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Site review by Geohominid February 14, 2012
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Performance: Sonics (S/MC): / |
Every disc made by Stile Antico has been greeted as a considerable achievement. An enthusiastic young choir of twelve who sing without conductor as if they are chamber musicians, they have tended to specialise in the golden archives of English Renaissance polyphony. The English Reformation brought times of great danger: terrible tortures and martyr's deaths awaited those who did not adopt the changing religious regimes as monarch quickly succeeded monarch, and the music of the time has a particular emotional content and drama. Some composers, such as Byrd and Tallis, had to survive several switches from Catholicism to protestantism and back again. These were turbulent times indeed.
With this new programme, the choir moves on to portray the changes brought to devotional music in England in the aftermath of the English and continental reformations during the first half of the C17th. It was a period in which Catholics and High Anglicans still had to conduct their true worship in private, perhaps behind the locked doors of oak-panelled family rooms in larger houses. The Anglican reforms insisted on music which was syllabic, with texts in English and clearly heard, simple melodic lines rather than polyphony, with recourse to chordal progress rather than polyphony, Thus the Anthem replaced the motet. There was also a considerable merging of sacred styles with domestic ones, and a gradual penetration into England of the Italian Madrigal, one of the early Baroque styles, so the Anthem Madrigal was born, of which there are some examples in this recording.
Stile Antico illustrate the vivid nature of these new forms of music for domestic devotion with the aid of Fretwork, the world-renowned peers of the viol consort which persisted in England from Tudor times to well into the C17th. They appear in 6 tracks and not only interpolate instrumental pieces, but also accompany and support the choir in some vocal works. Fretwork play several examples of what Matthew O'Donovan in his notes calls the "eccentric" penchant for English composers to pen many pieces called 'In Nomine' for various instrumental groups. They arose from a beautiful passage of the Benedictus in Taverner's Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas, set instrumentally (for viols or winds) with added ornamentations. Over 150 such pieces by 58 composers are known. Robert Parsons was one of the most prolific of these, and two of his four-part settings are included on this disc, together with Fretwork's own setting of Tavener's original. They play with dark, burnished tone and great nobility of spirit.
As usual, Stile Antico's intense research and study of the music discovers and communicates all the emotions carried by the texts, always capturing the atmosphere and drama of each piece. Their recordings have usually been in resonant churches where the tone can soar, but here the voices are brought notably closer. This intimate effect is apt for such domestic works, allowing every nuance of the singing and playing to come alive in one's listening room.
Stile Antico teamed with Fretwork - what more could you ask for? A disc glowing with many treasures which certainly deserves a place in your collection.
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Copyright © 2012 John Miller and SA-CD.net
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