medieval.org
LP, 1978: EMI "Reflexe" 1C 065 30 940
CD, 2000: EMI Reflexe 72143 8 26509 2 8
Seite 1
1. Tres Filiae [29:00]
St. Nicolaus: Christian Tréguier
Pater: Jean-Marie Gouelou
Filiae:
Barbara Thornton |
Esther Lamandier |
Candice Smith
Generi:
Rachid Safir |
Benjamin Bagby |
Richard Levitt
Seite 2
2. Iconia Sancti Nicolai [21:37]
St. Nicolaus: Christian Tréguier
Judeus: Benjamin Bagby
Fures:
Rachid Safir |
Jean-Marie Gouelou |
Richard Levitt
STUDIO DER FRÜHEN MUSIK
(an der Schola Cantorum Basiliensis)
in Zusammenarbeit mit dem
ENSEMBLE VOCALE GUILLAUME DUFAY
Instrumentalisten:
Dana Maiben, Sigrid Lee, Alice Robbins, Sterling Jones
Musikalische Einrichtung: Thomas Binkley
Gesamtleitung: Andrea von Ramm
Aufgenommen: 13.VI.1977, Amsterdam
Produzent: Gerd Berg
Tonmeister: Johann-Nikolaus Matches
Titelbild: Ludi Sancti Nicolai,
Bibliothèque Municipale de Orleans
Cover-Design: Patelli
Litho: Repro Schmitz KG, Cologne
Ⓟ 1978 EMI Electrola GmbH
Digital reamastering Ⓟ 2000 by EMI Electrola GmbH
© 2000 by EMI Electrola GmbH
LUDI SANCTI NICOLAI
The Miracles of Sanct Nicolaus
St. Nicholas, according to Roman liturgy, was born in the fourth
century in the city of Patara, province of Lycia (Turkey). His
well-to-do parents died when he was a boy, and the young Nicholas
distributed his inherited wealth to the poor. He wan a pious man, who
fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout his life. And he was a kind
man, and this quality above all others secured him a place in the
hearts of Medieval Christians, in both East and West. It happened that
Nicholas went to the city of Myra, capital of Lycia, just as the Bishop
died. The provincial Bishops had gathered there to elect a new Bishop
and they were told by a revelation that they should select a man who
the next day would be the first to enter the church, whose name would
be Nicholas. Thus Nicholas became Bishop to Myra. Contrary to the
edicts of Dioclesian and Maximian, Nicholas preached the Christian
faith and was imprisoned until Constantine was made emperor. Nicholas
died after returning to Myra from the Council of Nicea, where he had
condemned the Arian heresy.
The ninth century Archimandrite account of
his life formed the basis of the Greek biographies, while in that same
century it was Johannes Diaconus of Naples who wrote the basic Latin
vita, which was included in the encyclopaedia of Vincent of Beauvais as
well as Jacobus de Voragine in his Legenda Aurea. In the tenth
and eleven centuries the cult of Nicholas flourished. New vitas were
written, adding substantially to the number of miracles. Numerous
churches and abbeys were dedicated to him, and there appeared hymns and
a complete office with music, which had wide circulation in Normandy
(this office, from St. Maur-la-Fossés is similar to both
Worcester and Sarum use). (The extensive iconography related to this
saint - hundreds of citations - has been collected by Karl Maisen, Nikolauscult...,
1931.). The special relationship between the Normans and the
Mediterranean world played a rol in the popularity of St. Nicholas. It
was Norman sailors who stole the relics of Nicholas from Myra and
brought them to Bari, which they had conquered in 1071. From here a
finger of Nicholas made its Way mysteriously to a chapel on the
Meurthe, which then became an important pilgrim goal, and which grew
into one of the larger medieval cities in Lorrain. Saint
Nicholas-du-port. Four miracles of Sr. Nicholas were adopted for
presentation as plays during the Middle Ages. Two of them have been
recorded here:
Tres Filiae
A man of noble birth has lost his wealth and cannot provide a dowry
for his three daughters. The eldest daughter decides to sell herself as
a prostitute in order to provide money, but just as she suggests this,
a bag of gold is tossed through the window, and a genor appears to
claim the hand of that daughter. This repeats for the remaining two
daughters, and as the last bag of gold comes through the window, the
father goes into the street and discovers it was St. Nicholas who threw
the gold. (This is the only authenticated legend, appearing in the
earliest sources which identify the nobleman as a neighbour of
Nicholas.)
