Search - Gothic Voices, Page :: Study of Love: 14th Ctry French Songs & Motets

Whether or not you understand the language of these 14th-century French songs and motets, you'll find it hard to resist the music's essential elements-- melody and rhythm. These composers, most of whom are anonymous, really knew how to write a tune and the rhythms can be as catchy or as complex as those written by the most sophisticated modern jazz musician. The seven singers and two instrumentalists (harp and lute) share the performing duties--challenges is a more appropriate word--on the disc's 21 selections, all taken from the very rich repertoire of poets and composers whose thoughts on the subject of love were alternately imaginative and practical. Their expressive poetic imagery was more than equaled by the ingenuity of their musical settings. One of the most remarkable works is a four-part Gloria by Pycard, a rhythmic tour de force with wild harmonies to match. --David Vernier