Le Roman De Fauvel

Satire and blasphemy

-- Le Roman de Fauvel --
This piece is almost an early musical, a setting of an ironic satire based on the French corut and the papal court during its exile in Avignon. The composition dates from 1310-1316. It was considered blasphemous at the time, which made it all the more popular. The author of the first story is unknown, but likely to be Gervais du Bus, an official at court in Paris. Fauvel stands in as an acronym for six major vices of the court, and of course, Fauvel rises rather quickly in the court to become very powerful.

The story was added to several years later, this addition without doubt from du Bus, in which Fauvel tries to marry Fortuna, but ends up with Dame vaine glorie, and the two populate the world with offspring.

The music here draws upon the styles of the time - polyphony, motet, chant-inspired pieces, conductus, sequence, prosa, lai, rondeau, virelai - there is a real variety here.

-- This performance --
This performance features René Clemencic (recorder, cornetto, shepherd's flute/flute de berger, peigne musical), Mieczyslaw Antoniak (counter tenor), Michael Ditrich (viele, rebec), Renate Hildebrand (bombarde), Andras Kecskes (lute, psaterion, rubebe, guimbarde), Pedro Liendo (baritone), Frantisek Pok (cornet a bouquin, cornemuse, trompette marine), Wolgang Reithofer (percussion, tympanon, jeu de clochettes, tintanibulum), Zeger Vanderteene (counter tenor), and René Zosso (recitant, vielle a roue).

This was originally recorded for vinyl in 1976, but was transferred to disc in the 1990s with great skill. The performances are sharp, witty and amusing even in the distant language. Some jokes are lost, but the situations still ring true, and the performances keep the listeners interest with ease.

-- Clemencic Consort --
René Clemencic is the founding director of one of the best early music groups, the Clemencic Consort. Clemencic, a native of Vienna, was born in 1928. He studied philosophy and musicology in both Vienna and Paris. During this time he also studied early instruments such as the recorder and harpsichord; in addition, he learned early music performance, music theory and composition. Clemencic and the Clemencic Consort have won numerous international awards, such as the Diapason d'Or, Edison, Grand Prix du Disque, and Prix Cecilia. One of the drawbacks of discs by the Clemencic Consort is that they rarely give any details about the performers, the group itself or the director. This is unfortunate, given the nature of the Consort, which can vary from as few as two to as many as fifty performers, depending upon the requirements of the music at hand.
October 1, 2005

A feast of fools

This is a fun record of the long satirical poem -Le Roman de Fauvel-, done by Rene Clemencic's ensemble.


For full enjoyment, you need to be able to follow along with the mediaeval French in the lyrics booklet. Fairly large portions of the poem are recited on the record. Understanding what is said will be an important part of enjoying this.


The satirical side of the poem is definitely forefronted here. Kazoos and other noisemakers are added to the standard fife and drum corps of the Clemencic consort. What you are getting is definitely not a solemn or staid performance.


This is not for everyone, obviously. Those who have the necessary interest and mindset to enjoy this shouldn't miss it. August 30, 2001

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