Review page of
Medieval Folk, Old Music & especially New music based upon Old Music :
Reviews :
(with Atrium Musicae de Madrid)
Introduction :
Old music mostly was reviewed by people with a classical music interest. But this form of music is also highly creative, and demands creativity of the performers, one of the many reasons that it should also interest lovers of folk, folkrock but also the acid folk collectors. Acid folk lovers focus mainly on creativity, on an ear to sound and for me personally also a heart for music, which is an extremely important fundament to interpret the interpretations : when it speaks more to a "context-aware" heart, it means it was also successful with every element. This last definition of awareness (which I deliberately didn't call 'spiritual heart', while it also has a spiritual intelligence involved with it, is difficult to describe to those who don’t have such a complete openness in this awareness ; some people might like forms of operatic singing or even personalities just for the thought of it (Pavarotti,..), which is not the same kind of awareness I’m talking about. For old music I would say that, if a certain song captures also the character of the original composer or the creative essence of the composition, the chance that it speaks more to the open feelings that this is a righteous exploration and interpretation as if it was created anew on the moment, makes it superior, because then the music works like an invention, like traveling into different times or worlds, as an expression of something which was not experienced this way before. Of course such performances are never just spontaneous as they are. They have a history of preparation of formation of ideas, before capturing the spirit and philosophy. It demands experience intellectually, practice and so on. Just a classical education won’t necessarily bring such elements together. Many sources must be explored and experienced, for old music only left its traces, and at some places in the world it only lived on in a certain form. But many recording artists were already able to capture at certain points certain essences. Exploring such recordings and announcing when something of this nature is discovered is not something you could read and find so easily in classical music reviews in magazines. But of course, some names will be generally accepted to have captured something essential. (like for instance Montserat Figueras and Hesperion XX in Spain,...)
I remember how Esther Lamandier had a different approach to reading notes and scriptures, based upon ideas she got by reading Middle Eastern scriptures on old music : she sings with more vocal dancing fantasy in her voice around the written notes, like a variation to Middle Eastern singing, which feels much more natural and righteous to the general idea how to read from the papers. Alfred Deller developed a whole different way of breathing and singing technique for interpreting Purcell. Hardly had I heard such sensitive interpretations. Thomas Binkley’s voice alone is able to capture an old music spirit. He also developed an awareness of old instruments. Dr.Vladimir Ivanoff with Sarband was one of the interpreters who knows what of medieval music survived in Turkey, and is aware of the cross-cultural influences during old times, something which has been too often neglected. (reviews on next page). During history Turkey and Greece were much more united and shared importance of an influence in Europe more than today’s Turkey which developing its function more as a bridge between east and west than having its own share of influence in European culture. And of course there were others. Unfortunately I had already forgotten some names of interpreters or items. I heard another master who said that certain old churches have a sonic capability that if you stand on the right places the voice is amplified so much into the ceiling it gives an almost supernatural, spiritual feeling. I wish I remembered his name. His voice received this way such capacities. And I also forgot which ensemble was the only one who I found capable of capturing the spirit of Bernard De Ventadorn, one of the only minstrels who was not of noble origin, and who more had a noble heart from the common people, like a kind of Jacques Brel. Also many musicians from certain regions often capture something of the spirit of that region well. (see also review of Les Tisserands next page). Not all items which will be reviewed here will have an equal importance in capturing these essential spirits, but when it really does I will mention this and also in what way. The music on its own remains of course already of a certain beauty, even in third-form interpretations, doing something relatively creative with it. (See also folkrock examples like Ougenweide here)
If someone has good ideas for this webpage, please e-mail me. I waited to long before starting with this particular page
