Customer Reviews

A Lammas Ladymass: 13th and 14th Century English Chant and Polyphony

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This compilation of english chants from the 13th and 14th centuries in honour of Our Lady is really sublime, depicting an hipotethical Mass similar to those that could be sung in praise of God's Mother, in the afore-mentioned period.

Anonymous 4 sing beautifully, and where the male medieval chant is determined, decided, firm and strong in the affirmation of religious faith, the female chant, like this one I am reviewing now, is subtle, kind, sweet and tender, almost angelical, but without lose any efectiveness in the expression of that same religious faith.

It is an enormous pleasure to listen such a record, an authentic rest to the soul, and I obviously must recommend it.

Finally, a last word to eulogize the visual presentation of the record made by Harmonia Mundi: the booklet, as usual on that label, is wonderfully illustrated.

I don't understand a word of the lyrics but then music is so universal and this is no exception. I just love listening to it especially in the evening after a hard day's work and need to unwind. Very relaxing and with a good sound system puts you in another dimension.

The music on this disc comes from the tradition of special masses done in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a very popular figure in medieval Europe - in some languages, more than half the music that survives from this period was written dedicated to her. The Ladymass was often performed weekly, and in larger communities and cathedrals, daily, in the Lady Chapels.

The Anonymous 4 have arranged this disc around a mass sequence, using a Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus and Agnus dei. They have also incorporated other pieces - motets, an Alleluia setting, and other pieces such as the conductus (several voices declaiming the same text together), are incorporated to fill out the programme. These would not have been performed in this kind of sequence and number in a proper worship service, but most would have been appropriate in worship settings during a Ladymass.

For this disc, these pieces of polyphony and chant come from the English tradition. Thus, many things that on the continent might have been in polyphonic setting, the Anonymous 4 have simplified and set in conductus style, which was often the case in English churches.

The music here is beautiful, in full flower of the spirit of the composition, the subject, and the power of the Anonymous 4 to bring such music to life.


-- Liner Notes --
This text accompaniment to this disc is very full, so much so that the booklet is not contained within the jewel case, but rather within a slipcover in which both the CD/jewel case and the booklet reside. The liner notes include a description of the work, a brief piece about the quartet, and the lyrics of the songs both in original language and in translation - all repeated in English, German, and French sections. The cover art comes from 'Coronation of the Virgin' from a Book of Hours, from France and Belgium, circa 1480. There are other details from this book and from other manuscripts found in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, throughout this booklet.

-- Anonymous 4 --
Contrary to the implication of their name, the Anonymous 4 are not anonymous. This is a vocal quartet made up of Ruth Cunningham, Marsha Genensky, Susan Hellauer, and Johanna Rose at the time of this recording (Ruth Cunningham will later go on to a solo career early, and another member will join - Jacqueline Horner). They came together as a formal group in 1986, and have been ensemble-in-residence at St. Michael's Church in New York City, giving concert series in New York as well as throughout North America. They have been featured a number of times on national media in North America as well as Germany. They then went on to yet more success, eventually performing more that 1000 concerts worldwide.

Their specialty is working with chant, monophonic and polyphonic music, and working with medieval texts. According to one source, 'The group takes its name from an anonymous music theorist of the late 13th century, Anonymous IV, who is the principal source on the two famous composers of the Notre Dame school, Léonin and Pérotin.'

The group ended a touring career of nearly two decades in 2004.

Few pieces of music put you into such a state of relaxation after a hectic day. Sit back and just listen to thier awesome voices meld into one. Truly beautiful music.

Anonymous 4 presents a reviewer with a conumdrum. To always refer to an artist's work with superlatives tends to cheapen the praise, but how does one treat Anonymous 4 without resorting to superlatives?

A Lammas Ladymass marks another exploration of ground covered in their first recording, An English Ladymass, in its survey chant and polyphony of medieval England. As always, Anonymous 4 illumine the emotional resonance of the music while bringing astounding technical mastery to the performance. Four acapella voices, recorded in a large and pristine soundfield, with no place to hide.

Medieval choral music has enjoyed a resurgence-- one can hardly resist saying a renaissance--over the past 20 years, and the artistry of Anonymous 4 remains in the vanguard.

As a side note, listeners who consider themselves audiophiles will find A Lammas Ladymass a fine recording for evaluating the quality of their audio equipment. Harmonia Mundi's engineers have mastered the delicate art of capturing the ambient soundfield while Anonymous 4 sings in a large, reverberent space.

'a Lammas Ladymass' performed by Anonymous 4 is a special mass celebrating the ascencion of the Virgin Mary, typically celebrated, especially in medieval England, in early August.

This recording has all the usual sections of the Mass such as the Kyria, the Gloria, the Sanctus, and the Agnus dei, plus eighteen other parts I am less familiar with.

I am a very big fan of this group and I can listen to this for hours on end, and often do, but I suspect this particular recording is best bought if you are especially fond of the medieval mass, as it is just a bit less interesting than their works on secular motets and carols.

Nonetheless, this is a great recording, up to all the standards I hear in all their other recordings.

it was a wonderful gift and sound for my husband. we will enjoy it every holiday.

I heard excerpts from this album during the radio show "Talk Of The Nation" on NPR. The music I heard held me up through the rest of the day. I reccommend this album to anyone who needs the mystical strength of the human spirit. Wow.

This CD is pretty good, I don't understand a single word of the language it is being sung in and I still like the sound of it quite a bit. But it just starts to wear on me after awhile there's nothing all that stirring or powerful at any point in it. The Voices of Light album that was done for the Passion of Joan of Arc video seems to have a lot more power and emotion in it. Still I have to admire any group that can awaken such a renewed look at such old music and can truly make people realize how good this music was. The album definitely is excellent at times it just seems to get old quickly.