Ce Diabolic Chant: Ballades, Rondeaus & Virelais of the late fourteenth century_音乐专辑
Ce Diabolic Chant: Ballades, Rondeaus & Virelais of the late fourteenth century
表演者: The Medieval Ensemble of London/Peter Davies/Timothy Davies
介质: Audio CD
发行时间: 2007-11-13
唱片数: 1
出版者: L'oiseau-Lyre
条形码: 0028947591191
专辑简介
In the history of western music, the works of the late Medieval period are among the most foreign-sounding to modern ears -- they can delight those who love musical novelty, but can seem just plain odd to listeners who are most at home in the Baroque/Classical/Romantic repertoire. The music often has a strong but irregular or shifting pulse, with what feels like dropped or extra beats; an exaggeratedly melismatic style of text setting, in which a single syllable can be stretched over what seems like pages; an angular style of counterpoint, in which the voices may appear to have little logic in their relationships; and harmonies that operate on principles that might have come from a distant culture, if not another planet. Welcome to the world of the ars subtilior, the musical avant-garde of the late fourteenth century.
This recording, made in 1982 by the Medieval Ensemble of London, led by Peter and Timothy Davies, is historic because it was the first to apply the principles of the historical performance movement to this repertoire, and it includes the complete works of five of the most significant French composers of the period. The vocal ensemble performs some of the ballades, rondeaux, and virelais a cappella, and some accompanied by a small instrumental ensemble. (Most recent research has determined that all of these pieces are appropriate to be sung unaccompanied.) The group sings with purity and precision, gives the oddly metered music the punch it needs to make a full impact, and doesn't shy away from its contrapuntal and harmonic eccentricities. The music is so engagingly original, and it's performed with such spark and high energy, that this CD should appeal to adventurous listeners who enjoy being challenged by music from off the beaten path.
Stephen Eddins(http://music.barnesa
The year in which this CD was first issued, (by Decca), 1983, is significant. It comes towards the end of the major contribution which The Medieval Ensemble of London made to the early music movement in the 1970's and early 80's: they disbanded in 1985. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, such first practitioners of the "revival" in the 1960's and 70's as the New York Pro Musica and Capella Antiqua of Munich had assumed that medieval song was accompanied by instruments. A generation into the serious research and more rigorous performance practice which also necessarily followed, specialists like Christopher Page and Gothic Voices cast substantial (and for the moment near decisive) doubt on that assumption. They quickly evolved a tradition of unaccompanied song with which such groups as The Medieval Ensemble of London were clearly at odds. Indeed, Peter Davies (brother of co-director Timothy) once commented that if there were to be no instruments, he could hardly perform the music!
So Ce Diabolic Chant is of particular musicological interest. It presents one view of how French secular music of the late fourteenth century may have sounded. The fact that such a view – that the part(s) notated without text implied instrumental accompaniment – is now eclipsed does not mean that this is not an immensely enjoyable and valuable collection of music. Indeed, The Medieval Ensemble of London produced nine such top flight recordings for Decca/L'Oiseau-Lyre at that time. Every one is a gem; it's good to have them available again.
Located at that time in the evolution of western song when the simpler style of the Ars Nova and Machaut (outstanding recordings of whose music were also produced by The Medieval Ensemble of London then) gave way to a more intricate and refined style, the Ars Subtilior, the ballades, rondeaux and virelais are found only in a small number of extant manuscripts. They were obviously intended for a highly cultured audience which must have been appreciative of nuance, subtlety and refinement. In some ways it was an inward-looking corpus: Si con cy gist mon cuer en grief martire, [tr.12], for instance, is actually about how to perform that very ballade. And Guido's Or voit tout en aventure, [tr.8] expresses the sentiment that this new form (of music) is quite contrary to the practices of good art, and is not a good thing (!):
…novelle figure
…
Que s'est trestout en contraire
De bon art…
Certes, ce n'est pas bien fayt
Courtly love and sufferings of the heart are constant themes too. To be effective, the performances must be intense, fevered, almost. The judgement to be made is chiefly how evident should be the performers' awareness of the reflexive nature of the music. As perhaps it is in the case of playing music from the Second Viennese School. And then to make it more than a document; to arrive at a living recreation.
The Medieval Ensemble of London have it just right. They sing (and play) from sufficiently far "inside" the music as to be convincing: listen to the forward movement of Le Sault perilleux a l'aventure prins [tr.13], for example; what we hear are the poet's concerns and fears. At the same time, the lightness of vocal touch (not every piece here has instrumental accompaniment, in fact) and perceptible fluidity in articulation convey a liveliness that can only emerge when one is familiar enough with the music to step outside it too.
Technically the music of the Ars Subtilior is often very demanding, complex and forward thinking. The Davies' forces are very much up to this, of course. Never a falter or wrong turning, although at times (in En Albion de fluns environee, [tr.15], for example) it's easy to see why instrumental accompaniment fell into disfavor as early music practice matured. The sheer brilliance of The Medieval Ensemble of London's members is nicely evident in every piece here, though never ostentatious. Quite a legacy.
The composers whose works specialists and non-specialists of early French song alike will surely enjoy on this hour's worth of music constitute a representative collection of the relatively short-lived Ars Subtilior movement. And a profitable way to approach this enjoyment is an acceptance that we shall probably not know for sure just how it sounded – and almost certainly sounded differently from performance to performance. And that it's the essence of highly charged yet restrained self-expression with a good dose of detachment that should be sought. The performances on this CD go a long way to exposing that essence. Unselfconsciously and with great professionalism.
There's a useful introductory essay and the texts in the original French and English; the acoustic is clean, clear if a little close. As a historical document – and more – Ce Diabolic Chant (which title could well include a mistranscription of "chaut", so the complaint is of the heat, not the music) makes a very worthwhile addition to your collection of music from this amazingly fertile, yet still poorly understood, period.
Copyright ? 2009, Mark Sealey. (http://www.classical
曲目
Johannes Suzoy: (fl. c.1380)
Prophilias, un des nobles de Roume
A l'arbre sec puis estre comparé
Pictagoras, Jabol et Orpheüs
Jacob de Senleches: (fl. 1382-1383)
Je me merveil/J'ay pluseurs fois
En ce gracieux temps joli
Fuions de ci, fuions, povre compaigne
Le Harpe de melodie
En attendant esperance conforte
Tel me voit et me regarde
Guido: (fl. 1372-1374)
Dieux gart qui bien le chantera
Or voit tout en aventure
Johannes Olivier: (fl. late 14th century)
Si con cy gist mon cuer en grief martire
Johennes Galiot: (fl. 1380-1395)
Le Sault perilleux a l'aventure prins
En attendant d'avoir la douce vie
Anonymous: (late 14th century)
En Albion de fluns environee
Se j'ay perdu toute ma part
