Texte paru dans: / Appeared in: |
|
|
Outil de traduction ~ (Très approximatif) |
|
|
Reviewer: Charles
Brewer
The Gothic Voices have a long
and distinguished recording history, first with their founding director,
Christopher Page, who helped develop the vocal-only “English a cappella
heresy”. In its more recent incarnation, the ensemble has started to include
instrumentalists and expanded its repertoire to include new compositions,
such as the recent ‘Mary, Star of the Sea’, which combines medieval and
early renaissance English music with new compositions by Joanne Metcalf and
Andrew Smith (Jan/Feb 2017: 219). This new collection of songs and motets by
Guillaume Du Fay (as it is now often spelled), adds a fifth voice (Clare
Wilkinson, mz) to the core vocal quartet of Gothic Voices and four
instrumentalists: Jane Achtman (fiddle), Keith McGowan (douçaine [a soft
double-reed instrument] and shawm), Emily White (sackbut), and the versatile
Andrew Lawrence-King (harp, organ, and psaltery). The four motets (‘O sancte
Sebastiane’, ‘Salve flos Tuscae gentis’,‘Ecclesiae militantis’, and
‘Apostolo glorioso’) are given the “big-band” treatment—the instruments are
added when the lower voices (tenor and contratenor) enter with their
repeating rhythmic patterns. The French and Italian songs are given a
variety of treatments from the purely vocal (‘Vergene bella’ and ‘Mon bien
m’amour’) to various mixtures of voices and instruments (as in the
well-known ‘Resvellies vous’). In contrast to the earlier a cappella
interpretations by Gothic Voices, this mixing of arrangements makes for a
much more interesting recording. There is still the clarity and importance
of the words, which may account for why Ms White and her sackbut are only in
the motets and the final arrangement of Dufay’s New-Year’s chanson, ‘Ce jour
de l’an’, for the complete group. Added to the sonic variety of the
recording are instrumental arrangements of Dufay’s music, mostly from the
15th Century Buxheimer Orgelbuch, though each is also adapted to different
combinations of instruments. The decision to mix voices and instruments
brings Gothic Voices more into the
mainstream
of interpretation for this music, as was heard in a number of earlier
recordings of Dufay’s secular music (J/F 1997, J/A 2006, S/O 2006, M/J 2008,
J/A 2008). I will admit to a preference for vocal performances of the
motets, such as by Blue Heron (S/O 2007); but Gothic Voices still sets a
high standard for sensitive interpretations of this repertoire. | |
|
Support us financially by purchasing this disc from eiher one of these suppliers. 
FR - U.S. - UK
- CA - DE -
JA -
 Un achat via l'un ou l'autre des fournisseurs proposés contribue à défrayer les coûts d'exploitation de ce site. |
|
|
|
|
|
Cliquez l'un ou l'autre
bouton pour découvrir bien d'autres critiques de CD |
|
