspects should be covered (Occitan with vernacular or Occitan with music). It is unusual to print only English versions except in anthologies. The poems read very well, though characteristics of the Occitan world are modernised, so the relationship with the meanings of the text moves it rather far from the Troubadour period. Some of them stand by themselves extremely well. There are excellent introductions to each piece and you can get much of the background through it. Recommended!

Clifford Bartlett

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