Paris Expers Paris: Ecole De Notre-dame 1170-1240

1 CD - Label: Alpha - ALPHA102 - Benedicamus Domino, Organum A 3 - - Ensemble: Diabolus In Musica

Deus Misertus (4-part conductus); Descendit de Celis (3-part organum); Sursum Corda (2-part conductus); Olim Sudor Herculis (1-part conductus); O Maria Virginei (3-part conductus); Benedicamus Domino (3-part organum); Mundus Vergens (4-part conductus); Veri Floris Sub Figura (3-part conductus); Naturas Deus Regulis (3-part conductus)

From the 1150s Paris became an important centre for music. New polyphonic styles came from the Notre Dame School, the name given by modern scholars to the group of musicians working in Paris and associated with the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the neighbouring churches. Their works were soon copied, sung, and imitated throughout Europe. Their exceptional popularity is explained by the genius of Léonin and Pérotin, but also by the city's extraordinary renown at the beginning of the thirteenth century, when it was known as the ‘mother of the arts’ and the ‘second Athens’. The distinctive sound of the ensemble Diabolus in Musica was revealed to the public in 1998, with a first recording entitled Vox Sonora and devoted to conductus of the Notre Dame School. Now Paris Expers Paris (Paris Without Equal) presents a completely different facet of this magnificent repertoire. The programme centres on the impressive Response for Christmastide ‘Descendit de Caelis’, three-voice organum, an extraordinary musical structure alternating long polyphonic melismas probably by Pérotin and Gregorian melodies enriched with solo prose sections. The other pieces illustrate all the possibilities that were explored by the composers of the Notre Dame School in the thirteenth century: from 1 to 4 parallel voices, the famous composer Pérotin being the first in the history of Western music to write music in 4 parts. For Paris Expers Paris, the forces of the ensemble Diabolus in Musica have been renewed in order to bring out the full expressive potential of this repertoire. Even more than before, the deep voices and the very characteristic timbres of the ensemble are brought to the fore. This programme was recorded in the refectory of Fontevraud Abbey between 28 September and 1 October 2005. Diabolus in Musica has often recorded and given concerts at Fontevraud.

Price: $13.98

In stock
ships in 3 to 5 days