Customer Reviews

Music of the Crusades

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Of the "Music of the Crusades" collected on this very interesting album, several actually deal with the Crusades. I am always on the look out for interesting bits of music and film that can be used in history classes to bring the period alive for students and this certainly qualifies. This album contains examples of different types of songs, sung mostly in French and Latin. The lyrics alone are fascinating ("The French are degenerate if they refuse to support God, for I have warned them") and one song, "Ja nus hons pris," is attributed to Richard the Lion-Heart. Teachers covering the Middle Ages can certainly find a song or two to share with their students that will give them a sense of the times.

The liner notes by James Tyler explain that of the sixty-odd manuscripts surviving of troubadour and trouvere poetry, only a small number contain musical notion. Similar to the notation of Gregorian chant, these early notations give the performer a series of pitches to be sung without any indication of specific rhythmic values. Consequently, modern musical theories are used to develop these songs, taking into account the instruments of the period (lute, bells, harp, tabor, etc.) that we know existed from contemporary pictorial and literary evidence. So, I have to think that music students will find this album of interest as well. Performed by the Early Music Consort of London, I can certainly appreciate the effort made to achieve authenticity. Of course, we can never know how accurate these recreations are, but I certainly do not consider that a problem. I have been listening to several similar albums of music from this period, and this is the best I have heard so far.

This CD (a reissue of an LP dating from the 1970s) brings the Crusades and its people to life. There are recruiting songs, songs of loss and longing, songs of dedication. There is a beautiful song full of reverent wonder at the experience of being in the Holy Land. And there is the song purportedly written by Richard the Lionhearted while imprisioned by the Emperor. Too frequently we read history as if it were something enacted by people of two dimensions, somehow removed from our living emotions and complexities. This recording helps to restore some of the living emotions of those who went before us. They were as we are and as they are so shall we be to those who follow us.

"I will sing to comfort my heart" is the title to track 5. These songs do comfort my heart. In the midst of the despair of their times, these songs from the 13th century touch me. They document the emotions, aspirations and fears of the people in another time, and yet, those feelings are present with me today. In a small way, I feel less isolated in my struggle knowing that others of a completely different time and place also have been so affected. A great debt is due to Ian Bent, Norman Clare, David Munrow, Jeremy Tilston and the performers of these pieces for the effort that was required to exhume them from the distant past and make them available today. For their work, I am thankful. The songs provide accounts of how individuals experienced the Crusade, both at home and on the battlefield. Tracks 1 through 6 combine to tell a story. PAX IN NOMIE DOMINI! is the battle cry to assemble the troops for the conquest. It's not just a job, nor simply an adventure, it is an holy obligation. In PARTI DE MAL, an idividual soldier accepts the call, and his conviction is bolstered in CHEVALIER, MULT ESTES GUARIZ "Let us go and conquer Moses on Mount Sinai: let us not leave him any longer in the hands of the Saracens". The realities of battle are experienced on an individual level in CHANTERAI POR MON CORAGE. This section finds its end in a sombre dirge DANSE REAL. Not all the songs concern themselves with wars in foreign lands. The anguish of unrequited love is the subject of JE NE PUIS. Even if you never read the lyrics, this music is enjoyable. The melancholy of the verse is echoed in the melodies, but these are not sad tunes as much as they are reflective. They offer me a bit of space in a busy life to contemplate on the events of the day. If you are interested in European Music of the 13th century, or you enjoy peaceful music played well, this CD will be interesting to you.

The time of the Crusades spanned several centuries, from the time Pope Urban II called upon Christendom to fight for Jerusalem until the thirteenth century (this does not include the numerous minor, unnumbered crusades, sometimes against other Christians). The Crusades became for many in the Middle Ages a romantic ideal; the appeal for those who would join the Crusades was two-fold, both riches in this world and salvation in the next.

In this collection, the texts of the songs are primarily contemporary with the Crusades, although a few come from later troubadour and folk songs. Some songs here directly relate to the Crusades in content (for example, Pax in nomine Domini!), whereas others are songs contemporary with and popular among the Crusaders, but have no direct relation to the Crusades. 'Ja nus hons pris' is one such song, which has origins attributed to one of the most famous of the Crusaders, Richard the Lionhearted.

