Customer Reviews

Extempore II

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Every "early music" performer has moments when she/he craves adventure into less "finished" compositional realms, and the chance to prove his/her skills equal to any alternate challenge in modernism, jazz, doo-wop or be-bop or what-have-you. The Hilliards sing Arvo Part and Gavin Bryars. Project Ars Nova collaborates with the Longey School of Music. Chanticleer sings gospel and tin pan alley. Why, I myself once wrote three movements of a "parody mass" based on Roy Rogers's themesong, Happy Trails to You. Try it yourself: sing kyrie eleison to that cowboy melody.

This "extemporare" session sounds like the four brilliant male singers of the incomparable Orlando Consort just plain got bored with producing the very best recordings of early music, from the tropes of Perotin to the madrigals of Cipriano, and went on a lark with homeys from different musical cribs. I seriously doubt that the CD faithfully reproduces that historic jam session. I think there's been some practicing, composing, and editing, and it's probably a good thing. What you'll hear on your home stereo is a duke's mixture of plainchant, isorhythmic motets, barbershop harmonies, salsa, scat, and ska. I refuse to pass judgement on the musical value of something so free and easy. I confess that the first few tracks struck me as frivolous, but then I relaxed, took up my cornetto and blew dat jive wid de rest o' dem boys.

Good fun, but listen to the samples, so you know what you're getting.