This triple CD box set is testimony, in part at least, to
the sterling work that Naxos have been doing over the last
decade not only for early music in general but for many
performers from all over the world who would otherwise
have remained little known to us. Several of them are represented
here and their work is astonishingly varied, often controversial
but always exciting and worth hearing. This is a compilation
box and it comes with all the frustrations and pleasures
you might expect. It is after all meant as a stimulus to
buyers to investigate the work of these groups. On the
other hand it could be seen by some purchasers as constituting
the early music section of their collection.
A wide range of styles are represented but with many gaps,
mostly in the area of very early music associated with
the flourishing heyday of the mysterious Knights Templar
from the late 11
th century to the late 14
th century.
The history of this organization is cleverly traced throughout
the individual booklets that go with each CD. Let’s take
them one by one although some of the pieces are interchangeable
and could have been placed on any of the discs.
Music for a Knight takes in 20 tracks ranging from Troubadour and Trouvère
songs to Hildegard of Bingen. You can also encounter examples
from the
Cantigas of Santa Maria compiled under
the auspices of King Alfonso the Wise of Spain as well
as some scurrilous songs from medieval Germany as drawn
from the
Carmina Burana manuscript.
My only gripe is that Naxos seems to think that the listener’s
concentration span is no more than about three minutes.
Although much medieval music is quite short where Naxos
have an opportunity for a long piece, say with Pérotin’s
great ‘
Viderunt Omnes’ they, unforgivably fade it
out despite the fact that there is clearly ample time left
on the disc for the complete work. Shame on you Naxos.
The performances are all excellent, vibrant and well chosen.
I have especially enjoyed the sheer bacchanalian joy radiating
from the
Carmina Burana pieces. These are performed
by the youthful Unicorn ensemble who really let their hair
down in an orgy of noise. More sober is the ethereal music
of Hildegard whose soaring melodies are lovingly tendered
by Jeremy Summerly’s Oxford Camerata. It seems odd that
we are left with one solo lute piece at the very end rather
out of place with the rest and never pursued on other discs.
It is sad that Shirley Rumsey is not heard a little more.
Music of the Church - was Hildegard and Perotin not music for the church? -
consists entirely of Gregorian chant. This is beautifully
and idiomatically sung, as you might expect, by the Nova
Schola Gregoriana. The pieces chosen dot around the liturgical
year in a dizzying array. For example track 5 is a Gradual ‘
Dirigatur’ using
words set for the nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (as
it is now calculated). That is followed by ‘
Domine,
Dominus Noster’ for the ninth Sunday after Pentecost.
The disc is sectioned into Introits, Graduals, Offertories,
Communion prayers etc. The CD booklet, states clearly which
Sunday or festive day each chant belongs to and what is
of interest. However as with the other two discs no texts
are supplied.
The third and final disc is entitled ‘
Music for the Mediterranean’.
If you have been to Malta or Cyprus - both islands owned
by the Templars - you may well have been to one or other
of the museums devoted to their history. So what music
did they encounter on their travels? This disc intends
to tell you. Of especial interest are the recordings of
traditional music and pieces from Turkey and Cyprus performed
by the Oni Wytars ensemble: very authentic, very ethnic.
It’s interesting to compare their approach to the sound
of the pieces on CD 1 from the court of Alfonso the Wise.
We know that the Crusaders brought back instruments from
the Middle East to Western Europe - the lute, the nackers,
the crumhorn. They also brought back performing styles:
things that might have reminded them of their travels.
That said, I found the Traditional Syrian 'Dinaresade'
(track 3) far too long at over thirteen minutes (compare
with the Perotin on CD1). The little pieces by Adam de
la Halle suddenly chucked in at the end of the disc (weighing
in at less than five minutes) are far too short to give
an accurate representation. Anyway I wonder to myself why
is de la Halle - the so called founder of opera with his ‘musical’
Le
Jeu de Robin et Marian - not represented on CD 1? Nevertheless
the CD does offer some rare and fascinating material which
helps to paint a much fuller picture of music in this particular
period, a picture which we in the West are often not a
party to.
Recordings are clear and have a suitable ambience. The presentation
of the box is attractive and well thought out except that
reading the titles and certainly the performer’s names
through the red print on the back of the cases needs a
very strong magnifying glass.
