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Recording

Samâ-ï : Cosmopolitan Aleppo

Canticum Novum, Emmanuel Bardon
73:20
Ambronay AMY060

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This haunting CD of music associated with the diverse cultures of Aleppo is charged with additional melancholy in light of the knowledge that this millennia-old city has in our own times been reduced to rubble. Canticum Novum, a large ensemble incorporating voices and traditional instruments such as the oud, duduk, nyckelharpa, zurna, ney and kaval as well as conventional early instruments such as viol, lute and triple harp, invokes the rich musical cultures of a city which has stood at a cultural crossroads for five millennia. Emmanuel Bardon, who drew the ensemble together in 1996, has consciously mixed world music and early music ethoses in an effort to access this sometimes nebulous and ancient repertoire. If this music and these performances lack the academic credentials we would normally expect of European early music recordings, like Jordi Savall, Christina Pluhar and a growing number of fine musicians searching outside Europe and in more remote centuries, Bardon relies on instinct and musicality to breathe life into this music. The result is a wonderfully atmospheric evocation of an eastern metropolis renowned for its diversity and tolerance, qualities which may recently have been bombed into extinction.

D. James Ross

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Recording

Unsung Heroine | Vision

The Imagined Life and Love of Beatriz de Dia
The Imagined Testimony of Hildegard of Bingen
The Telling
74:37
First Hand Records FHR123

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The genesis of this CD is by no means simple, so it is important to give an outline of it here. In May 2021, one of the two singers of the ensemble The Telling, Ariane Prüssner, died prematurely and unexpectedly. The Telling had specialised in touring dramatisations of narratives compiled from early musical sources, and their latest two projects had been Unsung Heroine and Vision (detailed above). The soundtracks to arthouse films, these performances were recorded mainly in single takes and never intended for release in CD form. The music on the CD is extracted from larger works and verses are omitted, and where Hildegard left more than enough music to speak entirely with her own voice, Beatriz left only five songs, and her ‘life’ is eked out here with music by various other more familiar male troubadours. Fine musicians all, The Telling provide dynamic and convincing performances of this music which need no apology, and – notwithstanding the unusual and sad circumstances surrounding it – this is a very worthwhile project and a suitable testimony to the remarkable individual talents of Ariane Prüssner, but also to the combined dynamic of this distinctive ensemble. These two imaginative and dramatically effective sequences of vocal and instrumental music shed a valuable light on two musically gifted women, one very familiar and one still relatively unknown.

D. James Ross

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Recording

Mirabilia Musica

Echoes from late medieval Cracow
La Morra
61:05
Ramée RAM 2008

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In a fascinating programme note, La Morra’s director Michal Gondko draws attention to an account of around 1470 by Filippo Buonaccorsi (aka Callimachus) of music in Cracow, at that time the capital of Poland, as well as the two seminal manuscripts from which the music on this CD is extracted. The major discovery is the composer Mikołaj Radomski (fl c1425), who contributes an impressive polyphonic Gloria and a Magnificat, and who may also be ‘Nicolaus’, the composer of keyboard pieces and whose Nitor inclite is performed here. Also impressive is music by Petrus Wilhelmi de Grudenz, given a stunning performance, as well a strikingly original Gloria by Antonio Zacara da Teramo. The singing and playing of La Morra is of a very high order throughout, and they give very persuasive performances of this unusual repertoire. It can scarcely come as a surprise that an important kingdom such as Poland would at this time have boasted a thriving musical culture, but it is exciting to have this confirmed in these excellent performances of superb music from the period, which was either composed in Cracow or certainly performed in it. 

D. James Ross

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La leggenda di Vittore e Corona nei codici del mediovo

InUnum ensemble
53:04
Tactus TC 220002

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The magnificent Renaissance and Baroque music associated with St Mark’s Basilica in Venice can overshadow its earlier repertoire, and this liturgical music from the 13th century, associated with the legend of the martyrs Victor and Corona is a revelation. The template for Christian martyrs from Roman times who were made the subject of Medieval cults consists of them expressing their beliefs in ways incompatible with the pagan Roman Empire and then undergoing unspeakable tortures before their faith is vindicated. This is the case with Victor and Corona, although they are unusual in suffering in parallel with one another – twice the bravery and twice the suffering. The versatile InUnum Ensemble mainly sing unaccompanied – monody with drones and simple polyphony – as well as playing a variety of instruments. The singing is absolutely beautiful, expressive and clear as a bell, with perfect intonation. The instruments – percussion, harp, organistrum, organ, vielle and recorders – are judiciously and cleverly employed to enhance the power of the textual narrative, and I found myself drawn into these extended legends. Understandably, the extensive texts are not printed in the programme booklet, but are available online – having recently been at work on the equally gory cult of St Katherine (she of the wheel), I preferred to draw a veil over the more gruesome details of what poor Victor and Corona were subjected to. Inevitably in a CD of this sort of repertoire, we are ultimately reliant on the skills and musicality of the singers, and I was utterly beguiled by the singing of the InUnum Ensemble, as well as being thoroughly persuaded by the manner of presentation of the repertoire and the discerning use of instruments. In a telling footnote emphasising the vulnerability of such early repertoire, the manuscript was stolen from St Mark’s around twenty years ago – fortunately, it had by that time been scanned. My mind turned to the wealth of repertoire from this period which has not yet been scanned, nor even catalogued.

