A Byzantine Emperor at King Henry’s Court: Christmas, 1400 London

This is a Christmas release like no other. And it's one of those albums that you can listen to any time of the year. 

In 1397, Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos hit the road. Constantinople had been under siege by the Ottoman Empire for six years. The King of Hungary's attempt to break the siege had failed, and Byzantia needed help. 

Manuel II went east, seeking aid from his fellow Christian monarchs. He made his case in Venice, Padua, Milan, the Vatican, and France. It was the French king who recommended he also visit Henry IV of England.

He did, arriving in 1400. The two monarchs celebrated the Christmas season together at Eltham Palace. They did many things together. But they worshipped separately, each to their own traditions. 

And that's what this album attempts to recreate. The Cappella Romana performs the Byzantine chants Manuel II heard in worship. And they reconstruct the polyphonic hymns Henry IV may have heard in his services. 

It's an album of contrasts, and fascinating ones at that -- Latin vs. Greek; polyphony vs. monody. The Cappella Romana does both equally well. And do so in the appropriate style for each tradition. 

When singing Henry's music, the ensemble has a clear, bell-like sound. For Magnus's music, they sound darker and a little gravelly. It's very well done.  The differences between Eastern and Western liturgical music are clear.

This is an album of great beauty and great serenity. Those are two qualities both the Latin and Eastern Orthodox hymns have in common. 

Recommended.  

A Byzantine Emperor at King Henry’s Court
Christmas 1400, London
Capella Romana; Alexander Lingas, director
Cappella Records

Machaut - Remede de Fortune new triumph for Blue Heron

What is "Remede de Fortune?" Nothing less than a multi-media work of art -- created in 1350. Guillaume de Machaut was one of the greatest poets of his time. And one of the greatest composers. 

But Remede is more than just a combination of Machaut's words and music. Machaut personally supervised the creation of an illuminated book. 

This illuminated text tells the story of a heartsick poet who blames Fortune for his, um, misfortune. Hope personified comes to his aid, leading him to the proper expression of love. 

The pages of the manuscript tell this story in rich detail. Music notation is embedded in the illustrations, as are poems. In order to fully experience Machaut's creation, patrons would look at the pages while the poetry was recited, the songs sung, and dances recreated by instrumental ensembles. 

So it's a media-rich graphic novel, created 650 years before the concept came into being. Oh - and at the end, the poet's gift to his love is his love poem,  "Remede de Fortune," making this meta as well. 

The early music vocal group Blue Heron staged a live performance of "Remede" with Les Délices. Their performance includes all the music contained in the story.  The narration was replaced with motets, songs, and dances of the period. 

It's a great performance and one that can be enjoyed on several levels. I first listened to the recording cold. The recording works as a pure listening experience. There's enough variety between the combination of instruments and voices to hold interest. 

Blue Heron is still one of the finest vocal ensembles around, and they didn't disappoint. The music was sung with pure, clear tones of incredible expressive beauty. Les Délices provided subtle accompaniment, supporting the vocalists without detracting from them. 

The release comes with the complete text for Remede (and thankfully English translation). It also includes several full-color reproductions of the artwork. So one could, as in Machaut's time, follow along with the text and art as the music played. 

It was an extraordinary work of art, and it's an extraordinary realization. Highly recommended.  

Rosa Das Rosas - Chominciamento di Gioia explore Christian symbolism

The subtitle for this release (in English) is "the symbol of the Rose in the Middle Ages." The flower was a major part of Christian symbolism, and thus for Christian-inspired music.

The thorns represented the sins of Man. The red petals of the rose symbolized the blood of Christ and the martyrs, shed in sacrifice. The spotless -- or thornless -- rose represented the Virgin Mary.

This collection presents those views with material that spans the Middle Ages. The ensemble performs works by Guillaume de Machaut, Hildegard von Bingen, and Chatelain de Coucy. Also included are selections from the Cantigas de Santa Maria, the Montpellier Codex, the Bamberg Codex and others.

The Ensemble Chominciamento di Gioia delivers committed performances. These are accurate musicological realizations and darned good music-making. The sopranos have a clear, crystalline sound that transports the listener to into the realm of Medieval mysticism. Instrumentalists perform with sensitivity. There's no harshness that so often is a part of early music performances.

This is a beautifully realized program. I highly recommend it -- especially to those who are just beginning to explore the Medieval repertoire.

Rosa das Rosas
Il Simbolo del la Rosa nel Medioveo
Chominciamento di Gioia 
III Millenio 144

Machaut: Songs from "Le Voir Dit" - Intimate music in an intimate performance

Machaut: Songs from Le Voir Dit 
The Orlando Consort
Hyperion

Machaut’s poem Le Voir Dit, written when he was in his sixties, recounts a love affair between himself and a young girl. Machaut included several pieces of music to help illustrate the text – a true multimedia medieval work of art.

This is spare, yet intimate music. Machaut was acknowledged to be one of the greatest poets and composers of his age – and that dual mastery is apparent. The 20-minute Le Lay De Bon Esperance, for example, is set for solo voice. Yet the text and music so perfectly match that the emotion of the poem is communicated even when the listener (such as myself) understands not a word.

The polyphonic songs, such as Se Pour Ce Muir, are textbook examples of ars nova. Macheaut uses isorhythms to develop each line independently. And yet all the voices work together, making the sound an organic whole that is as stark and beautiful as the Gothic architecture that inspired it.

The Orlando Consort is recorded with microphones closely placed. It’s a very clean record with virtually no ambiance. And in this case, that’s a good thing. Unlike Machaut’s religious works, meant to be sung in the resonant spaces of cathedrals, these songs are private messages to the reader of Le Voir Dit. Which is how the Orlando Consort performs them.