Ttc Great Courses Power of Notre Dame Cathedral

Thirteenth-century troubador Gautier de Coincy's blend of mystical religious poetry and the popular tunes to which he set his poems proves irresistible, especially in the Harp Consort's lively renditions. Given the nature of the material, the sheer variety of rhythms, sounds, and colors on this disc is astounding; the vocal soloists are all excellent, the small chorus adept, captivating when it sings in the gutsy peasant style at appropriate moments. Eight purely instrumental numbers are sprinkled throughout the 20 tracks, each a gem, full of colorful effects from the rich-sounding shawm and other period instruments like bagpipe, vielle, and a variety of percussion instruments that thump and shimmer in ways that make you want to dance.

Notre-Dame de Paris was written in 1831 before Hugo was forced to flee from Louis Napoleon’s France. In this novel Hugo paints a vivid portrait of medieval Paris in which, Quasimodo, the one-eyed, hunchbacked refugee and Esmeralda, the dancing gypsy girl, threatened by the gallows, struggle to live in a world where chaos is in charge.