M22

The motets of Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377) are complicated works. Even casual listeners will notice that each of the three lines of music has its own text – one rapid and wordy, one moderate in speed, and one just a few words long. Musically they contain structural intricacies to which scholars devote pleasant lifetimes of research in old French libraries. Yet the interpretation of even music as arcane as this depends on the spirit of the age. Rationalists of earlier decades performed Machaut with rather harsh exactitude, seeking to clarify the subtle repetition schemes of Machaut's motets and polyphonic songs. But the Hilliard Ensemble, of the Self generation, focuses on Machaut as a creative figure with, to quote the liner notes, "a morbidly sensitive inner life."

Erik Grösch, Tom Brenneis and Uwe Ruppel share a long musical history, most notably with their progressive metal trio Annon Vin. They released "A New Gate“ in 1996, an album that was named by Rock Hard mag "among the 200 Prog-Metal records one should know". Christoph Metzendorf played keyboards in several bands and projects before, some of which also featured Erik, Tom and Uwe in various combinations. Searching for a creative outlet, he joined Tom and Uwe in a progressive rock band that ultimately would become Mynd…