Christmas in Medieval England
Blue Heron/Scott Metcalfe
rec. Live, 20-21 December 2013, First Church in Cambridge Congregational,
Cambridge, Mass., USA. DDD
BLUE HERON BHCD1006 [71:27]
From the first Sunday of Advent until the first Sunday of the New Year
many concerts with music for Advent and Christmas will take place across the
world. Every country has its own traditions and its own repertoire, but one
can be sure that several pieces of English origin will be included. English
carols are quite popular and many of them have been arranged in various
ways. The present disc also includes some carols, although not of the kind
which are performed in choral concerts.
One of the most familiar items opens the programme of this concert which
was recorded in December 2013. Veni, veni, Emanuel is better known
under the English title O come, o come Emmanuel. However, it is
probably not of English origin but from France. As it is from the 13th
century it is the oldest piece in the programme which is devoted to music
from the first half of the 15th century. It is also the only piece for
Advent. The next section is devoted to the Annunciation. Strictly speaking
that is not part of the Christmas season: the feast of the Annunciation -
the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would
conceive and become the mother of Jesus - is celebrated on 25 March.
However, as Scott Metcalfe observes in his liner-notes, "the miracle is
remembered and celebrated at the Christmas season" and that justifies
the inclusion of pieces connected to the Annunciation. This section includes
one of the best-known pieces in the programme, the carol Ther is no rose
of swych vertu - in modern English: There is no rose of such virtue as
is the rose that bore Jesus.
Today the carols are ranked among the more 'popular' part of
the repertoire for Christmastide. However, as Metcalfe writes, they were not
written for amateurs: most such pieces are found in sources with repertoire
for professional singers and many include Latin texts mixed with phrases in
the vernacular. That said, musically they are not that complicated.
Polyphony is rare, they are mostly homophonic and strophic, and usually
include a refrain. Many are largely or completely written on texts in the
vernacular. The difference with the more sophisticated polyphony is
particularly well exposed in the 'Annunciation' section. The
carol Hayl Mary, ful of grace is preceded by Gaude virgo
salutata/Gaude virgo singilaris, a four-part motet by John Dustaple in
which the four voices all have their own text.
This motet is written for liturgical use and so are the mass sections
included in the programme. Strictly speaking they have little to do with
Christmastide, but Masses were obviously sung at every Sunday and feast day
throughout the liturgical year. It was also common practice to add new texts
to sections of the Mass, the so-called tropes. It is a little
disappointing that this is not practiced here. The last section - music for
Christmas Day - includes the Sanctus and Agnus Dei from
the anonymous Missa Veterem hominem. Metcalfe writes that its Kyrie
sets the trope Deus creator omnium which was sung on all principal
and major double feasts, like Christmas, in the Sarum rite. It is a little
odd, then, that this Kyrie is not performed here. The Sarum chant -
plainchant which has its origin in the medieval cathedral of Salisbury - is
also included in the programme: Veni redemptor gencium - the only
piece here for Christmas Eve - and Dominus dixit ad me. In these
pieces we hear the full ensemble with some phrases performed by a solo
voice.
In other items we usually hear members of Blue Heron in various
combinations. In the polyphonic pieces the upper parts are mostly taken by
Martin Near and Gerrod Pagenkopf, and this results in good ensemble as the
voices blend well. That is a bit different when the two female sopranos are
involved. They act as soloists in some pieces and use quite some vibrato.
That seems completely out of place in this kind of repertoire. It makes
Angelus ad virginem, sung here in combination with Gabriel fram
Heven-King, and Ther is no rose of swych vertu a little hard
to swallow. Fortunately they keep it in check in those polyphonic pieces in
which they participate. I also noted that the tempi are on the quiet side,
sometimes even pretty slow. That is another aspect which dampened by
enthusiasm. Moreover I find the acoustic rather unpleasantly dry: this music
would come out considerably better in a venue with a little more
reverberation.
The programme of this disc is certainly interesting and is a nice mixture
of more or less familiar pieces and little-known compositions. However,
there are just a couple of things which bother me and as a result I
didn't enjoy this as much as I had hoped.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
Contents
[Advent]
anon
Veni, veni, Emanuel [4:41]
[Annunciation]
anon
Angelus ad virginem & Gabriel fram Heven-King [7:26]
John DUNSTAPLE (c1390-1453)
Gaude virgo salutata/Gaude virgo singularis [4:52]
anon
Hayl Mary, ful of grace [5:03]
Leonel POWER (?-1445)
Gloria a 5 [3:38]
anon
Ther is no rose of swych vertu [3:49]
Leonel POWER
Ibo michi ad montem mirre [3:25]
[Christmas Eve]
Sarum plainchant
Veni redemptor gencium [3:14]
[Christmas Day]
Sarum plainchant
Dominus dixit ad me [2:13]
anon
Nowel: Owt of your slepe aryse [3:56]
PYCARD (fl c1410-1420)
Gloria a 3 [2:41]
anon
Ecce, quod natura [4:12]
Missa Veterem hominem:
Sanctus [7:04]
Ave rex angelorum [2:58]
Missa Veterem hominem:
Agnus Dei [6:39]
Nowel syng we bothe al and som [2:51]
anon, arr Scott Metcalfe
Nova, nova! Ave fit ex Eva [2:50]
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