Medieval Cue

The Arcana recordings by the Italian ensemble La Reverdie approach, in their esoteric beauty, the medieval recordings by the American quartet Anonymous 4. There are, however, great differences. The La Reverdie recordings are not only based on minute scientific research but also on philosophical concepts, these usually being explained in the form of heady intellectual essays printed in the accompanying booklets in four languages. The music itself is eclectic, being carefully selected from manuscripts held in European university libraries.

St. Francis urged his followers to "go through the world preaching and praising God, … first one of them who knew how to preach should preach to the people and that after the sermon they were to sing the praises of God [[i]laudes domini] as minstrels of the Lord [[i]joculatores Dei]". This little Franciscan vignette conveys the new world of religious thought and feeling that would transform western religious practice in the burgeoning cities of medieval Europe: an active ministry that embraced the secular realm of urban laity, a vigorous new preaching style characterized by spontaneity and directness of expression, and an affective devotional environment that melded sermon, prayer, and song. The fate of this Franciscan legacy in the following centuries as it was adapted, extended, refined, reformed, institutionalized, and appropriated by clergy, laity, and other mendicant orders, is traced in the great textual and musical variety of the works included on this disk.

"In the six years since this female quartet astonished the music world with its clear- voiced, impeccably sung renditions of medieval chant and polyphonic music, chant rose from the dark and dusty corners of classical music to enjoy a phenomenal run at center stage.New and reissued chant recordings achieved sales figures normally reserved for popular music. This is the recording that started it all (that Spanish monks disc came later), winning awards and earning near- permanent resident status on the national charts. Spiritually moving and vocally revelatory, this program recreates a kind of mass sung in English churches during the 13th and 14th centuries. With their warm tone and perfect intonation, these four singers achieve an expressiveness that is rare among chant interpreters, most effective in the seductive, highly ornamented 'Kyrie.' The sound is exemplary–although a studio recording, it perfectly conveys the atmosphere of an English cathedral."

David Vernier, Amazon.com

Schola Hungarica & Matthias Ank - Das Gänsebuch: German Medieval Chant (2005) {Naxos 8.557412}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 309 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 171 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 47 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2005 Naxos | 8.557412
Classical / Medieval / Renaissance / Organ / Sacred / Vocals

I admit it was the cover that got my attention–first, the title, referring to an 1120-page manuscript collection containing the only existing original copies of pre-Reformation liturgical music from Nuremburg; second, the illustration, an illumination from the collection that depicts a wolf directing a choir of geese singing from a large music book, a hungry-looking fox sitting on hind-quarters just behind the choir. Upon listening to the music, I was reassured that there was more to appreciate here than the intriguing, colorful illustration and charming title.

Hungaraton's Codex Sanblasianus: Medieval Mass for the Feast of the Annunciation is a rather mysterious entry for a number of reasons. One will look in vain for the title "Codex Sanblasianus" anywhere outside the context of this disc, and that raises a red flag as to exactly what manuscript János Mezei and the Schola Cantorum Budapestiensis is referring. It is British Museum Add. 27630, a South German manuscript from the second half of the fourteenth century.

Originally recorded in 1989, The Sacred Bridge contains a speculative program linking various genres of Christian and Jewish religious music, most of it medieval. The Boston Camerata continued to perform the program in various forms in subsequent years.

The feasts of Christmas were particularly rich in subject and imagery and gave rise to some of the most captivating music from medieval England, with joyous salutations to Mary and the Angel Gabriel, as well as more intimate songs of the nativity. The cult of Mary seems to have been as real as the courtly domna of the troubadours, and for English song-writers she stands supreme over the Christ-child and all the other figures of the Christmas story. The most detailed story-song in her honour is one of a group of songs celebrating Christmas feast days at Winchester College when, according to the College statutes, a fire would be lit in hall and the scholars and fellows would pass the evening with songs and other decent entertainments, with poems, chronicles of kings, and the marvels of this world. Lolay, lolay is the only monophonic song in the collection and is a lengthy lullaby in which the poet eavesdrops on a conversation between a young mother and her son. As it unfolds we realize their identities and hear about the mysteries of the Christmas story.