I do not suppose I stand out from my readers when I say how much I appreciate Medieval music. It is so ethnic the way it is performed these days, whatever than means. Of course one might say that ALL music is ethnic on the other hand. But Middle Ages Europe sounds pretty folksy, pretty directly together and immediate? To me, anyway. So I am glad to have gotten a new one for my ears to love, namely the Early Music group Concordian Dawn and their album Fortuna Antiqua et Ultra (MSR Classics MS 1805).
The CD has the informative subtitle Medieval Songs of Fate, Fortune and Fin Amour (i,e, Courtly Love). And for all that the repertoire is part familiar to me as a fairly avid follower of things Medieval, but yet it is still different enough in its arrangement as to constitute a further step in filling out the outline of possibilities out there for Medieval music, happily. There are some works for a cappella vocal chamber configuration, some for solo voice and instruments, others for instrumental chamber soundings, etc. It is all rather gravitas, as might be expected, and hauntingly well done.
As you listen now the archaic harmonies sound paradoxically almost Contemporary and this group brings that out very nicely, with charm and grace but too with a subtle kind 0f latent strength and power. You feel the timelessness of the cloister or the long buried urban past, tyet too it all speaks to us now in unforgettable ways;
A disk I recommend strongly. If you feel you need the Medieval or find yourself wondering about it, here is a good one to dive into. I for one am glad to have it. Give it a try!
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