Music of the Troubadours

What a medieval atmosphere!!

I really don't know if this interpretation is just an orthodox one but its really an amazing interpretation indeed. In fact, if we are purist, it has no sense to play Bach or even Mozart with a modern piano, and I think it would be really tiring to hear them only played with a clavicord or a fortepiano.
This album brings you to medieval era. I recommend to hear it while reading a medieval era book (Cathedral of the Sea,Pillars of the Earth, etc). Great atmosphere!! May 16, 2008

It's like listening to a catfight!

Ugh! I'm a big fan of Medieval music, but this has got to be some of the worst singing I've heard on such a CD. I'm guessing the lady was thinking of how, with modern rock music, often the singers will wander from the original melody and rythm a bit. But I stress here A BIT -- that doesn't mean these should be turned into pseudo-rap, or bad poetry. She totally just starts SCREAMING certain songs -- trying maybe to communicate the emotion?
Also (and I noticed in the liner notes that the group often does Middle Easter music) there was a sort of unpleasant Turkish/Indian style to the improv that I didn't like.
My final complaint is that it is a woman singing all these songs -- these songs were meant for men to sing. I don't think the lyrics were even altered to match. December 30, 2005

pseudo-"medieval" jollity and little else

I'd be the first to admit that this recording of 12th and 13th century troubadour and trouvere songs is probably not aimed at listeners like myself. Yet whilst it would be difficult to deny the enthusiasm and aplomb with which these kitschy and Clemencic-inspired interpretations are delivered - with a kaleidoscopic array of instruments, including some [apparently indispensable] arabic ones - let's not overlook one VERY crucial point here: this recording does NOT EVEN ATTEMPT to present a faithful portrayal of this repertoire. In fact, it flies in the face of ALL recent musicology (see literature by Christopher Page, Elizabeth Aubrey etc...) which leaves little doubt that these songs were performed in one of only two ways: either one unaccompanied singer, or one singer accompanied by one (or two) instrument(s) - principally harp or vielle (although one wind instrument was sometimes used in lower style genres, like the dansa or pastourelle/pastorela). Additionally (!), only certain songs [Low Style - like track 2] were probably sung in a metric fashion, whereas High Style Chansons seem to have been rather more rhapsodic in delivery from start to finish, in complete contrast to how they are presented here [tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 12]...

But perhaps the performers (and listeners) don't believe this is relevant, or don't even care - after all, it's certainly rather "merrie". Just make sure you realise it's about as "medieval" as Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones's 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail', or John Milius's 1981 film 'Conan the Barbarian' [starring Arnold Schwarzennegger].

Incidentally, if you're interested in hearing some academically and aesthetically more convincing recordings of this repertory, then the following are recommended:

1. 'Dante and the Troubadours', Sequentia/Bagby [DHM 05472 77 227 2]
2. 'Le fou sur le pont' - Bernatz de Vendadorn, Camerata Mediterranea/Cohen [Erato 4509-94B25-2]
3. 'The Spirits of England and France 2 - Songs of the Trouveres', Gothic Voices/Page [Hyperion CDA66773] May 7, 2005

Simply outstanding

By far the best medieval music album in Naxos. This truly is a delight for senses. What I most enjoy is its wonderful attempt to recreate what a troubadour ambiance would have looked like: Maria Laffite's voice is unvaluable in that respect. Smart choice of songs and a particularly well-directed consort. It seems to me that the first feature that a troubadour album must offer, is for its scope to border on the literary value of the songs. "Music of the Troubadour" truly is a wonderful blend of medieval literature and music. May 3, 2005

I TROVATORI

Absolutely fascinating, and it goes without saying not much like Verdi. This is an illuminating selection of the music of the troubadours, part vocal part instrumental, dating from the 12th to the 14th centuries. The artists are two groups of specialists, representing it seems slightly different traditions in the performance of the music, but with previous experience of collaborating. Particular care was apparently given to the selection of the vocalist, the final choice being Maria Lafitte of Canso Catalana, a specialist not only in the music of the period but also in the mediaeval romance languages - Provencal and some near congeners - of the poetry we find here.

The performances have a great deal of `presence' and what sounds to me like an air of authority. Maria Lafitte puts her heart and soul into all her contributions, and it should be taken as a compliment when I say that for me there was an odd suggestion of Piaf about her. With one exception, the mildly risqué # 9, all the vocal work is solo work. In # 9 I have to suppose the instrumentalists double as the choristers, since no other credits are given. The instrumental music (comprising about half of the disc) has not advanced at this stage beyond rudimentary harmony consisting of drone basses and percussion effects, but it is strikingly well recorded, particularly as regards parts of the percussion, and the liner note details the precise instruments used. What I would have liked to find in the note is rather more about the choice of instruments - is it specified in the scores or, as I suspect, did the specialist performers prescribe it themselves? As regards the vocal side, the liner note is completely admirable, pitching to an audience of newcomers to this music and packing in a lot of the historical background in a short space. There is also a brief section on the performers, the commentary is given in German and French as well as English, and there is a full text of the poems with English translation. October 21, 2004

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