Customer Reviews

Perotin

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought the Hilliard Ensemble's Perotin recording after reading the section on the evolution of medieval music from plainsong to organum in Grout's history of Western music. Grout praises Perotin's music, and this recording shows that praise to be well justified. The music is magnificent: dark, rich, full of mystery and awe, quintessentially medieval in sound. The Hilliard Ensemble's interpretations are superb and capture all the richness and power of this great idiom. The music communicates the reverance, awe, and, even fear, that the people of the Middle Ages must have felt in approaching a God who, after thousands of years of silence to most of the world, had revealed Himself to His creation. The Viderunt omnes, Veni creator spiritus and beata viscera are particularly fine, the Viderunt being possibly the finest surviving music of the age. I also highly recommend the Hilliard Ensemble recordings of Medieval English music, Walter Frye, the Machaut Mass, Gesauldo Responsoria, and Tallis. I also own Paul Hillier's recording, "The Age of Cathedrals" with his American ensemble, The Theatre of Voices, and value it highly.

Perotin (or Magister Perotinus) was at the forefront of polyphony as it emerged in the twelfth century, together with Leonin (Magister Leoninus). Paul Hillier's scholarly sleeve notes describe the processes at work in his music far better than a short review could; suffice it to say that the style of some of the organum pieces has influenced many a twentieth century composer, including the minimalist Steve Reich, whose views are quoted in the notes. Perotin is not the only composer represented in the programme - some of the pieces are anonymous, although this does not detract from their musical strength in any way.

In a nutshell, the organum works are founded on plainchant, which is sung as part of the performance. Some voices sing the chant in extremely long note values, so that the progressions of the melody are hard to distinguish. Meanwhile, higher voices dance through a series of rhythmically-charged motifs, overlapping with each other and producing an astonishing alternation of dissonances and consonances, breathtaking to hear. The opening piece, the Christmas motet "Viderunt omnes," is a particularly fine example of this.

Other works in the programme sound closer to the sound world of Guillaume de Machaut: "Dum signillium" and "Veni Creator spiritus" are two such pieces, the former sung by tenors John Potter and Rogers Covey-Crump whilst the latter adds counter-tenor David James. Another short motet, "Isaias cecinit," repeats the same material for new verses of text, like a hymn tune with a descant at the end. I believe these three to be the most wonderful in the programme; especially, "Veni Creator" has a timelessness about it, enhanced by magical singing and the strong acoustics of Boxgrove Priory - one can almost imagine being in another century listening to this. Another fine moment is the chant "Beata viscera," powerfully sung by David James to a wordless drone.

As early music recordings go, this one has much to commend it: masterful singing in a wonderfully atmospheric venue, excellent sound quality, thoughtful programming that sets long beside short and quiet beside loud. It is glorious music from first to last - truly wonderful!

The overall audio effect of this disc is truly haunting and otherworldly. The rich recording and the skilful use of vocal drones make you feel as if you are in a vast and dark cathedral, lit only by stained glass and candlelight.

This is an excellent performance. Though recorded by many other ensembles, the -Beata Viscera- on this record is soaring and definitive.

This record would be appreciated, not only by confirmed early music fans, but by those who love all other sorts of slow and ethereal music. The harmonies are beautiful, and even sound somewhat edgy to the contemporary ear, largely because the modal melodies and open fifths do not map easily into our expectations for major or minor keys.

If I could have only one record, this would be it. It is one of the most perfect vocal performances ever recorded, of some of the most unbelievable music ever written. Intricate, intelligent, detailed, nuanced; incredible pitch, subtle rhythm, spectacular technique; all in the service of a soaring devotional spirit that would probably astonish Perotin himself. I've owned this record for something like 8 years and it amazes me all over again every time I listen to it.

Let's hope heaven sounds this good -- if I were the angels, the Hilliards would make me nervous.