Gary Higginson
see also review by Brian Wilson
Full Track-List
CD 1 – Music for a Knight [65:34]
1. Walther
von der Vogelweide (1170-1230)
Palastinalied [03:07]
2. Richard
I “Coeur de Lion” (1157-1199)
Ja nuls homs pris [2:22]
3. Blondel de Nesle (1180–1200)
A l'entrant d'este que
li tens s'agence [4:07]
4. Alfonso
X (EL Sabio) (1221-1284)
Cantiga No. 60, "Entre
Av'e Eva" [2:19]
5. Anonymous
Chominciamento di gioia:
Saltarello No. 1 [2:35]
6. Anonymous
Carmina Burana: Clauso
Cronos [3:38]
7. Alfonso
X (EL Sabio) (1221-1284)
Cantiga No. 213, " Quen
serve Santa Maria" [5:42]
8. Anonymous
Carmina Burana: Axe Phebus aureo [5:48]
9. Anonymous
Carmina Burana: Katerine collaudemus [3:28]
10. Hildegard
of Bingen (1098-1179)
O pastor animarum [1:23]
11. Raimbaut
de Vaqueiras (1150–1207)
Kalenda maya [2:24]
12. Anonymous
Kyrie eleison (Ambrosian
Chant) [1:33]
13. Perotin (1180-1225)
Viderunt omnes: Notum fecit
[3:55]
14. Hildegard
of Bingen (1098-1179)
Kyrie eleison [4:27]
15. Anonymous
Vetus abit littera [2:23]
16. Hildegard
of Bingen (1098-1179)
Alleluia, O virga mediatrix
[3:33]
17. Anonymous
Estampie [2:34]
18. Anonymous
Lamento di Tristano: La
Rotta [4:30]
19. Anonymous
A la nana [3:11]
20. Anonymous
Guardame las vacas [2:16]
Estampie (1-3, 11, 17);
Ensemble Unicorn (4-7, 18); Oni Wytars Ensemble (8, 9);
Oxford Camerata/Jeremy Summerly (10, 14, 16); Manuela Schenale
(soprano) (12); Tonus Peregrinus (13, 15); Carmen Cano
(mezzo), Ensemble Accentus/Thomas Winner (19); Shirley
Rumsey (lute) (20)
CD 2 – Music of the
Church (All anonymous Gregorian Chant) [75:25]
Introitus
1. Adorate Deum [4:02]
2. Da pacem [4:33]
3. Dominus illumination
mea [5:45]
4. Laetetur cor [4:46]
Gradualia
5. Dirigatur [3:09]
6. Domine, Dominus noster
[3:22]
7. Iacta cogitatum tuum
[3:54]
8. Laetatus sum [3:14]
Versus Alleluiatiei
9. Adorabo [2:17]
10. De profundis [3:16]
11. Deus, iudex iustus
[2:51]
12. Laudate deum [1:49]
Offertorio
13. De Profundis [3:16]
14. Domine convertere [2:17]
15. Iubilate Deo universa
terra [7:45]
16. Iustitiae Domini [4:15]
Communiones
17. Circuibo [2:04]
18. Dicit Dominus [3:51]
19. Dominus firmamentum
meum [2:23]
20. Qui manducat [2:17]
21. Gustate et videte [3:29]
Nuova Schola Gregoriana/Alberto
Turco
CD 3 – Music of the
Mediterranean [67:24]
1. Anonymous
Bach, bene venies [5:58]
2. Anonymous
Tempus transit gelidum
[5:07]
3. Anonymous
Tempus est iocundum [5:58]
4. Traditional
Syrian
Dinaresade [13:50]
5. Traditional
Macedonian
Nevestinko oro [3:17]
6. Anonymous
German
Sei willekommen Herre Christ
[4:38]
7. Traditional
Croatian
Kod Bethlehema [1:43]
8. Traditional
Croatian
Koleda na Bozic [1:02]
9. Traditional
Turkish
Dudul [2:38]
10. Christian-Arabic
Tradition
Kyrie Eleison [3:17]
11. Christian-Arabic
Tradition
De la crudel morto de Cristo
[1:59]
12. Yunus
Emre (1241-1308)
Sallalahu ala Muhammed
[4:41]
13. Yunus
Emre (1241-1308)
Pesrev [1:28]
14. Yunus
Emre (1241-1308)
Ey, Dervisler [4:57]
15. Traditional
Jewish
Keh Moshe [1:46]
16. Adam
de la Halle (c.1245–c.1288)
Robin m’aime [3:01]
17. Adam
de la Halle (c.1245–c.1288)
Mout me fu grief li departir
[1:26]
Ensemble Oni Wytars (1-5,
7-9, 15); Ensemble Unicorn (6); Tonus Peregrinus (10-14,
16, 17)