Customer Reviews

El Cant De La Sibil-La

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Horror, destruction, flames, judgement, and terror. A listener would never guess from the slow beautiful music that "The Song of the Sibyl" shouts out a warning to the people about the earth's last days:

From heaven a great fire shall descend

with a sulphorous stench,

the earth shall burn with fury

and the people with terror blench.

The singing that accompanies these lines pours passionately off the vocal cords of Montserrat Figueras. The melody bursts with longing and pain, but never terror. Perhaps a plea for mercy or forgiveness inspired these melodies, and explains the meditative, painfully sorrowful mood that pervades the music. The minimalistic accompaniment (by Jordi Savall and crew) heightens the feeling by punctuating voila riffs between the vocal passages. A stunning effect results that stands up to listen after listen. Repeated listenings actually bring out nuances buried in the notes. Knowing the meaning of what Figueras sings adds yet another dimension and also provides this piece some historical context.

Christianity shed certain parts of its pagan past slowly. The character of the Sibyl provides only one of many examples. A mainstay of Christmas Mass for centuries, the church banned the act in the 16th century, as the CD booklet explains, because of "the problems arising from the performances of the Sibyl, which are offensive to our Lord God." Somehow the song survived in parts of Mallorca (a Spanish island south of Barcelona) and to the present day the Sibyl sings there during Midnight Mass on Christmas.

The character of the Sibyl traces back at least to Greek mythology. Often playing the role of a prophetess, as Heraclitus said in the 5th Century BCE, she "...reaches to a thousand years with her voice by the aid of the god." She sometimes took the form of a mermaid or a fish. Even Norse mythology has a "Song of the Sibyl". Under Christianity the Sibyl became the prophetess of judgement day. The CD book exposes the pagan roots of the song when describing the Sibyl costume worn in the 15th or 16th century by a young boy: "...his costume included a pair of gloves, a suit, a wig and a hairy tail which gave him the appearance of a mermaid." Like many early performances, young boys played the female parts (Savall and Company help to correct this by having a woman sing the part of the Sibyl on this CD).

This Cd contains two versions of the Apocalyptic song. One from Mallorca and one from Valencia (the CD book explains the separate but similar origins). The Mallorcan version beats along slowly and meditatively with Montserrat Figueras' amazing voice and vocal technique. A few sparse instrumental accompaniments follow along, and a small chorus joins in now and then for the imporant lyrical leitmotif. The Valencian version picks up the pace a little by starting and ending with horn fanfares. Male voices provide the chorus in this version, and Figueras sings just as beautifully.

Together these pieces give the listener a good idea of what the Song of the Sibyl was all about. Both are amazing works, likely made more amazing for modern listeners by the always incredible La Capella Reial De Catalunya. This CD somehow reaches incredible musical, religious, and historical depths all at once. Definitely not an accomplishment to sniff at.

Two realisations of the chant, of which the first is worth the price of admission by itself. Whether or not the purists would approve, this is a stunningly beautiful record. I took it down to our old stone cottage in Northern Cyprus (all stone archways and cool terraces) and nothing could have been more appropriate. I bought it after hearing a two minute extract on Radio 3 (and, BTW, the presenter was enthusing - good 'Gramophone' review too). You should buy it also.One of the finds of the year. If, for instance, you like Anonymous4, you'll love it. And, like all the Allia Vox titles, it is superbly packaged.

This is one of the most beautiful CDs I've ever heard. These are two long, somber pieces, both based on the same basic melody and text. Montserrat Figueras has the perfect voice for this music - clear, pure, but impassioned and powerful. Both obbligato instrumentalists are at their best, in particular Jordi Savall, who is always a treat to listen to. The choir is extremely fine as well, in particular the basses, whose voices soar during a recurring section of the Valencian Sibyl. This might not be a particularly historically accurate version of these two works, and the extent to which they were written by Jordi Savall and not Anonymous Monk is not clear from the detailed though sometimes difficult program notes. Regardless, this is a CD that has spent more time in my player than perhaps any other.

But it is very atmospheric.

OK, consider this - you're locked in a shadowy little stone church with some ripe peasants, feeling quite happy that the air is heavy with the smoke of incense, and then someone wearing a fish tail and gloves (really) leads a procession down the chancel steps and around the knave while an ancient bell is being clonked in the background. Some heavenly harmonies with a strong female voice flitting in and out begin to swell. ( Look, I only skimmed the stuff in the liner, but then I'm not interested in the religeous significance of the piece, just the enjoyment I get from it.)

What you get here are two long meandering devotional pieces (experiences seems a better description) from the 15th-16th centuries which with their dreamy flowing vocals seem to transport you back in time. I didn't get an epiphany out of this, but is very soothing for the soul in some way.

I'm not sure I have anything more except cliches, but you just have to let this 'flow over you' and 'go with the flow' or something. Even people for whom this is clearly not their kind of thing have said this disc is 'very striking'. However good it is, it clearly isn't everyone's taste.

A lovely performance of very interesting music. The Song of the Sybil is liturgical piece featuring a prophecy about the Christian Apocalypse. Apparently once performed widely in Catholic Europe, it fell out of favor during the Counter-Reformation. It apparently persisted in Mallorca as an annual Christmas tradition, where it continues to be performed annually. This performance is a reconstruction of versions performed in 15th and 16th century Mallorca and Valencia. The soloist, Montserrat Figueras, the chorus, and the instrumentalists, led by the outstanding Jordi Savall, are all excellent. This is powerful and haunting music.

The sibyls were first mentioned by Heraclitus in the 6th century before Christ. They were wise women who inhabited shrines, temples and caves who were blessed by the gods with the gift of phophecy.

The early church acknowledge these women and appropriated some of their music. If you can ignore the imposed Christian lyrics, you can be transported to an ancient world and the brilliant voice of Montserrat Figueras does the music justice. Love

It.

Denise Clark.

I am by no means an expert on classical music, but I know what I like. El Cant De La Sibil is a personal favorite in my fairly extensive "early music" collection.
The two pieces are different "realizations" of the same "work," separated by a century and a half. The tune is basically the same; the dialect and the verses are somewhat different.
At first listen the pieces might seem "repetetive." The choir sings a verse and is answered each time by the soloist (Figueras) who sings an unchanging response -- "On Judgment Day those who serve shall be repaid." However, both the choir and the soloist make their parts sound at times plaintive, then certain, questioning, resigned, hopeful, etc. This is especially true of Figueras, the soloist. In fact, the more you listen to it the more you pick up on the differences of the mood and the better it sounds.
Even if you are not into "early/renaissance music" per se, I would not hesitate to purchase this disc. There are some truly beautiful harmonies and expressions here which deserve to be appreciated on their own.

I have the earlier Cant de la Sibil by Hesperion XX and I really enjoy it -- all three versions. Not sure why I purchased this one, but am I ever glad that I did. The first Sybil on this CD is mostly a female choir accompanied by agitated strings. Very moving. The second Sybil is more of a surprise: an interesting variation on the 'usual' fanfare, the same impassioned performance by Montserrat, but some surprising instrumental interludes which caught me by surprise. Sorry, I'm not giving the full story here. Some things should be experienced fresh. Let me just add that the choir is a mixed male and female ensemble and the harmonies are magical.

I have to wonder if five sybils are enough... I just found another one! Dare I? ;-)