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Saturday, Oct 11, 2008
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Early Music Guild presents edgy Ensemble Clément Janequin |
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| Early Music Guild presents edgy Ensemble Clément Janequin | ||
| by Rod Parke -
SGN A&E Writer Ensemble Clément Janequin October 20th Town Hall At first, I faulted the Ensemble Clément Janequin for lacking the smooth, immaculate sound of early music groups such as Chanticleer or the Tallis Scholars. Their sound, in the lively acoustics of Town Hall, was loud, precise, and articulate; but their blend was less than perfect. Way to go, Rod, for completely missing the point! This group of five male, French singers, plus one lutenist, was not trying to be smooth. They were in fact kinda in your face. Their leader, Dominique Visse, a short guy with a prominent, sharp, French nose, had the aura of an out-there, Gay prankster. BIG, frizzy gray hair flaring wide on each side of his pointed face almost hid the huge rings in his left ear. His countertenor voice was also sharp in tone (not in pitch), often not blending well with the other voices. Yet HIS appearance gave the best impression of the intent of much of this program's music. "Let him roast. Kill the rogue. It's time for a drink, Twisted rascal, lumpish lout, wet fart, clumsy clod, Lazy loafer, funky smelly farter, cuckold. Let him be tied up, well bound and chained, Trussed up and strangled, and chucked into a ditch." Not your typical classical music lyrics! The program title, 'Le chant des oylseaulx,' and the nature of this music was best explained in the program notes: "[The] reason for connecting birds, spring, love and music is the common ground of exuberance - the exuberance of uninhibited full-throated song, say, captured in poetry by the image of birdsong, and in music by the human voice, exploiting the singer's capacity both to imitate the calls of birds, and to couple them with metaphorical associations in words." In fact, much of this evening's music, dominated by songs of Clément Janequin (c1485-1558), strove to create the actual sounds of nature. The choice of onomatopoeic words and the use of crazy, complex rhythms and pitches made even those not familiar with French recognize birdlike and other extra-musical sounds. Such effects, sometimes humorous and sometimes poetic, have gone in and out of vogue in musical circles over the centuries but clearly had a popular appeal in early music. Not all of the program was of this sort, and at times, when the music required it, the blend of the singers' voices was perfect. Other composers represented were Adrian Le Roy, Grégoire Brayssing, and Claude Lejeune. Lutenist Eric Bellocq also performed two works on a solo Renaissance guitar, which was small but amazingly loud. Throughout the evening of unfamiliar music, the numbers of singers varied. Bass Renaud Delaigue stood out both for his gorgeous, rich bass voice and as eye candy! (The photo does neither the bass nor the countertenor/director justice.) The Early Music Guild's 'International Series' continues on November 30th with the return engagement of the phenomenal acapella women's Trio Mediaeval. These Scandinavian women wowed us a season or two ago, and I wouldn't miss them for the world. Reviewer Rod Parke can be reached at rod@sgn.org. |
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