Search - Guillaume de Machaut (Composer), Ensemble Musica Nova :: Guillaume de Machaut: The Motets (Complete) - Ensemble Musica Nova

A landmark recording of Machaut's music

Sator | Sydney, Australia | 07/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Machaut was born around 1300, presumably in Machaut, a village northwest of Reims. At the end of his life, poet and composer Guillaume de Machaut closely supervised the illumination of the manuscripts with his compositions. Most of these books containing an extraordinary variety of lavish miniatures can be found in the National Library of Paris. It appears that Machaut had his eye on prosterity in zealously collecting together his complete works in a manner unheard of amongst Medieval composers. The earliest of his motets can be dated to 1324. Many of them mix Latin and French texts in different voices though some are entirely in either French or Latin. In total 23 motets have been handed down to prosterity, nearly all of them are isorhythmic and they are all recorded here complete for the first time.



The Ensemble Musica Nova are part of the lively French early music scene with all of its greater expressive vibrancy and passion, that constrast markedly to the often chilly and reserved English performances. To add to the variety even more, the motets are played interspersed with alternative surviving instrumental dimunitions of the same motets that enrichen the musical experience greatly. Those accumstomed to the puritanically bland early music performances by English groups will find the results from this French group revelatory, with their exhibition of a far fuller palette of colour that recalls those rich illuminations that decorate his manuscripts. All of this helps to present a far more vigorous case for Machaut as one of the turly great composers of Western music.



The completeness and authoritativeness of the performances further extends to the use of period French pronounciation in the performances. All in all this has to be regarded as a benchmark recording for these works by a group who demonstrate deep dedication to this great composer.



Another strong added attraction of the CD is the audiophile grade quality of the recorded sound. There is good air around voices and instruments with nice spacial resolution/sound staging with voice/instrumental timbre being captured vividly. Furthermore the documentation in the cover booklet is exceptionally thorough in its discussion and documentation of textual sources, performance practice and musicological background. An additional booklet in the box provides full texts. This is another case of a lovely boutique independent recording company successfully producing a CD whose artistic and technical standards runs rings around the majors. It certainly raises great interest in the other releases by Zig Zig Territoires. Even the cover art epitomises French chic at its best.



Quite deservedly, this CD was decorated with the Diapason d'Or and the Choc de l'année 2003 - in this repetoire awards I take immeasurably more notice of than Gramophone which would have awarded it a Recording of the Year if the composer and performers were English! David Vernier for Classicstoday gave it a 10/10 review and for once I pretty much agree.



An essential CD set of music of the Ars Nova. Definitely one to grab while you can - you will be kicking yourself if you miss this one."

The mastery of Machaut

Russ | Richmond, VA | 08/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Guillaume de Machaut (c.1300-1377) was the greatest composer of the 14th century, and was notable for composing "La Messe de Notre Dame" - the first mass that was entirely attributed to one composer.



Here we have the 23 motets of Machaut. Machaut's motets, like those from others in the medieval period, are usually written in three parts:



1). The tenor: the lowest voice, which usually sings a simple, short text, with very long duration given to each syllable, similar to that of plainchant, sung slowly

2). The duplum or motetus: the middle voice, which sings a separate text. This text usually takes the form of a poem, and is more ornamented than the tenor

3). The triplum: the highest voice, which sings its own text in a highly ornamented style



Machaut's motets follow the principle of isorhythm. In essence, this means that the tenor part is repeated multiple times using the same rhythm, but the proportion of the rhythm can be altered in each repetition.



Sounds pretty complicated, doesn't it? Well, it is, and it isn't. It is complicated in the sense that three separate texts, written in old French or Latin, are sung simultaneously. Some of the motets even combine the two languages together! But the underlying beauty of Machaut melodies often beguiles the ear, making you forget all of that is taking place. However, as I have listened to the motets repeatedly, I have come to appreciate how the intricate duplum and triplum voices play off one another and contrast against the unornamented tenor line. This music really is amazing and Machaut clearly was a master. I think certain of the motets are immediately appealing for their melancholy beauty (tracks 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 on disc one, and tracks 4, 5, 11, 12 and 15 on disc two). Other tracks require more attention. Accordingly, this is a release to listen to multiple times, and in chunks. It's a bit much to fully process this music in one sitting!



The performance by Ensemble Musica Nova is outstanding, and the sound is very clear. It is evident that a lot of research went into this recording, and that great care was taken to provide the listener with an authentic experience. It should be noted that in contrast to the choral music of the Renaissance, the different voices of the ensemble do not combine to create a unified sound. Each voice is distinct, and is readily identifiable. In this performance, several of the motets are accompanied by Medieval instruments (viele, flute a bec, harp and drum), while others are purely choral. Multiple versions of certain of the motets are included. For instance, Motet 17 is presented in both an instrumental and choral version. The program notes are extremely detailed, with the original texts and English translations of the motets included.



I suspect this package will prove irrestiable to fans of medieval music, and this set can be enthusiastically recommended to that crowd. For those new to medieval music, I would recommend starting with a recording of "La Messe de Notre Dame" to get warmed up to the style. But if you are looking for a copy of Machaut's motets - this outstanding version is the one to get!



CD1: 46:53

CD2: 44:37"