One of the problems with music from this time period is that very little written material exists. What music notation there is often is reminiscent of Gregorian chant - there are markers for pitch, but nothing for rhythmic values, melodies, etc. Similarly, the types of instruments are often not listed for particular songs, so it becomes educated guesswork as to the instruments used - lutes, rebec, wind instruments, percussion, etc.

The performances here are wonderful and full. The Early Music Consort of London recorded this first for vinyl in 1970; this CD is a reissue, well engineered. David Munrow was the director as well as performer on recorder, fluet, shawm, crumhorn and bagpipes. Munrow's talents are well suited to this kind of medieval music. Among the other performers are soprano Christina Clarke, counter tenors James Bowman and Charles Brett, tenor Nigel Rogers and baritone Geoffrey Shaw. Musicians include Eleanor Sloan on treble rebec, Oliver Brookes on bass rebec, James Tyler on lute and citole, Gillian Reid on the bells, Christopher Hogwood on harp, organ, nakers and tabor, and James Blades on nakers and tabor.

This recording is superb, a great addition to an early music library, and a joy to have as a CD - I had the vinyl of this, but over time it warped in storage, and I was very sad to have lost such a brilliant collection of music. Here it is again, restored and full of power and life.

Hearing the thoughts and feelings expressed in these songs from centuries ago reminds one that history is more than dates and events, it is also people. People who hope, dream, love and wonder. People who felt and thought many of the same things that we feel today. While listening I was touched by the emotion apparent in each song, whether it's subject be love lost, duty and honor, piety, etc. I purchased this CD to add another example of early music to my collection, and was pleased to learn that I had also acquired a window into the mind of the people who lived during the time of the Crusades.

I will not say much more than that I whole-heartedly argee with the previous writer. This is really something special. I have had this record for several years and this find it to be one of my absolutely best. Apart from David Munrow the record features, among others, a young James Bowman, singing beautifully in songs such as Li novious tens, and Christoffer Hogwood on harp.

One of the problems I have with many early music CDs is an emphasis on one place in a time period. This reissue manages to avoid that flaw by including minnesinger, troubador, trouvere, and instrumental pieces, though the liner notes could easily have told us which of the pieces were troubador, and which trouvere, instead of just the tantalizing "two are troubador (written in langue d'oc)" without identifying which.

As a sampler, it is excellent, though the vocal pieces tend to be somewhat slow--not all the lyrics seem consistent with that delivery, so this is probably an artist's choice. It would be interesting to hear the same pieces performed now, 30 years later, with 30 years of new scholarship. Ah well, nothing is perfect!

Many people believe that pre-16th century means Gregorian chant (another favorite of mine) have yawned at the idea of what we call "Early Music," i.e., the music that was written in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. This is extraordinarily sad, the songs and music written there echo in the music written now. There is joy, whispers of solitude, sorrow, magic and indescribable beauty.

Mind you, I can't understand the words any better than any of you who are reading this review. But I understand the way the music moves in my mind. It's kind of like listening to a menage of Celtic, folk, classical and a multitude of other genres all at once. Voices and music intertwine in a way that they don't often in modern music. Sometimes I want to jump up and dance (and I do), and other times lie down and cry -- and I don't understand the words.

These songs were written in the period of the 2nd Crusade, a terrible time for both cultures that echoes even today when Americans are called "Crusader" -- the worst word that a Muslim can utter. But, even in times a utter horror -- then as now -- as those were both in Europe and the Middle East, there were always things of great beauty.

If you are at all adventurous, try this and some of the other early music Amazon sells.

Bronwyn

Out of all the cd's I own, of music varying from opera to rock, this little disc is my absolute favorite. Music is the only real Time Machine we have and this one takes you instantly to the 12th and 13th centuries, and you can still bring your toothbrush and deodorant. This is literally the top hits of the day and the performances, as close to the original musical notation as possible, are extraordinary. David Munrow and crew have given us a tremendous gift.

When all else fails me, when I am discouraged by the times we live in now, I turn to this disc to transport me out of here. It may be unrealistic to believe the 12th was a fairytale era to live in, but like all ages, their music was filled with hope, longing and a yearning for happiness that transcends time and speaks to us even now.

LIKE A TRIP BACK IN TIME. FROM THE FIRST NOTES, I WAS TRANSPORTED.