At first it may seem
odd that Dante’s name is associated
with a musical recording; he was after
all a great poet not a composer of music.
However there is indeed a reason that
Sequentia selected his name to associate
this collection of medieval songs, written
in Old Occitan (one of the languages
of Medieval France) 50-150 years before
he was even born. Dante selected these
men, and indeed these particular works,
as outstanding examples of non-Latin
poetry in his own work De Vulgari
Eloquentia, and it is largely through
his work that these pieces have survived.
The music is thus performed
in what is considered today to be the
style of the originals. As we have no
sound recordings or extant period instruments,
and even have difficulty attaching rhythm
to the notated music, this is obviously
a best-guess based on what is known
from art and textual descriptions. Therefore
the musical interpretation, in comparison
to the original, is obviously somewhat
approximate. This has the advantage
of allowing the performers to satisfy
their own ears and make truly beautiful
music without fear of having historians
or those more interested in authenticity
than music try to "correct"
them. That is not to say that there
are not experts in the reinvigoration
of these ancient melodies, among which
Sequentia ranks alongside groups such
as the Chieftains. Their result on this
album is an unqualified success. This
is an album filled with very pretty
melodies hearkening to a long past era
quite unlike most music one would hear
today, yet familiar enough to draw the
listener into the musical experience.
Many of the works are
a cappella, performed by a single soloist
and accentuated only by the acoustic
reverb of the Medieval Abbey which housed
these recordings. There is one instrumental
piece, apparently improvised around
the melodies of Folquet de Marseilla
(ca. 1155-1231) by the three instrumentalists.
The remaining pieces are accompanied
by one or two "fiddles" and/or
harp. The song form employed is timeless,
and although these songs were composed
800 years ago, they will seem familiar
to a modern ear. The rhythms may well
remind one of Irish folk music, perhaps
with a more intricate, layered metric
form.
There are times when
the composer may have become a bit long-winded,
as many of these songs do stretch beyond
ten minutes in length. Although the
poetic form employed allows for a substantive
variety intrinsic to a single verse,
actively listening to each individual
song does occasionally become difficult.
On the other hand, it is evident that
the original composers of these pieces
did intend for these works to go on
at length, as they tell stories of courtly
love, angst, and the beauty of life
itself. Editing of these texts would
have been difficult to justify, and
on the whole the length does not produce
tedium, but merely induces a more passive,
relaxed enjoyment of the music.
It would be difficult
not to consider this to be a very good
album of very early music, as it has
much to recommend it highly. It should
appeal broadly as incidental background
music when one wants something not distracting,
yet distinctive. Its other audience
will be fans of Renaissance or Medieval
music or those who enjoy traditional
folk material.
Patrick Gary
Barbara Thornton – voice 