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Crossroads Constantinople performs music that had previously existed in other forms. For this first CD, the ensemble approaches the music of the Middle Ages and of the Renaissance based on the musical manuscripts that have come down to us. Since there is little reliable information on the historic performance of this music, Constantinople reinterprets these manuscripts in its own way. In this spirit, the group creates instrumental arrangements of all the pieces and strives to recapture certain aspects of the performance practice and colours of Iranian art music. The first part of this recording is made up of a wide-ranging selection from the repertoire of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance, consisting mainly of instrumental and secular music. The branles are French instrumental pieces that used to accompany dances. Although these pieces were collected at the beginning of the Renaissance, their melodic nature reveals their Medieval origin. The Pazzo e mezzo, typically Italian, is an instrumental form based on the varied repetition of a theme throughout the piece. Harbi and Yek Choubeh are pieces that are today part of the permanent repertoire of classical Persian music, the radif. Before entering the repertoire of art music, they were played to accompany dances of an epic nature. These two pieces are followed by a Saltarello, a very lively instrumental dance from the 15th century. Estampie anglaise is another instrumental dance of the time, which Constantinople arranged in a new fashion with regards to tempo. Sospitati dedit egros is the only sacred and polyphonic work of this first part. Originally vocal, this piece comes from Amiens, France. Mignon Allons is a song that dates from the beginning of the Renaissance. The composer is anonymous, but the melody is as lovely as the words by the French poet Ronsard. The Saltarello, which means ''small leap'' , is another quick Italian dance, and brings the first part to a close. All these pieces, although in specific forms, leave much room for interpretive freedom and improvisation between the various sections, as well as in the choice of instrumentation. The second part consists of pieces taken from the musical collection Cancionero musical de Palacio. Dating from the beginning of the 16th century, this set contains pieces that were apparently sung and played at the court of Ferdinand II and at those of los Reyes Catolicos. The richness of this music - simple and constant though is its formal layout - is revealed through its melodic interplay and ornamentation. Although written for three or four sung parts, these pieces are presented by Constantinople in instrumental arrangements. © Kiya Tabassian Translation: Jacques- André Houle
Recorded and mixed by: William Dueck , Val Morin (Québec) |
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©2010 Constantinople info@constantinople.ca 428, Rachel Est Montréal (Québec) H2J 2G7 Canada |
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