Reviewer: Robert
Maxham
Abridged version-:
"Savall's notes make it
clear that his intention was not so much to re-create a musical
performance of the time as to pay tribute to the jongleurs
in pieces that re-create ``a certain art of sounding the bow.''
The re-creations draw on what have become almost stereotypical
melodic and rhythmic figures of the music of the Islamic, Jewish,
and Christian cultures of the Middle Ages, periodically spiced, as
in the Danza del viento, with spiky rhythms that could
plausibly have originated in modern jazz improvisation.
Given its eclectic nature, this
collection is therefore a tribute as well to the adventurous
spirit of Jordi Savall himself, and each of the short pieces is so
vividly retouched that the question of authenticity seems
irrelevant. Like the best performances of more familiar literature
by exponents of the period-instrument movement, this exploration
of instrumental timbres is a successful experiment in combining
those timbres with various melodic and rhythmic figures. Even the
familiar dances, such as the second saltarello, respond to this
creative approach. But the program as a whole, varied and well
planned, is as interesting as the individual pieces of which it is
comprised.
While this anthology offers
exploration rather than explanation and hypotheses rather than
conclusions, it's a satisfying musical experience on its own terms
-- the only terms on which it is intended to be taken. For the
beauty of Savall's tone on each of the instruments he plays, for
the clarity and presence of the recording, and most of all for the
vibrant creative energy of the performance, this release comes
highly recommended."