D. James Ross

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Al-Basma: Voyage au coeur d’Al-Andalus

ames RossCanticum Novum, Emmanuel Bardon
78:31
Ambronay AMY057

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Under their director Emmanuel Bardon, Canticum Novum continue their exploration of the early music of the Iberian peninsula with this selection of music from Andalusia including Arabic songs and material from the Codex of Montpellier and the Cantigas de Santa Maria. Inhabiting the ground somewhere between traditional and mainstream early performance, Canticum Novum use a variety of vocal techniques and early instruments to bring this music vividly and convincingly to life. What is striking about the integration of early Arabic material with the medieval manuscripts is the cross-fertilisation easily heard between the two worlds. In the Middle Ages, Andalusia was a cultural mixing pot of various ethnicities and nationalities, and this is apparent in this cleverly constructed programme. Recorded in the resonant acoustic of L’Abbaye de Sylvanès, Canticum Novum move seamlessly from solo to ensemble repertoire, genuinely exploring the music and letting it speak eloquently to us down the centuries. Having specialised for many years in this earliest repertoire, they manage to make it sound very natural in performances which belie the scholarship and technical assurance that underlie them.

D. James Ross

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Recording

Song of Beasts

Fantastic Creatures in Medieval Song
Ensemble Dragma
52:15
Ramée RAM1901

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Ensemble Dragma have combed the surviving output of Johannes Ciconia, Paolo da Firenze, Jacopo da Bologna, Francesco Landini, Magister Franciscus, Donato da Firenze and Trebor in search of music associated with animals, real and imaginary. This is an excellent theme, well worth exploring, and takes us into the world of the medieval bestiary. They have got around the fact that much of the charm of these books is their illustrations by producing an accompanying film which draws on more than 40 medieval bestiaries to which a link is provided – this is a substantial entertainment in itself, running to more than an hour, beautifully constructed and with scholarly commentary in German with English subtitles, while also incorporating all the music on the CD. The ensemble make light of this technically demanding repertoire, producing performances which are musically satisfying and highly evocative. The solo voice is supported by harp, vielles, viola d’arco and lute, producing sparse but engaging textures as well as enjoyable instrumental interludes. Since the establishment of the group in 2012, Ensemble Dragma has established itself as one of the leading medieval consorts in the field.

D. James Ross

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Machaut: The lion of nobility

The Orlando Consort
60:57
hyperion
CDA68318

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Back in the twentieth century, another periodical sent me two discs to review. One was of Restoration church music performed by one of the most reputable – and, as it has proved, most durable – early music ensembles. I gave what I felt was a complacent, limp-wristed (albeit uncharacteristic) recording a scathing review, which was duly published. Unbeknown to me, the appalled record reviews editor responded by sending the disc to a more pliant reviewer, who duly obliged by providing a – not doubt sincerely – gushing review which was published in the following issue. Needless to say I never heard from that periodical again. This was disappointing because the other disc was a mesmerising performance by the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge, of the Messe de Nostre Dame by Guillaume de Machaut, which I praised – sincerely – to the skies (Herald HAVPCD 312). Nor has another recording of Machaut have come my way until now. So which of those two recordings does this new one most resemble?

Thankfully the latter. The music is – of course – superb, emanating as it does from a mediaeval composer who can be named alongside Dunstable, Power, Dufay and Ockeghem, and who preceded all of them. However, for a recording which consists of pieces the majority of which last less than five minutes, the selection of material is crucial. This is accomplished well, with a mixture of motets, lais, ballades, rondeaux and virelais. Just as crucial is the programming. Machaut’s mass is for four voices, but all of these mainly secular works are in the thinner gruel of one, two or three parts, so monotony has to be avoided. And it is, with works for differing vocal resources (number of parts, or scoring) adjacent to one another for the most part; when two works for similar vocal resources are placed side by side – such as the intense virelai Moult sui de bonne heure nee beside the agitated ballade Ne pensez pas – the nature of the works themselves provide the variety. The disc includes the famous Ma fin est mon commencement but the fulcrum of the record is the juxtaposing of the substantial and striking lai En demantant et lamentant which runs for nearly eighteen minutes, with the driven, fretful ballade Mes esperis se combat which itself takes nearly seven minutes.

The performances are outstanding. Individual members of the Consort have voices sufficiently good to carry off the solo items, yet they blend well, while rendering each line and Machaut’s delightful rhythms clearly. For example, the way the two voices round off Moult sui de bonne heure nee is exquisite. And there are no obtrusive instruments! Anyone seeking a reliable introduction to Machaut’s music, or seeking to expand their knowledge of it, can be confident of ample rewards in this fine recording.