Iconia Sancti Nicolai
A Jew, having heard of the reputation of St. Nicholas, employs an icon
of St. Nicholas to guard and protect his house and possessions as he
goes abroad. Three robbers enter the house and steal the treasure. On
returning, the Jew discovers his loss, flies into a rage directed at
the icon and promises to burn the icon the next day. Nicholas appears
before the robbers and gives them the choice of returning the treasure
or facing civil justice. They return the treasure while the Jew is
sleeping, and thus the reputation of Nicholas remains intact.
The legend of Tres Filiae is mentioned in all the vitas (with
variations) and is included in the antiphons for the office of St.
Nicholas. Iconia is one of the added miracles from the 11th
century, inspired by a Saracen invasion of Calabria. During the
pillaging, it seems that one of the invaders found an icon and carried
it off. On hearing of the power of Sr Nicholas, he left the icon to
guard his possessions. Hilarius, a pupil of Abélard, also wrote
a play on this legend (employing French refrains) while the most
extensive treatment is that of Jean Bodel, Jeu de de Nicolas,
written entirely in the vernacular.
A twelfth century manuscript at the
monastery at Fleury is our source for these dramas. Besides ten dramas
with music, the manuscript contains many sermons, a hymn and a prosa. As
was common, the texts were written into the manuscript and afterwards
the musical notation in diastematic neums was entered above the text.
These neums, placed on a staff, indicate precise pitch but are not a
rhythmic notation, neither mensural nor modal; the frequent alternation
of punctum and virga in syllabic lines must be viewed as a writing
convention rather than as a rhythmic notation. As always, there is no
attempt to indicate the nature of the instrumental accompaniment, if
there were one. A reconstruction of these plays — like all medieval
music — requires a marriage of scholarship with artistic insight. Not
only the rhythmic question and that of the participation of instruments
— questions about which at least some objective discussion is possible
— but also the weightier problems of aesthetics and expression must be
entertained.
The plays are scenic, that is, they contain an optical
element. Indeed, the stories might easily be communicated through mime,
yet text was added, with considerable thought given to its structure
well as its content: in Tres Filiae the texts are strophic and
contain refrains. The repetition of the refrains gives a pulse to the
unfolding of the drama. Identical melodies are employed both for
desperate lament and for joy. Iconia on the other hand, alters
structure with character, providing refrain only for the concluding
piece, with the rejoicing "gaudeamus", which clearly was intended to
spread contagiously to the audience. None of the stationary quality of Tres
Filiae is found here, where there are clearly separate scenes. Tres
Filiae contains only two pieces of music, one for the opening
lament and one for the rest of the play, with the structure a a a a
b. Iconia opens with a lengthy sequence, followed by a
strophic structure (a a a a b) and then another sequence "vah
perii", as the Jew discovers his loss. The music for Nicholas is a
sequence with repeated sections (aab aab aab, cdb ceb cdb cdb cfb)
after which there are a series of short lines of the robbers, and then
the final refrain song Congaudete (abc abc abc abc) with
the refrain "gaudeamus".
For several reasons an instrument
accompaniment seems appropriate. Whereas the optical presentation is
complete with costumes, mime and mis-en-scene, the accoustical element
is not complete with the solo song. Instruments interpret and reinforce
the texts even when - as in Tres Filiae - the melodies do not
reflect the emotional climate of the text. Instruments are symbols,
identifying a character as in Iconia, Jew versus robbers -
chitara Sarasenica versus rebec. Dramatic tension is created by
instruments through the gradual resolution of cacophonous elements as
each player relates his line to the cadential implications of the
melody. Each player moves towards consonant areas independently, with
no thought for the presence of other conflicting lines except that of
the melody (Tres Filiae). Such accompaniments arc not like song
accompaniments, for these are not songs.
The vocal style is in some
respects unusual. Special vocal techniques are employed which result
from articulation considerations. It is not at all a case of matching a
voice to an instrument but rather matching a voice to its musical line.
A specific vocabulary of vocal techniques result from any articulation
matrix, and it is especially in this regard that medieval singing
differs from later practice. Each singer has a key of his/her own just
as everyone has a speech-pitch. Thus in this case keys are not the
result of compositional considerations but a result of the character
portrayed.
The revival of these plays after eight hundred years is a
fascinating undertaking. It seems to me the plays were worked out for
relatively small audiences who were not expected to have mastered the
Latin language (the grammar is not flawless) and who may have seen the
same plays year after year. I do not think the performances were either
complicated or lavish, but rather intimate and personal. They must be
considered church drama, not entertainment at the county fair. They
have a purpose beyond simple entertainment which is perhaps no longer
meaningful today: history viewed as the annals of Christian affairs, a
particular vision of the world.
Thomas Binkley