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The Dufay Collective
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The Dufay Collective in Concert Presented by Caldwell Arts Pte Ltd |
PAUL BEVAN long trumpet · whistle · rabab · percussion GILES LEWIN rabab · vielle · shawm · whistle WILLIAM LYONS flute · shawm · simfony · saz · percussion SUSANNA PELL vielle · rabab · percussion PETER SKUCE harp · rabab · percussion with VIVIEN ELLIS (lead) voice · percussion |
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Jan 14 A l'estamipda! Songs and Dances from Medieval Europe |
Jan 15 Miracles
Music for a Medieval Pilgrimage |
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after Thibaut de Champagne (1201-53)
13th c. France 13th c. England Moniot de Paris (fl.1270) 13th c. Spain 14th c. Italy |
From the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat
Cantigas de Santa Maria |
OVERALL NOISE RATING:
1 (Kids playing outside hall)
The Noise Rating Index is a partially-objective measurement of pager and handphone blasts, 9pm and 10pm watch beeps, coughing-during-the-pianissimo-bits, intra-audience conversation and other mind-bogglingly inept noises emitted in the concert hall during actual performance of music. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 5, in increasing annoyance.
This review has been kindly sponsored by Caldwell Arts
Pte Ltd.
by Chia Han-Leon
When I was first told that the Dufay Collective (approximately: "DO-far-ye", with a near silent "ye") was coming to perform in Singapore, my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. It is already outrageously rare that music before Mozart is performed in Singapore, let alone that music on period instruments. Rarer still is music from the Medieval era performed here - so many times I asked myself what chance would we have here to encounter this rare but wonderful music performed 'live'. And by one of the best and most accessible of groups?
On the first night, we were treated to a near complete selection of songs and dances from Medieval Europe. In performing the "English Dance", Ar ne kuth ich sorghe non and the famous Miri it is while sumer ilast, Peter Skuce humorously informed the audience that we could go home and tell everyone we've heard all the surviving repertoire from 13th century England!
The instrumental variety obviously delighted and even amused many (I assume novice) members of the audience. The Collective produced a fascinatingly diverse range of colour, though not the widest I've heard. Yet I think it is this quality, their balanced and beautifully-blended instrumental groupings, which distinguish the Collective's performances. Even at the loudest end, with bagpipes, shawm and the immediately arresting 2-metre Long Trumpet thrown in (as in the opening Dance "J'aloie l'autrier"), the Collective managed to sound entirely balanced.
Whatever the case, what we had then was a demonstration of the flow in the Collective's music-making. This could be fairly dangerous as the music is repetitive (i.e. they repeat that one single melodic line); variety is achieved only through instrumentation and colouring.
Speaking of colouring, the most engaging aspect of the Dufay Collective must be their vocals. Let's start with the men. Miri it is was performed with male voices a capella, later joined by two bagpipes - very English indeed! (The song is a complaint about bad weather). The result, taking full advantage of the four parts, was a thick, accented, very "authentic" interpretation. The throaty voices of the men were flavourfully and evocatively pungent, nasal at the top, really hitting the mark with any "ng" sound ("song", "strong"). The only point this didn't quite work was on the second night, during O Virgo Splendens. The men sang from upstairs above the main entrance and unfortunately the nasal tone covered the more "detached" syllables of the Latin words.
The programme for the second night was dominated by music from the great 13th century collection of over 400 songs compiled by the court of Alfonso X, El Sabio ("The Wise") - the Cantigas de Santa Maria (CSM). The pieces chosen are largely the same as those on the Dufay Collective's delightful album, Miracles, one which I highly recommend.
A few songs had already been performed the previous night, including Cantiga 160 Quen bõa dona, where Ellis' rapturous lines floated above the evocative strains of the simfony, punctuated by the rich harmony of the "Santa Maria" choral refrain provided by the Collective. The breathtaking Mariam Matrem Virginem was also performed twice. In addition to the beauty of the voices, I found myself drawn to the magical synthesis of notes from harp and lute, ringing seemingly randomly yet providing exactly the right movement of chords throughout this mesmerising prayer from the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat.
The first piece on the second night, Stella splendens in monte ("Gleaming star of the mountain"), is also from the Llibre Vermell. The Collective surprised those who also attended the first night by approaching from the back of the hall in procession, accompanied by a small bell. Appropriately, Ellis appeared with a rich red shawl drapped over her shoulders, a reference, I believe, to the Llibre Vermell ("Red Book")
Like Polorum regina, these are among the quieter pieces which formed tranquil breaks in the programme (in fact, there are faster, more festive pieces from the Llibre Vermell) - this is music which makes me wonder why is it people call the "Dark Ages" dark... Along with the joyous dances and songs, they often make me believe that if the Medieval era could produce music of such astonishing beauty, I would rather humanity stop technological progress and go back to those times. (Wishful thinking of course).
