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American Record Guide: (07/2017) 
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Hyperion 
CDA68132



Code-barres / Barcode : 0034571281322

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There has been a steady flow of recordings of late medieval English polyphony, mainly from the early Tudor period. Less consistently explored is the work of earlier English musicians. Few of their works survive, and in many cases we know little about their lives. This release therefore is most useful in its unusual scope. The 17 selections are given in roughly chronological order. They date from the late 13th Century to the final flowering of Plantagenet style in the 15th, as drawn from the invaluable Old Hall Manuscript. The first five and last two selections are by unidentified composers, but otherwise we have Johannes Alanus (13??-14??), Thomas Damett (c.1390-c.1437), Byttering (13??-c.1420), Robert Chirbury (c.1380-1454), Gervays (13??-14??), J. Excetre (13??-14??), Leonel Power (d.1445), and John Dunstaple (c.1390-1453).

 

Except for the final four-voice piece, all the selections are for three voices, though in some there are striking shifts between three and two parts. Four are polytextual, and indeed the earliest of them, by Alanus, is an amusing juxtaposition of history and biography between the two texted voices. Nine selections (only one anonymous) are Mass movements. They exhibit certain consistent stylistic elements that became identified as typically English: a love for longish melodic lines, for variable rhythms, and for particularly clever weaving of voice parts. In two items, both Credo settings—one by Excetre, the other anonymous— the vitality of the shifting of rhythms comes from changing note lengths.

Few of these pieces have been recorded before: I do know of several of the troped Kyrie Cuthberte prece. So this repertoire is generally new to records and the more welcome for that. The merits of the Orlando Consort are too familiar to need explanation at this point. But they strike a particularly fine balance here between ensemble blending and the individuality of each singer. The sound is exemplary. The booklet has excellent notes and full texts with translations. In sum, this is a truly perfect release!
 

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