to be released soon
The Dufay Spectacle — Gothic Voices
to be released soon
[27.2.2018 19:56 GMT+1] pf (3155,1527,7,1519757763,203,3155,'Gothic Voices - The Dufay Spectacle'
[23.5.2018]
medieval.org Remarks
Todd M. McComb, 22 May 2018
http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/cds/remarks.html
I suppose I've already said most of what I want to say about
The Dufay Spectacle in the
notes from my personal
list, but perhaps some more thoughts are in order here: In
particular, whereas the Cantica Symphonia
album devoted to two masses, released in 2014, was an excellent
& welcome interpretive development for that repertory, the
secular music (& especially the chansons) have been relatively
neglected of late.
Dufay's output is vast & varied, and so
such things may be understandable from a cyclic perspective, but
then, secular music by composers of subsequent decades has been
relatively neglected of late too... (as mentioned here so often
already). Of course, with the complete
set (recorded in 1980), not to mention intermittent attention
for a century, Dufay's chansons are not truly neglected!
Still,
it surprised me that it had been so long since such a program,
Mille Bonjours! recorded in 2006,
appeared. That program, although it didn't include motets as here,
was likewise in sections meant to evoke different moods.
(Given
the New Year's celebration theme of the Spectacle, it might
also be compared to a program such as Clemencic's
Machaut cycle in its mixed inspiration. Yet that program moves
explicitly into church music, whereas this does not — despite
that some of these ceremonial motets were conceived for performance
in churches.)
So I might have preferred an album focusing on the
chansons, but the result is particularly good for the motets...
albeit "only" five of them. The "lushness" of
some of the tracks seems both appropriate & novel for Gothic
Voices, so they should be congratulated for continuing to develop
their style, and indeed the result here is an accomplishment. (I
did not actually expect to enjoy this album so much from its
description.) Perhaps there will be a followup album? Perhaps
these are enough remarks from me for now....
Dufay Spectacle
The Dufay Spectacle
Motets and chansons
Gothic Voices
Linn Records 568
Dufay remains one of the most iconic & intimidating composers
in the Western tradition, working across a wide array of genres,
while combining & transforming a variety of regional styles.
So in some sense, a Dufay secular program is going to be
"mixed." However, here we find alongside seventeen
chansons & three instrumental transcriptions, five motets: This
sort of combination is not always my favorite, but not only are
these motets (certainly) secular, but this kind of program also
takes on some similarities to those devoted to Machaut, Dufay's
luminary from almost exactly a century prior. And so that is the
basic viewpoint from which I have come to appreciate it.
What is perhaps harder to explain is the persistence of instrumental
transcriptions (in this case from the Buxheimer Orgelbuch)
within programs devoted to Dufay's songs: They appear on the classic
Complete Secular Music, as well as on
e.g. what had been the most recent program devoted to Dufay's
chansons, that by Diabolus in Musica. This is a consequence of the
20th century publication history of Dufay's secular music, an aspect
of contingent choices that — for unknown reasons —
continue to seem inescapable. That said, the transcriptions are
also enjoyable.
Although it's the motets that are already found in the extensive
Cantica Symphonia set, making the
chansons in far greater need of a revised & up to date
interpretation, it's once again the (isorhythmic) motet tracks that
are the most striking on the (present) album: Whereas it doesn't
likely reflect historical practice, the mezzo duets in the upper
voices here are often particularly dazzling. Moreover, whereas I
was initially put off by what seemed like the haste of the performance,
the crisp & fast execution becomes increasingly believable &
appreciated. (After all, a process of "santification"
is well established, by which highly regarded works are performed
more & more slowly by subsequent generations. This album
reverses that trend.) The inclusion of instrumental forces backing
the voices in the motets is also uncharacteristic of Gothic Voices
(and indeed more evocative of Cantica Symphonia, & so derivative
in that sense), but works judiciously to fine effect here. And
despite that I've had more to say about the motets, the included
chansons are given (mostly) excellent performances as well: One
might quibble with aspects such as performing partial versions etc.,
but the program develops nicely nonetheless.
Both the performance & program, although different from what
I might have chosen in isolation, are thus excellent, making for
the best overall introduction to Dufay (at least outside of his
mass output) so far. It's complex music, across genres, interpreted
in a precise & lively manner. (Indeed, even the accompanying
materials are of excellent quality, from the printing itself to the
inclusion of lyrics, etc. This cannot always be assumed from even
noteworthy ensembles!) The theme of this program is a New Year's
Day celebration, although I'm not sure that a theme is really
needed... and I hope that Gothic Voices will consider doing another
Dufay album. (After all, although Machaut & Dufay appeared
together in many of their early albums, the former still far outpaces
the latter in their overall discography.)
To renaissance secular list
Todd M. McComb
http://www.medieval.org/music/early/cdc/lin568.html
[23.5.2018]