The experience of watching Early Music being performed, as with any music, is much more meaningful than listening to a machine spinning a disc. This is even more acute with music of such free expression. What has always impressed me about King Alfonso's collection is the tremendous joy it embraces. Even when describing distress, demons or dire straits, many of the cantigas are cast in music of light-hearted joy. In celebration of the kindness, compassion and saving miracles of the Virgin Mary, this is music which knows that the tales depicted always end with the triumph of goodness.
This cheerful atmosphere is a direct statement of the unfailing miracles of the Virgin - prophetic joy. The detached looks of serene peace on the faces of the Collective's members are matched by the knowing faith in and joyous singing of Vivien Ellis. The latter sways lightly to the rhythm of the songs - and how could anyone resist dancing with this music, so deeply imbued it is with the spirit of (somewhat rustic) celebration?
The result of being able to watch these songs performed is a complete revelation to me - the sense of worldly joy the Collective bring to the music expresses the ultimate triumph of the Heavenly Queen whom the King worshipped. And this is not the triumph of militarist conquest, but the simple victory of simple kindness. When you watch five people equipped with simple instruments play like a family, with a detached familiarity, the result is strangely appropriate. In their distant looks, some with closed eyes, one is drawn into and immersed in a world long lost to us. In the final analysis, since there is no "authentic" score, no written instruction on how to play this music, I am convinced alone by the sheer variety, improvisatory freedom and musical creativity of the Dufay Collective.
Although this makes reviewing such performances pretty difficult, if not pointless, it does challenge the listener to really listen to the music-making, rather than be hindered by the obsession with fidelity to a printed score. The result is, again, simple: it is either music to your ears or it is not.
At worst, it might seem alien and strange. As ("New-")Asians, we are placed in an even stranger context - here is music from Medieval Europe, written by Europeans on instruments derived from the East (eg. Arabia), sounding strangely Asiatic yet otherworldly; music whose reality is only speculation, whose world largely misunderstood. What survives today are scraps of memories spared by the ravages of time, scant lines of dried ink bearing all the beauty from six or seven hundred years ago. As we enter the 21st century, we cherish the opportunity to enter and live in a new millenium; to this wondrous art of the Middle Ages, it is just another moment in time.
Dressed in their trademark (and very cool) black 1990s' gothic gear - the Collective presented two nights of some of the most amazing, beautiful and instantly accessible music from the 13th to 14th century. Music from this time is largely speculative in terms of how they should be performed, as the "scores" (as they were written down, if at all) essentially consist of just one line of melody. What we hear in any performance is thus the musicians' own ideas on how to beef-up of this minimal score.
Balance also seems to characterise the way they deal with the rhythmic aspects of the music. Whereas I was kind of expecting a greater use of percussion, the drums really didn't appear until the second half (and night). Also, moderate tempo was favoured for most of the music. As a result, it seemed to me that they had chosen to "soften" the chugging effect of rhythmic devices (or could it be that the CHIJMES hall's reverberant acoustics had done that? Hmm) often emphasised in Early Music performance. This is a very desirable alternative to the rigid drum-banging of many other British Early Music groups, and perhaps easier on the novice listener than the rhythmic liberties of Spanish groups (the latter which I tend to prefer).
The star of the concerts was the lead singer Vivien Ellis (right), who I think is one of today's best female singers in the Early Music business, at least from the Engilsh-speaking countries. Her voice is immediately arresting for its honeyed yet not over-sweet tone, its lightly dosed intensity, for its (what I can only call) musical charm, but most of all for the personality she injects into the music. From her first appearance, Ar ne kuth ich sorge non, accompanied by harp, Ms Ellis demonstrated her effortless soaring, her farawar pianos and the softest dynamic shadings, all captured with great atmosphere in the bloom within the CHIJMES hall (a chapel).
Left: King Alfonso X, "El Sabio"
In Cantiga 167 Quen quer que na Virgen fia, a Moorish woman's deceased son is returned to her alive when she beseeches the Virgin for help. Throughout the song, if you watch the performers, particular Ms Ellis, there is little hint of the distress described in the texts. Likewise in Cantiga 354 Eno pouco e no muito, when the Virgin saves the King's pet ferret from being trampled to death by horses, the mood of the song - musically and visually - is completely joyous.
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Music From Old Time
It's Never Too
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In one of his past lives, Chia Han-Leon juggled eggs with his toes at Medieval carnivals.
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387: 19.1.1999 ©Chia Han-Leon
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