The Orlando ConsortMedieval Christmas10th to 16th-century secular & liturgical music for feast days
Label: Harmonia Mundi, HMU 907418
Year: 2006
Composers:Jacobus Clemens non Papa
Anonymous
Loyset Compere
Guillaume Dufay
Antoine Brumel
Antoine Busnois
Arnold De Lantins
Performers:Mark Venner - countertenor
Mark Dobell - tenor
Angus Smith - tenor
Donald Greig - baritone
Robert Macdonald - bass
The Orlando Consort
Medieval Christmas celebrations encompassed several feasts, including Circumcision & Epiphany. The Orlando Consort offers an unusual collection of carols ranging from devotional to boisterous, drawn from a 500-year span of secular and liturgical music from England, France and the Low Countries.In the 10th or 12th or 15th centuries, Christmas as we know it hadn't been invented, and such things as carols were yet to be defined as a specifically Christmas genre--indeed they could pop up at any time of year, and were as likely to celebrate the birth of Spring as the Babe in Bethlehem. What this means for modern compilations of Medieval Christmas repertoire--which also includes motets, songs, and chant--is that most of the music will have no overt connection to Christmas for today's listeners. In fact, these carols, motets, and songs sound just like any other music from the periods in question, so a listener intrigued by a disc title such as "Medieval Christmas" will be confronted with what sounds like any other "early music" vocal program. The challenge then for performers is to both provide an exemplary realization of the music and style for seasoned early-music aficionados while also providing illuminating context for novice listeners to happily explore what remains an endlessly fascinating and continuously vital area of music history.
The four male singers who make up the Orlando Consort (here joined by occasional collaborator Robert MacDonald) have proven to be crafty programmers with such engaging releases as Medieval Gardens and Food, Wine, and Song (see Reviews), and here they manage to organize their careful selections in a way that both flows well and makes it easy to discern and appreciate the music's stylistic distinctions, from early polyphony to the almost crude-sounding secular rondeau of Dufay to the elegant Clemens non Papa motet Pastores loquebantur. Further, the program is divided into logical sections that relate to the music's function and association with the various feasts of Christmas, from the Masses for Christmas Day and St. Stephen to the Feasts of the Holy Innocents, St. Thomas, and the Circumcision (the First of January).
As we've come to expect, the singing is first-rate--vibrant, impeccably tuned, and with a strong rhythmic vitality, supported by ideal sound. And although it will be the rare listener who recognizes any of these works, that actually is a good thing: what can be wrong with stretching our knowledge and experience a little bit, especially when it comes to a tradition so comfortable and familiar as Christmas? [11/15/2006]
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com
Tracklist:01. Christe redemptor (Winchester Troper)
02. Quem Iohannes (Winchester Troper)
03. Alleluia V. Dies sanctificatus (Winchester Troper)
04. O primus homo corruit (Aquitanian)
05. Lux refulget (Aquitanian)
06. Annus renascitur (Anonymous)
07. De quan au'on peut (Anonymous)
08. Tout mon desir (Arnold de Lantins)
09. Ce jour de l'an (Guillaume Dufay)
10. Clangat tuba (Ritson MS)
11. Ave rex angelorum (Egerton MS)
12. Eya, martyr Stephane (Anonymous)
13. Vox in Rama (Clemens non Papa)
14. Lullay, Lullow: I saw a swete semely syght (Ritson MS)
15. O admirabile commercium (Loyset Compere)
16. Pastores loquebantur (Clemens non Papa)
17. Noel, noel, noel (Antoine Busnois)
18. Noe, noe, noe (Antoine Brumel)
19. Nato canunt omnia (Antoine Brumel)
LOG| SPOILER! |
EAC extraction logfile from 3. July 2008, 2:15 for CD
The Orlando Consort / Medieval Christmas
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Other options :
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Track 1
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\01 - Prophecy - Christe redemptor.wav
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Peak level 52.3 %
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Track 2
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\02 - Prophecy - Quem lohannes.wav
Peak level 93.1 %
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Track 3
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\03 - Prophecy - Alleluia V. Dies sanctificatus.wav
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Track 4
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\04 - Prophecy - O primus homo corruit.wav
Peak level 78.9 %
Track quality 100.0 %
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Track 5
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\05 - Prophecy - Lux refulget.wav
Peak level 60.0 %
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Track 6
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\06 - New Year's Day - Annus renascitur.wav
Peak level 89.8 %
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Track 7
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\07 - New Year's Day - De quan qu'on peut.wav
Peak level 55.0 %
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Track 8
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\08 - New Year's Day - Tout mon desir.wav
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Track 9
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\09 - New Year's Day - Ce jour de l'an.wav
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Track 10
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\10 - The Carol - Clangat tuba.wav
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Track 11
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\11 - The Carol - Ave rex angelorum.wav
Peak level 67.8 %
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Track 12
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\12 - The Carol - Eya, martyr Stephane.wav
Peak level 64.5 %
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Track 13
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\13 - Narrative Motets - Vox in Rama.wav
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Track 14
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\14 - Narrative Motets - Lullay, lullow - I saw a swete semely syght.wav
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Track 15
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\15 - Narrative Motets - O admirabile commercium.wav
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Track 16
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\16 - Narrative Motets - Pastores loquebantur.wav
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Track 17
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\17 - Noel - Noel, noel, noel.wav
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Track 18
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\18 - Noel - Noe, noe, noe.wav
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Track 19
Filename E:\X\The Orlando Consort - Medieval Christmas (2006) [FLAC]\19 - Noel - Nato canunt omnia.wav
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