Early Music: RFI

god I love Amazon classical music reviews. seriously maniacial reviews on there to read while you're listening to the clips.

& one last borderline 15th century rec

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4hNdw_IZr8

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=191672

So basically you want a blend of voices and instruments, right?

No one sounds like Munrow, unfortunately (except maybe Musica Reservata). But I would recommend you look for discs of ars nova and ars subtilior repertoire by the Ferrara Ensemble and Ensemble Mala Punica. Also Ensemble P.A.N.

xpost Huelgas Ensemble's disc of Dufay Motets is also a great example of voices + instruments

didn't know Huelgas did Dufay. thanks, just bought that -- the Huelgas Brumel is all-time for me.

Another great Huelgas record in the voices + ensemble vein: Febus Avant!

(the title actually includes the exclamation point...)

I like it so far, but I need to listen a little more closely. The glacial pace is part of what I find appealing tbh.
Thanks for the recommendations -- I will report back once I've had a chance to hear a little more.

Febus Avant!

I officially love Perotin. Disappointed about this though -- No one sounds like Munrow, unfortunately (except maybe Musica Reservata). I have a couple of the Musica Reservata medieval troubadour albums queued up but it's sad to think that there's such a limited amount of material like that out there to digest. He was not on this earth for long enough imo.

Speaking of, though, does anyone know if the soundtrack to The Devils is available anywhere? I haven't looked all that hard, but I have looked and am coming up empty.

As far as I know, no it isn't.

Know what else Munrow was involved with? The score to Zardoz! Also unfindable according to my efforts.

I should have said no one sounds QUITE like Munrow & company... I mean he was super influential on later EM bands but I feel like no one has that wildness plus unpredictability of how a given piece will be arranged. Scholarship comes first now.

BTW there's a track off the Dark Crystal score album which is very Munrow-y-- the folk dance for the Pod People. Shredding recorder solo.

ooh is this it?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPbfk6Vbqls

it's awesome!!

yeah right?

I think the soloist is the guy from Gryphon.

Most of Trevor Jones' film scores on 'ancient times' or fantasy subjects have a track or two like this.

It's always a good time to watch this beauty again (although the pan flute (?) and harp are not my favorite part, and i could live without them)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG1m3KTR5G0

Thomas Binkley is another maniac - one that doesn't get quite as much attention as Munrow these days due to the fact that his group, Studio Der Fruhen Musik, doesn't have any insane live-action YouTubes.

This double album (Makoto Kawabata's favourite record of all time... take from that what you will) is a great intro to early music, and is IMHO a superior statement to any single title of Munrow's (much as I love his work):

http://www.amazon.com/Troubadours-Touveres-Minstreles-Binkley/dp/B00171TE8A

well, then i must have it

lol @ insane live action --> munrow's playing is truly insane and maniacal!!

I wish I could get into the instrumental side of this stuff but I just can't.

Did you listen to the saltarello at 6:35 or so?! It's wild and droney and totally freaked out! There's another one at the very end. Maybe that's not your thing though.

I don't have any Thomas Binkley!

I just scored EMC of London's The Art of the Netherlands on Seraphim, dir. by David Munrow, 3 LPs in a box with a book of notes and everything, for $7!

Happy last day of summer, me.

Nice!

Cool! Keep your eyes peeled for Music Of The Gothic Era or Music From The Crusades...

i'm extremely far from an expert on this stuff, but was listening to this thing last night
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hz4fnJAIq5A/UBXkktm_kdI/AAAAAAAAEeg/f26TQuBgJcI/s400/dowland+1.jpeg
and it is amazing. http://ghostcapital.blogspot.com/2012/07/dowland-lachrimae-or-seaven-teares-and.html

Music Of The Gothic Era or Music From The Crusades...
I already have these on CD, but would totes buy LPs if I saw them.

O good I'm glad you have them.

Nice find Tyler, will totes DL.

I went googling for more info about Musica Reservata and this thread was the second result :-/

On the other hand, that EMC box I bought is SO GREAT and the liner notes were really fun reading.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8qar6hpGU1rtmp17o1_1280.jpg

eek sorry so laaaaaaarge

Music Of The Gothic Era or Music From The Crusades...
I already have these on CD, but would totes buy LPs if I saw them.

