Secret Voices: Music from Codex Las Huelgas

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The great strengths of Anonymous 4 are their distinctive tone and their meticulous tuning. Their weakness is that they tend to phrase everything in a similar way - short sections of text with... — BBC Music Magazine, December 2011, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 3rd Oct 2011
Catalogue No: HMU807510
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Length: 58 minutes

anon.: Sequence: Virgines egregie

Work length2:57

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anon.: Conductus: Ave maris stella

Work length3:09

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anon.: Motet: Claustrum pudicicie / Virgo viget / Flos Filius

Work length2:17

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anon.: Discant: Fa fa mi / Ut re mi

Work length1:23

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anon.: Conductus-Motet: O Maria virgo / O Maria maris stella / [In Veritate]

Work length3:17

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anon.: Benedicamus domino cum cantico

Work length1:29

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anon.: Motet: Salve porta / Salve salus / Salve sancta parens

Work length0:55

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anon.: Kirie: Rex virginum amator

Work length4:18

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anon.: Gloria: Spiritus et alme

Work length5:29

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anon.: Sequence: Verbum bonum et suave

Work length2:45

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anon.: Motet: Salve virgo regia / Ave gloriosa mater / [Domino]

Work length2:59

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anon.: Sanctus and Benedictus

Work length1:39

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anon.: Motet: Gaude virgo nobilis / Verbum caro factum / Et Veritate

Work length2:42

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anon.: Agnus dei gloriosa spes reorum

Work length3:27

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anon.: Planctus: O monialis conscio

Work length3:06

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anon.: Benedicamus domino: Belial vocatur

Work length1:56

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anon.: Sequence: In virgulto gracie

Work length3:02

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anon.: Motet: Ave regina celorum / Alma redemptoris mater / [Alma]

Work length1:49

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anon.: Benedicamus domino a3 (rondellus)

Work length1:32

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anon.: Song: Si vocatus ad nupcias

Work length1:25

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anon.: Conductus: Mater patris et filia

Work length4:22

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anon.: Benedicamus domino a2

Work length0:42

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anon.: Song: Omnium in te christe

Work length1:34

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Anonymous 4 revisit their favourite era in repertoire that illuminates medieval women’s affinity for the most complex polyphony of their time. Spanning the entire 13th century — from virtuosic motets and conductus to heartfelt laments and sacred songs—the remarkable Las Huelgas manuscript was compiled for a convent of aristocratic Castilian women who (in spite of a rule forbidding Cistercian nuns from singing polyphony) sang the most beautiful, advanced and demanding music from all across Gothic-era Europe.

There are elegant French love motets here, like Claustrum pudicicie/Virgo viget, which were retro-fitted with holy words for the sisters to sing. There are conductus, like Mater patris et filia, Ave maris stella and Parens patris natique, with unpredictable rhythms and lively hockets. There are also heartfelt laments, like O monialis conscio, written on the death of a beloved member of the sisterhood. The sisters had written or collected for them, virtuoso polyphony for the daily Mass as well, and we include several of these: the troped Kyrie Rex virginum and Gloria Spiritus et alme. We also get a glimpse into the musical dedication of the convent in a unique “solfeggio” exercise, Fa Fa Mi / Ut Re Mi, for the sister’s music lessons, where they practiced singing their hexachords under the watchful ear of the music mistress. The repertoire of the Las Huelgas manuscript provides the proof that Anonymous 4, far from singing ‘men’s music’, are following in the footsteps of their much-older sisters who had no difficulty (except from their male monastic superiors) in finding and performing the most virtuosic, avant-garde polyphonic music of their time. It’s time now for Anonymous 4 to bring them to life again.

Reviews

December 2011

The great strengths of Anonymous 4 are their distinctive tone and their meticulous tuning. Their weakness is that they tend to phrase everything in a similar way - short sections of text with an audible gap at the end of every line - which helps if you want the music to be a metaphor for calm breathing, but not if the narrative runs across that gap.

February 2012

There are many reasons why this is a superlative issue. First of course is the wonderful but rarely heard music of the Las Huelgas manuscript...And then there is the singing of Anonymous 4, who are hard to challenge in this kind of repertory. It is not just that their tuning is astonishing...It is also that they have four very distinctive voices that manage to blend perfectly and balance perfectly without at any point losing clarity.

November 2011

As ever, their tuning is laser-sharp and their voices are fresh and, within the bounds of historical propriety, very expressive. Each voice has its own character, as many pieces on this collection reveal, yet they can also blend into a seamless whole...This is the most satisfying recording I have heard of music from Las Huelgas and is another triumph for Anonymous 4.

Secret Voices

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