From diverse source
materials this disc explores the three
great Mediterranean cultures of the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries;
Christianity, Judaism and Islam. As
the notes remind us the three faiths
co-existed to varying degrees throughout
the period, from Andalusia to Byzantium.
The selection here is representative
of prayer and dance music of the time,
fragmentary and notated, or otherwise
preserved. For example the religious
fraternity of Umbria known as the Laudesi
wrote songs of praise, very few of which
have survived. One such however preserves
regional dialect (not Latin) and music
and records seem to demonstrate that
professional musicians accompanied the
singers. Secular music seems to have
thrived in pre-twelfth century Europe
in a way that has hitherto been glossed
over or disbelieved. The Red Book
of Montserrat for example, an important
collection of medieval music, shows
that Catalonian life saw singing and
dancing in devotional music in a way
that later centuries might not have
recognised. The poets and composers
of such secular material were themselves
invariably anonymous.
Few Jewish sources
exist though one, one of only two pieces
of extant notated Jewish medieval music,
is recorded here (track 10 - Keh
Moshe) and is a small though vital
contribution to Sephardic life in this
period. The Anatolian-born Yunus Emre
was a Turkish-speaking poet and he represents
the Sufic tradition with his popular
poetry.
This disc derives from
a concert given in Frankfurt. From the
applause that greets the last piece
it was recorded in front of a studio
audience in the Grosse Sendesaal, Hessischer
Rundfunk and possibly broadcast as well.
It’s performed by the international
musicians of the Oni Wytars Ensemble,
well versed in performance of medieval
and Renaissance music.
It’s difficult to correlate
the exact extent of the editing, reconstruction
and guesswork that must have gone into
these performances. But the plausibility
of the performances lies in their subsuming
of the scholarly to the practical and
in the living current of the performances,
both joyous and reflective. The various
traditions’s musics, whether intertwined
or separate, is brought to life here.
The Christian-Arabic traditions for
instance are explored in the Kyrie
eleison whilst elsewhere the strophic
verses over increasingly varied instrumental
accompaniment enliven the Fa mi cantar
l'amor di la beata. Lyric laments
contrasting with jubilatory stance in
Plangiamo quel crudel basciare and
solo melismas begin the Turkish thirteenth
century Ey Derviccsler. Instrumental
colour, percussive drama and rich and
fluid playing are features of these
invigorating performances.
The notes are authoritative
and pack in a lot of detail into less
than three pages – and I’m indebted
to them. I reviewed and enjoyed this
ensemble’s Carmina Burana for
Naxos and this latest disc no less.
Jonathan Woolf
see also
review by William Kreindler