― nicest bitch of poster (La Lechera), Wednesday, August 1, 2012 11:37 AM (5 months ago) Bookmark

aaand look what I found at the record store today!! $7 and $4 respectively!!
!!
!!!!!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8186/8351377218_f62aefc39b_c.jpg

Have been on a medieval music listening jag since last thursday due to an email exchange with this ILX user^^^

New favorite 14th century music CD: Ensemble P.A.N.'s Unseen Rain on New Albion.

Also finally heard that Huelgas Ensemble/Brumel album Milton raves about way upthread and... it is amazing.

i know! it was so weird!
friday: learned what a codex is
saturday: found 4-LP chansonnier cordiforme set with an elaborate booklet and everything!

For just 400 bucks you can own a facsimile of the Chantilly Codex! (The heart-shaped piece shown here is 'Belle, Bonne, Sage'):

http://www.omifacsimiles.com/brochures/chantilly.html

Is that the same as the one owned/commissioned by Jean de Montchenu? The whole thing is heart shaped!

I don't think it's the same one. Mebbe the entirely heart-shaped one was the original place for Belle, Bonne, Sage, which Wiki says was added to the Chantilly Codex at a later date than the rest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chantilly_Codex

New favorite 14th century music CD: Ensemble P.A.N.'s Unseen Rain on New Albion.

Oh snap, the dangers of Spotify listening. Turns out this is new music composed by Robert Kyr for Ensemble P.A.N. in the style of the 14th century. Punk'd! What can I say, my ears were fooled and the results are totally amazing IMO.

I'm finally almost done listening to that Chansonniere set -- the 4th song on the 5th side has a line in which the melody is almost identical to a tiny part of the Romeo and Juliet theme from the 1968 movie, which I remember seeing in 9th grade English class and wondering what the song was. That was kind of weird. Not really worth mentioning, but there it is.

Also - assuming that my searching isn't faulty in some way -- there seems to be no mention of Jantina Noorman on ilx?! Is this possible?!

If so, JANTINA NOORMAN. Let's talk about her and her marvelous voice. Apparently Michael Morrow (from Musica Reservata) asked her to sing like the instruments and did she ever.

Here is a piece of folk journalism about her: http://www.folkworld.de/31/e/dutch.html (worth a read if you enjoy the idea of someone going on a pilgrimage to talk to a singer whose voice he (?) loved)
Here is a picture of her first album of Dutch folk songs (and her last, I think) for Folkways, which she recorded on a whim when her family moved to the USA (which I happened to have and didn't realize it was the same lady and then when I realized...magical moment)
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8365/8364998012_cb295dc89e_c.jpg

This is a good example of what she sounded like when she sang like a crumhorn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRUkWm1jcSU

And that is pretty much all I can find about her. Is there more?

+1 Noorman fan club

She also sings several tracks on the Jaye Consort's A Bawdy Elizabethan Evening album-- of which the track 'Carters, Now Cast Down Your Whips' is esp amazing.

^this is on spotify

I have been wondering if Dagmar Krause was aware of Noorman's singing. There's a strong resemblance there to my ear.

You should make an all-Jantina playlist on spotify and then the pep club (me) can force everyone to listen to it.

Chantilly Codex -- A medieval music thread

Ah, ^ my Chantilly thread, didn't realise there was discussion here.

Familiar w/Ensemble P.A.N.

Ita madrigals is gd too

Can you anyone tell me of any good recordings for early Russian music plz? The bits I've heard always strike me as different in tone to other types of choral music maybe?

the father of a friend of mine runs this label (and apparently still does really well out of it !!) :

http://www.saydisc.com/

some mad stuff from way way back ..

no idea if any of this is of interest ..

What an interestingly diverse label! Color me intrigued by:

http://www.wyastone.co.uk/forest-talk-an-evening-of-songs-poetry-and-humour-from-the-forest-of-dean.html

As per request, I give you 27 Spotify minutes of JANTINA NOORMAN:

http://open.spotify.com/user/1213493496/playlist/6Jsm5qS1iUx0alKiOxviPL

Only 20 more years until DeRayMi can retire!

Oooh I'll take this one! http://www.wyastone.co.uk/gloucestershire-wildlife-tapestry-a-web-of-day-night-sounds.html

And three cheers for 27 minutes of Jantina and her rustic holler!!!

