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I don't
really relish the idea of listening to an entire CD of serene but
monotonous Gregorian Chant. In addition, I tend to leave the motets
and masses of the core Renaissance period (very approximately: about
1450-1600) to those moments when I want something (more) polyphonically
intense. So if like me, you like the idea of having something more
interesting than Gregorian monophony, but retaining its faraway
tranquility, this marvellous journey through "The Age of Cathedrals"
is a great one-stop answer.
This disc represents the musical monuments of the Notre Dame Cathedral
in Paris and other works from the Abbey of St. Martial. One difference
between the two, as the notes point out, is that the music of the
latter remains anonymous, being collective contributions from a
medieval monastery; while the composers and church leaders of the
Notre Dame are among Europe's oldest known composers. Adam of St.
Victor (died c.1140) and Albertus (d.1177) were both cantors at
this great Gothic cathedral. Philip was chancellor of Notre Dame
from 1218 to 1236, and is also known as one of France's greatest
theologians and moralists. He contributes in this collection the
admonishing Ve mundo (6: "Woe to the world". Left
- a page from the manuscript), delivered intently by the soloist.
Both
Léonin and Pérotin (Leoninus and Perotinus in Latin) are among the
most important contributors to the music of the period, of which
the Magnus Liber collection is the legacy. (For more information,
take a look at the "Music of the Gothic Era"
review.) Léonin's Propter veritatem (10: "Because
of your rectitude") demonstrates the richness with which they brought
to the new era of music, with its quickly flowing, rhapsodic lines.
The
same may be heard in the following Orienti oriens
(11:"Rising from the east") from St. Martial and the opening of
Virgo flagellatur from the school of Pérotin (12:"The
virgin is scourged" - but of course saved). The Benedicamus
Domino of the School of Pérotin (15) is even more surprising,
with many delightful touches of rhythm and dynamic. Pérotin's 4-part
Mors only uses the word "death", but the music develops
richly into a lively display of counterpoint.
The
music serves a range of purposes in the church, such as in religious
festivals, services, music to accompany readings of the Scripture
and in praise of the Virgin. But for me, this is music of wondrous,
mysterious beauty. From the opening of the first track, you can
practically see the shimmering light magically filling the cathedral
interior, glittering in its great unknowability. The lower voices
of the Theatre of Voices create a profoundly deep foundation whereupon
the upper voices intone their lines, singing everything with majestic
uniformity, but not monotony. This is the Resonemus hoc natali
(1: "At this birth let us sing out"), and the same attributes also
grace the hypnotic In hoc anni circulo (3: "In this
turning of the year").
Both
these and the Benedicamus Domino-Humane prolis (7:
"Let us praise the Lord") are among the most impressive works on
the record. The music is soul-stirringly powerful, yet completely
relaxed. There is a poetically understated way how the music, such
as that of Lilium floruit (9: "A lily has blossomed"
- a reference to the Virgin), remains wondrously calm even when
singing of hastening or bursting action.
On
this record, the Theatre of Voices, which is based in San Francisco,
numbers eight. It was begun in 1990 by Paul Hillier, and sings both
Early Music as well as contemporary compositions, notably that of
Estonian Arvo Pärt. "The Age of Cathedrals" was recorded in a gorgeous
church acoustic. Wedded to the naturally flowing and tonally unified
voices of the singers, this imbues the sound with a magical atmosphere
that does wonders to the music.
This is so even though some of the music is sermon-like, uttered
like a recitation. Natus est Rex [2] thus recounts
the birth of Christ, which is also gently celebrated in Adam of
St. Victor's In natale (8: "At the birth"). His Templum
cordis is likewise simple, acting as a musical commentary
to and before the reading of the Gospel. Others are comparatively
brighter pieces such as the rather surprising swaying rhythm of
Albertus's Congaudeant catholici (4: "Let the catholic
people rejoice") or the anonymous De monte (5:"From
out of the mountain"), almost dance-like in a dreamy sort of way.
The
longest work on the disc is the Beata viscera (16:
"Blessed flesh") of Pérotin. Here, the Theatre of Voices return
to the rapt mysteries of the opening music. As the soloist meditates
on the Virgin in sublime concentration, the hushed and unbroken
drone of the accompaniment draws a great expanse of cosmic sound;
the music flows like liquid light, smoother than water, more shimmering
than light. The eight centuries of time flow completely into one's
being, bringing the listener back into a world we can never truly
know, which may yet hold keys to humanity's musical future.
Because
his sleep cycle is severely displaced, CHIA
HAN-LEON is not aversed to eating rice in the morning and having
cereal for supper. Good morning.
001:
8.2.98; up.10.5.98 ©Chia Han-Leon
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