This disc of late 14th
century French polyphony from the mediaeval
trio, Trefoil, is both an enjoyable
and a scholarly production. Rather than
turning to modern transcriptions, the
group worked out the music from the
actual mediaeval manuscripts, finding
enlightenment and clarification in so
doing. The pieces are certainly tremendously
atmospheric and, together with the texts,
give a good insight into that particular
period.
The "monsters"
in the rather fascinating title come
from the frequent literary allusions
and symbolic references to animals in
texts set by the troubadours. Here,
we have reference to the basilisk (in
the opening song, Le Basile,
where the creature’s ungainly fleshly
bulk is depicted by the syncopation
and rhythmic irregularities of the music),
a unicorn (in the beautiful song for
solo countertenor Ausi comme unicorne
sui), lion (Ung lion say),
and Phyton (Phiton, beste tres venimeuse
and Phyton le merveilleus serpent).
The "maze"
is a reference to the labyrinthine ways
and melodic lines of the songs. It is
also a nod to the pieces entitled En
la maison Daedalus – Daedalus, of
course, being the architect of the maze
that was home to the Minotaur. In these
songs, the music itself becomes a labyrinth
through canons. Other musical mazes
occur in the instrumental Tout par
compass, where a third melodic line
accompanies the other two as they encounter
and extract themselves from the mathematical
obstacles the music provides, and in
Le harpe de melodie, where the
voices chase each other through another
maze.
Finally, these songs
were composed and performed for nobles
and "masters", and many of
them contain mythological representations
of the nobles. For example, the "Febus"
(Phoebus) in Le Mont Aon represents
Count Gaston III of Foix. Gaston was
clearly a popular man – in Phiton,
beste tres venimeuse Phoebus or
Febus will overcome a dreadful beast,
and both Se Galaas and Se
July Cesar allude to him through
his notorious battle cry "Febus
avant!". In fact, the latter song
– for solo counter-tenor, with the other
two voices rather charmingly coming
in for the battle cry - also likens
Count Gaston, amongst others, to King
Arthur, Lancelot, Tristan, Julius Caesar
and King Sigismund!
The composers featured
on the disc range from the well-known
- Guillaume de Machaut, for instance
- through to little known and anonymous
composers. The disc also includes an
intabulation by Mark Rimple (En la
maison Daedalus) after the ensuing
song.
The three voices –
one soprano (Marcia Young), two counter-tenors
(Drew Minter and Mark Rimple) - work
well together. Perfectly integrated,
they offer great clarity of phrase in
the beautiful interweaving lines. The
same three are the instrumentalists
(lute, harp and cythara anglica) for
the non-vocal works. Marcia Young’s
voice is a little on the harsh side
on its own - as in En la maison Daedalus
and Phiton, beste tres venimeuse
– although it is a little sweeter in
Fortz chausa. I rather prefer
it tempered by the counter-tenors as
in Le Basile and Se Galaas.
The counter-tenors are both excellent.
This is a delightful
disc – well presented with good, clear
notes, and contains some beautiful and
entrancing works.
Em Marshall