Richard Turbet

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Recording

Organic Creatures

Medieval organs composed – Decomposed – Recomposed
Catalina Vicens
Timings not available (2 CDs)
Consouling Sounds SOUL0139

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Catalina Vicens sets out in these two CDs to produce something rather different from the usual early keyboard recording. She avoids the small amount of surviving keyboard repertoire and, instead, gives us a selection of early vocal music from Hildegard of Bingen to Henry VIII, passing through some Notre Dame Organum, the Italian Ars Nova, John Dunstable and Heinrich Isaac. This is supplemented by a range of contemporary music by Prach Boondiskulchok, Carson Cooman, Ivan Moody, Olli Vitaperko and Vicens herself. She uses a number of modern copies of small Medieval organs by Winold van de Putten and others, as well as two historic instruments: that in the Andreaskirche in Ostönnen from c. 1425 (reckoned to be the oldest still playable) and the other from 1531 in the Krewerd’s Mariakerk. The sounds she produces are equally not always those which might be expected: the organ pipes can resemble Japanese flutes, panpipes or foghorns, with flutter-tonguing and lots of drones. Other noises sometimes intrude and have deliberately not been edited out. The most experimental pieces are the two by Boondiskulchok and that by Moody, which produce some fascinating sounds. Vicens’ own music generally lies closer to early models, though with some experimental resonances too. Overall, there is an affinity between the Medieval and contemporary tracks which allows a seamless movement between them, making the whole production something of an extended meditation with a strong sense of improvisation. It has grown on me and is certainly a worthwhile undertaking, with excellent recording quality. My only gripe is with the lack of information about instruments and music in the beautifully designed booklet – or on the website to which the listener is directed. We don’t even get timings for the tracks which vary considerably in length. The musicologist in me wished for more details but perhaps the recording is aimed at a different kind of audience!

Noel O’Regan

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Recording

Circle Line

Lautten Compagney, Wolfgang Katschner
75:09
deutsche harmonia mundi 1 90759 43102 3

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Philip Glass’s Train to São Paolo gets this recording off to a pounding start, followed by the equally stirring Gloria ad modum tubae by Guillaume Dufay. The similarities in construction between the two pieces are brought out in the instrumentation – there are no voices used in the Dufay – and this CD sets out to display how the use of rhythmic and melodic repetition is a common factor to both composing traditions, even if separated by more than five hundred years. The Glass contributions come mainly from two films, Powaqqatsi and Naqoyqatsi; other tracks are by fellow minimalists Steve Reich, John Cage, Meredith Monk and Peter Bauer, while Dufay stands alone. It is imaginative programming which, at times, groups pieces from one tradition together while, at others, alternates them. Some tracks move directly from one composer to the other: the most successful of these moves seamlessly and cleverly from Steve Reich’s clapping music (played here on instruments, including a Jew’s Harp) to Dufay’s chanson Se la face ay pale – and back – keeping a constant ostinato rhythm. While one does miss the words in the Dufay tracks and the greater flexibility usually practised by singers, there was a habit of instrumental substitution in this music and these imaginative transcriptions allow the listener to concentrate on the recurring patterns and on the counterpoint. The Circle Line of the title is exemplified by repeating the opening two tracks at the end, in reverse order, so that the CD starts and ends with a train. This is the second recorded foray into minimalism by the Lautten Compagney, founded in 1984 in the former East Berlin, who have otherwise generally specialised in Baroque music. Playing and recording are excellent and this disc has grown on me with repeated hearing. I can certainly recommend listening to it.

Noel O’Regan

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Recording

Cor Europae

Christmas in mediaeval Prague
Tiburtina Ensemble, Barbora Kabátková
60:14
Ricercar RIC410

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This CD, a compilation of vocal music for the Feast of the Nativity as it would have been celebrated in mediaeval Prague, alternates unison plainchant, organa and tropes from the libraries of Prague Cathedral and the Benedictine convent of Prague Castle. This may sound a little bit heavy going for the general listener, but believe me: the singing by the four female voices of the Tiburtina Ensemble is so exquisite that this is an hour of sheer delight. The perfection of their blend, balance, tuning and unanimity of movement recall the American ensemble Anonymous 4, but if anything the singing here is more impressive. The sometimes wayward lines of the 12th-century Czech organa are negotiated with breathtaking ease, and there is an unerring musicality both about the ensemble and the solo singing. On various visits over the years to the beautiful city of Prague, I have been impressed by the quality of Medieval and Renaissance instrumental concerts, often in stunning settings, and it is good to hear from this atmospheric CD that the state of early vocal performance is equally or even more advanced. This is some of the most persuasive and simply beautiful singing that I have heard recently. Invidious then to pick out particular highlights, but the organum settings of readings are intriguing and the concluding four-part motet simply beguiling. Highly recommended.

D. James Ross