^ wildlife tapestry is on Spotify, to my amazement!

Wld make good double header with Sublime Frequencies Night Sounds of Bali

And also Sonic Seasonings!

Another Early music group that cam onto my radar is Sequentia. Note they've just completed the rec of Hildegard von Bingen oeuvre, begun 30 years ago! Heard of them in this article by Kevin Volans. Its Interesting that they started around the time the Early Music Revival was in full swing. Punk wasn't the only thing happening in the late 70s!

The wiki for Early Music indicates this includes Baroque as well but we're all stopping around the Renaissance, or even earlier, so Musica Antiqua Köln have been excluded. I guess we think of Bach as its own thing, but it would be good to get any views on this.

This all touches on another area -- one I've not been able to pursue -- of Historicall informed Performance xps

oh wait maybe i am thinking of a different henry viii 70s thing? there are so many.

Idk -- I'm not familiar with the film or miniseries but the music is great!! There's another really driving tune called "Street Music" iirc

yeahhh, i have to get that henry viii soundtrack. i saw some of that series a million years ago on pbs.

The new Laura Cannell album Simultaneous Flight Movement is a really stunning collection of one take improvisations, totally beautiful stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFop7BWHjJ0
Her fleet and beautiful double recorder+echo title track is very timeless and ancient sounding, and very moving as well.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/01/from-the-classical-archive-march-1971-david-munrow-profile-not-even-mick-jagger-has-such-versatile-lips

whoa thanks for the heads up on that laura cannell, sounds amazing.

Munrow still RULES

I'm aware it's an unseemly & gratuitous opinion to have of such a niche artist but I kind of hate cannell's relentless melodrama. rarely approve of the word but it comes off as pretentious & it's such a one-note slog, I just want some space, some awareness but it's always fluttering around in its own shadow. it's close to being something I'd love but imo aiming for 'ancient-sounding' v directly, which I think it is, is shooting yourself in the foot. you end up sounding twee

I enjoyed it both in my kitchen at loud volume and wandering through greenbelt with my headphones, so it gets a double thumbs up from me. But I can understand how some will think it twee , but idk it just works for me.

This new Laura Cannell album fits my mood fairly well. (Was not familiar with her.)

I haven't had much of an appetite for this sort of thing in a very long time, but Musica Secreta's Lucrezia Borgia's Daughter is very welcome at the moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNSLNlMmdRw

Music Of The Gothic Era or Music From The Crusades...
I already have these on CD, but would totes buy LPs if I saw them.

― nicest bitch of poster (La Lechera), Wednesday, August 1, 2012 12:37 PM (ten years ago) bookmarkflaglink

I was lucky enough to grab a pristine copy of the Music Of the Gothic Era 3 LP set for $15 a few days ago. I've appreciated this music digitally for years, but studying the liner notes and texts has illuminated it big time, especially with the ars antiqua and ars nova motets.

This is deeply strange music--two (or three) different texts sung simultaneously, alternately harmonizing and hocketing with each other. Sometimes the texts are closely related to each other, and sometimes sung from different/contrasting perspectives. Of course I don't understand Latin or medieval French, but I'd imagine if I did understand the language, listening to these motets would be even more of a head-spinning experience, figuring out which text to follow or attempting to keep track of both at the same time.

So I'm wondering if there are examples of motets or other music with a similar effect in English, from that era or beyond (The Velvet Underground "The Murder Mystery" is what immediately comes to mind for me). It seems like after the gothic era composers tended to base compositions around a single text rather than two or more overlapping texts, but maybe I'm wrong about that...

I just put together a show about pre-historic music, interviewed Simon O'Dwyer of Ancient Music Ireand, he reconstructs bronze age / iron age instruments and figures out how they were played.

https://centuriesofsound.com/2023/09/11/centuries-of-sound-radiopod-prequel-special-1-ancient-sounds-with-simon-odwyer-of-ancient-music-ireland/

They've also just launched a sound library called Paleosonic - https://www.ancientmusicireland.com/sound-library

this is so great!

Thanks, I was surprised at how much was out there, I had the idea that it was just the Hurrian hymn, but could've put together several hours.

Yoooo