Paraphasing Gramophone, this recording clearly is a contender for the desert island status. It's a gem!!! I love the vocal style of the Hilliard, so I own quite a few of their recordings, but this one stands out even among them. I am not an expert, I can hardly tell Josquin Desprez from Arvo Pärt. But even someone like me cannot fail to appreciate the beauty of the works on this disc. Six out of nine compositions collected here are attributed to Perotin (Perotinus), the others are anonymous. All of them are amazing. Sung a capella, these works almost feel like they are set to music, because the lower voices are constantly providing a sort of vocal "continuo" for the upper voices, while the upper voices are engaging in complex melodic modulations. Both upper and lower lines intersect from time to time in the arresting antiphona-like passages during which the lower pitches change gear giving rise to new upper-line stanzas. Even the antiphonas themselves are singularly beautiful because they are delivered in a wave-like manner, like an echo catching up with someone leaving a deep cavern. The overall effect is truly haunting. Don't miss this recording! Another Hilliard recording of the "desert-island" caliber, that I would like to recommend to you, is Dunstable Motets, recently reissued on Virgin Veritas. You won't believe the singing of David James! Incidentally, John Potter once said that the greatest strength of the Hilliard is in its unique vocal blend. He meant that each individual Hilliard performer may be not all that remarkable when singing alone; but that together, subordinating their individualities to the higher common good, they constitute a true musical phenomenon. This seems intuitively true, although the singing of David James (including his singing in Beata Viscera on this disc) challenges Potter's premises. I also think that Potter's proposition never applied too well to Mark Padmore, my most favorite Hilliard member. I've always felt that Padmore's voice is way too beautiful to be drowned in an ensemble, even if the ensemble is as good as the Hilliard, Tallis Scholars or the Sixteen. That's why I was happy that he went off to a solo career. What do you think? If you have no opinion because you don't know what Padmore sounds like, check him out!

Perotin was a 12th century composer in Paris at the Cathedral of Notre Dame. We know almost nothing about him. Perotin (which is a diminutive of Peter) is described by a mid-thirteenth century student identified today as Anonymous IV who states that Perotin was the greatest composer of discant and better than another composer, Leonin, who came before him (it's not even 100% clear that they were at the Cathedral of Notre Dame). Now you know literally everything there is to know about Perotin.

Perotin composed organum--multi-voice compositions which move quickly over the traditional Gregorian chant which has been stretched out so that each note is very long. How long are they stretched out? Well, to give an example, the first track is over 11 minutes long!

The great thing about this music is that it takes you to another world--it is not supposed to be "emotive" or self-expressive. It represents pure, solemn, inspiration.

The Hilliard Ensemble has done a tremendous job in this recording. They make medieval music come to life, and their precision is fantastic.

Before organum, European music was essentially Gregorian chant--one melodic line with no rhythm or harmony. But with multiple voice parts, rhythm is necessary to keep the parts together. This also led to the creation of harmony. One can only imagine the wonder as the common medieval man wandered into the enormous Cathedral at Notre Dame, marveled at the stained glass, and heard this music. It must truly have been an inspiring occasion. This recording helps us partially reconnect with the wonder of this early music.

I am a musical novice. I was brought up listening to Pink Floyd, Santana, Joni Mitchell, and so on. I could not read music to save my life. Then someone introduced me to some Josquin Des Pres Rennaissance Polyphony - Missa L'homme arme sexti toni, Agnus Dei, to be specific - and I was totally hooked.

A few years later, someone introduced me to this CD, and I was even more taken. For some reason, I really like the Perotin-composed pieces - tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 9. The Beata viscera (track 8) is other-worldly, and quite possibly one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard in my entire life!

You don't have to be a musical scholar to enjoy this - it's simply beautiful!

I bought this CD as part of the very first group of recordings after buying my very first portable CD player. I had read about it in the radio guide for WHRB-FM, the unusually independant radio station operated from Harvard University. It has knocked my socks off repeatedly. Forget what you may think you know and believe about early early music. This male ensemble brings a ferocious warmth and energy to this music from 12th C. France. My recommendations - read the liner notes. Put your earphones on, and prepare to listen to one or two pieces at a time, until you have begun to accept the strangeness. Listen from the bottom up - focus on the lower voices, and let the upper voices dance. Good luck and enjoy!

This surprisingly fresh collections of pieces is performed with fantastic attention to intonation. The voices of the ensemble blend with such delicate balance. It is a beautiful and envigorating experience.

Gosto de "música antiga". Este termo, apesar de não ser muito comum em nosso idioma, é comumente utilizado para referenciar uma razoável amplitude de estilos e discursos musicais. Pois bem, dentre o que se pode classificar como "música antiga" está normalmente incluso o "canto gregoriano". Não tenho muitos títulos de canto gregoriano e, confesso, não sou real aficcionado pelos sagrados melismas. Este título do Hilliard Ensemble, no entanto, apesar de estar na mais profunda raiz do canto gregoriano (Perotin é, na verdade, anterior ao que podemos considerar exatamente "canto gregoriano") é um dos que não consigo ficar mais de um mês sem ouvir. A música de Perotin é uma das mais belas que conheço. Os trabalhos de melismas aqui dispostos intercalam-se harmonicamente, não melodiosamente. Poderia dizer que Perotin é uma espécie de "outsider" do gregoriano. Costumo brincar com amigos e dizer que este título é uma compilação de música sagrada e, ao mesmo tempo, dançante. Tem uma alegria, uma jovialidade, uma beleza completamente cativante. Seu dinheiro será extremamente bem gasto em um dos mais belos momentos da música sacra disponíveis em CD.