It is difficult to judge the public’s receptivity to CDs of medieval music. This specialized repertoire arouses phenomena of fascination in waves. The secret is perhaps not necessarily to unfold a program of more than one hour continuously. This CD with a very elegant presentation aims to follow “the thread of the first notated dances by also exploring the songs or pieces which were sometimes the source, as well as the more refined compositions which were inspired by them”. There are instrumental versions of the Gloria orAgnus Dei of the Missa la Spagna by Heinrich Isaac sad pleasures by Gilles Binchois or the better-known “dances” by Claude Gervaise or recorded by Pierre Attaingnant. The Into the Winds ensemble (from the French, of course!) takes great care that the “flute” instruments alternate with chalemies, bombards, dulcianes and sackbuts, which induce more sonic tension. The timbres are superbly captured, the program is judicious and the instructions fascinating.
To see in video