medieval.org
Koch International Classics 3-7356-2HI
1998
Recorded June 1995 and May 1996,
St. Vincent's School For Boys, San Rafael, CA
1. Gaudia debita (Paris, B.N. lat.
3719) 6:32
Joyce Todd and Stephanie Prewitt, voices;
Shira Kammen, vielle; Kim Swatsler, hurdy-gurdy; Tom Chandler, bells
2. Lux refulget (London, B.L. add.
36881) 2:54
Danny Johnson and Temmo Korisheli, voices
3. Per partum virginis (Paris, B.N.
lat. 3719) 5:18
Joyce Todd and Stephanie Prewitt, voices;
Kim Swatsler, hurdy-gurdy
4. Victime pascali laudes (Paris,
B.N. lat. 3549) 7:14
chant: ensemble;
polyphony: Danny Johnson and Temmo Korisheli, voices;
Roy Whelden and Shira Kammen, vielles
5. Res jocosa (London, B.L. add.
36881) 2:44
Stephanie Prewitt and Danny Johnson, voices
6. Divinum stillant (London,
B.L. add. 36881) 2:29
Roy Whelden and Shira Kammen, vielles
7. Per letalis pomi pastum (London,
B.L. add. 36881) 5:00
Joyce Todd and Stephanie Prewitt, voices;
Kim Swatsler, hurdy-gurdy
8. Letabundi iubilemus (Paris,
B.N. lat. 1139) 3:11
Joyce Todd, voice;
Shira Kammen, vielle
9. Orienti Oriens (London, B.L.
add. 36881) 3:20
Danny Johnson and Temmo Korisheli, voices
10. Flore vernans gratie (Paris,
B.N. lat. 3719) 5:28
Joyce Todd and Stephanie Prewitt, voices;
Shira Kammen and Roy Whelden, vielles
11. Omnis saltus Libani ~ Congaudeat ecclesia (Paris, B.N. lat. 1139) 4:22
Danny Johnson, voice;
Roy Whelden, Shira Kammen, and Kit Robberson, vielles
12. Laude iocunda (Paris, B.N. lat.
3549) 3:03
Joyce Todd and Stephanie Prewitt, voices
13. Plebs Domini hac die (Paris,
B.N. lat. 3719) 9:16
ensemble
London, B.L. add. 36881: #2, 5, 6,
7, 9
Paris, B.N. lat. 1139: #8, 11
Paris, B.N. lat. 3549: #4, 12
Paris, B.N. lat. 3719: #1, 3, 10, 13
Heliotrope
Joyce Todd
Joyce Todd · soprano
Stephanie Prewitt · alto
Danny Johnson, Temmo Korisheli · tenor
Shira Kammen, Kit Robberson, Roy Whelden · vielle
Kim Swatsler · hurdy-gurdy
Tom Chandlers · bells
Produced, engineered and mastered by Peter Nothnagle
The collection of sacred polyphonic pieces known as Aquitanian
polyphony comes from four manuscripts belonging to the Abbey of St.
Martial of Limoges, France, in the region of medieval Aquitaine. The
Abbey was destroyed during the French Revolution, but before its
destruction the library was sold to what is now the Bibliothéque
Nationale in Paris. These manuscripts contain one- and two-voice pieces
as well as non-musical works such as sermons, letters, and historical
writings. The sources of these manuscripts span the 9th to the 12th
centuries.
The beauty and depth of Aquitanian polyphony is shrouded in the
difficulties often associated with ancient music: issues of notation
(or lack thereof), performance practice and historical context. This
astonishing repertory has provoked heated debate in academic circles
and has posed problems for singers who wish to perform the music.
The polyphony on this recording, from the later 12th century, is some
of the earliest two-voice notated music in the history of western
culture. It is also the earliest polyphony which is not
note-against-note, that is, where one part is more active than the
other part. The pieces were written down in score form, in which the
two parts are aligned vertically usually with just one reference pitch
marked for each part. By medieval standards this notation was fairly
clear with regard to pitch and alignment, and scholars generally agree
on these issues. However, the most interesting problem facing
performers and editors of this music is rhythm, since the notation does
not indicate durations of notes, at least as far as modern scholarship
has been able to determine. Performers must study each piece
individually to develop an interpretation which is extremely flexible,
if not improvised.
