Customer Reviews

Age of Cathedrals

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"IF YOU LIKE THE IDEA OF HAVING SOMETHING MORE INTERESTING THAN GREGORIAN MONOTONY, BUT RETAINING ITS FARAWAY TRANQUILITY, THIS MARVELOUS JOURNEY THROUGH 'THE AGE OF CATHEDRALS' IS A GREST ONE-STEP REVIEW."

This CD represents the musical monuments of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and other works from the Abbey of St. Martial. One difference between the two is that the music of the latter remains anonymous as they are contributions from a medieval monastery; while the composers from Notre Dame are among Europe's oldest known composers.

Both Leonin and Perotin are among the most important contributors to the music of this period, of which the 'Magnus Liber' collection is the legacy.Leonin (1160-1190) in fact composed organum and was the author of 'Magnum Liber' of organum. Leonin's 'Propter Veritatem' (Because of your rectitude) demonstrates the richness that they lend to the new era of music with its quickly flowing rhapsodic lines. Perotinus (fl.Paris, c 1200) revised the 'Magnus Liber' organum previously compiled by Leonin. The 'Benedicamus Domino' from Perotinus is quite surprising with its delightful rhythmic touches and varied dynamics. His four-part 'Mors' only uses the word 'death', but the music develops richly into a lively display of counterpoint.

The longest work on the disc is 'Beata Viscera' (Blessed flesh) by Perotinus/Philip the Chancellor. In this composition the Theatre of Voices returns to the rapt mysteries of the opening music. As the soloist meditates on the Virgin in sublime concentration, the hushed and unbroken drone of the accompaniment brings forth a great expanse of sound; the music flows lightly and smoothly and the centuries of time are absorbed completely by the listener.

This music served many purposes in the church, such as for religious festivals, to accompany Scripture readings and for praise of the Virgin. From the beginning of the first selection its wondrous and mysterious beauty surrounds the listener. The lower voices of the Theatre of Voices establish a deep foundation upon which the upper voices intone their lines, majestic but not monotonous.

On this 1995 recording made in St. Vincent's Church (great acoustics) in St. Rafael, Ca., Paul Hillier and his eight singers present voices that are naturally flowing and tonally unified creating a magical atmosphere that does great things for the performance.

'The Age of Cathedrals' by the Theature of Voices directed by porminant vocal director, Paul Hillier is a very good collection on Latin liturgical music written for the Paris Notre Dame cathedral.

As a layman when it comes to early music, I am simply reporting on how enjoyable I find this album compared to other recordings of early liturgical works. In general I find two weaknesses. First, it is done entirely with male voices and second, the collection of tracks do not constitute a full mass, but fragments of music for various festivals and monastic activities.

If you simply like some old music, I would suggest some of the albums by Sequentia which includes some instruments and some female voices. If you are a died in the wool liturgical wonk, you will love this album.