The emotional affect of this music is ecstatic and startling, full of
dissonance and daring melodic movement. The unifying element is always
the text. The Latin strophic verse that was in vogue in the late 12th
century contains striking and sometimes obscure, seemingly bizarre
imagery. Many of the texts meditate on the Virgin Mary and the
paradoxical mystery of the Virgin birth, or 'the Father born of the
daughter'. Though the subject matter of these Latin texts is sacred,
their place in the liturgy is not certain, nor are scholars sure what
function the music would have played in the Mass or Office, if, indeed,
it would even have been part of the service. Many of the texts are
appropriate for the Christmas season.
We have chosen pieces which reflect the full range of styles in
Aquitanian polyphony. The three monophonic (one voice) pieces on our
recording contrast vividly. Plebs Domini hac die is a beautiful
strophic song in praise of the Virgin Mary. The style of this
exquisitely simple melody is not unlike that of the troubadours, who
flourished in the same time and place, and whose musical development
has been closely linked to the monophonic songs of St. Martial. The
song has a refrain which exhorts us to praise Mary 'with voice, heart,
sense, mind and strength.' The imagery reflects on paradoxical images in such
lines as 'the pot is made the potter.. the stream is made the spring..,
by whom he is veiled he is revealed.'
Another monophonic piece, Letabundi iubilemus ('Let us rejoice
with gladness'), is structured so the first and last sections are set
in a more simple style while the middle section takes off on a
melismatic adventure of galactic proportions, its melody spanning an
octave and a fifth, radically expansive by medieval standards. The
unusual twists and turns of the melody reflect the progressive and
experimental nature of late 12th century art and culture, and of much
Aquitanian music.
The two-voice pieces range from the elegance of Flore vernans gratie
('Refreshed by the flower of grace'), which sets a beautiful poem in
praise of the Virgin, 'now wet with dew from on high,' in a
note-against-note style, to the florid virtuosity of Gaudio debita
temporis orbita redidit orbi ('Rejoice for he has saved us from
where we were left beyond the course of time'). In this masterpiece the
lower line is a melody in its own right, which we perform first as a
chant. Then the second voice is added, which weaves intricately above
and below the original melody, now slowed down. The procedure of adding
new to old is one of the trademarks of early medieval polyphony in
which composers frequently added their own voices to the work of
earlier composers.
The formal architecture of a piece like Per partum virginis
('Through the birth-giving of a virgin') is stunning. The style of
composition changes with the poetic meter, sometimes in a syllabic
setting of a text, sometimes with both voices singing long melismas
together creating the effect of a flock of birds taking flight. In some
of the pieces the texts are difficult to comprehend and use complex
word-play and images. Per letalis pomi pastum ('Through the
lethal apple tasted') compares the 'toxic spell' of the apple of
knowledge to the communion wafer through which God brings healing to
His creation. The Latin word 'plasma,' meaning 'creation,' forms the
rhyme with 'cataplasma' which means 'poultice.'
Because of the importance of the poetry in this repertory the
virtuosity of this music lies not only in the counterpoint of the
melodic lines but in the phrasing, which has to fit the texts. Our
performances try to take all of the above into account while
acknowledging that there is much we do not know. Tempos, dynamics,
articulation, ornamentation, are all subjects of debate in the
rehearsal and in the academy. Our use of instruments will be considered
by some to be apocryphal, although there is evidence that many medieval
singers in religious orders played instruments such as the vielle. If
these pieces were performed in a non-liturgical context it is quite
conceivable that they could have been accompanied. Additionally given
the tradition and skill with which these singers worked, it is possible
that they improvised polyphony for the monophonic pieces. If for the
modem performer and listener, the challenges surrounding the notation
of Aquitanian Polyphony can be turned into inspiration, this music more
than rewards the effort.
© 1998, Joyce Todd
We have altered the text of Plebs Domini because of the
anti-Semitic reference 'Judeans est caecatus' ('the Jew is blind'). We
have changed the Latin word 'Judeans' to 'ignorans' ('the ignorant man
is blind'), which conveys a meaning understandable by a modern audience
without reproducing the social prejudice of the 12th century. It is,
needless to say, difficult to traverse the territory of medieval music
and poetry without encountering the anti-Semitism which appears in many
medieval texts and lyrics. If performers want to perform this music in
the belief that its worth goes beyond its prejudice, that prejudice has
at least to be acknowledged so that we do not sanitize history. Volumes
could be written (and have been) on this subject and on the problematic
role of women in medieval imagery, even in the work women composers
such as Hildegard of Bingen.