Pierre de Cambrai, Graindelavoix, Bjorn Schmeizer - Ossuaires

Published Friday 4th January 2013
Pierre de Cambrai, Graindelavoix, Bjorn Schmeizer - Ossuaires
Pierre de Cambrai, Graindelavoix, Bjorn Schmeizer - Ossuaires

STYLE: World
RATING 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 134094-
LABEL: Glossa GCDP32107
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 1

Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

"The past is a foreign country - they do things differently there" is the opening line of Hartley's novel The Go-between and this applies equally to this curious CD, which is why I have reviewed it as world music rather than classical or choral. Nowhere is this more evident than on 'Ossuaires', the first of three ambitious recordings created around the travels and shadowy biography of a certain Villard de Honnecourt, a 13th-century draughtsman whose portfolio is still in existence. Villard, who contributed to designs found in churches and cathedrals dating from what we now call the Gothic era (his portfolio contains drawings of floor plans, building elements, mechanical tools, interiors and maps of churches, towers, statues of saints, rose windows, flagstone floors as well as animals, insects and geometrical figures), appears to have travelled far and wide across Christian Europe; he may even have also been involved in the trade of holy relics (ossuaries being receptacles for said relics). The Belgian early music ensemble Graindelavoix's programme includes an Office for the 13th century St Elizabeth of Hungary, relics of whom were quickly scattered far and wide immediately after her death, creating a set of pathways or routes across Europe. Schmelzer's approach to medieval music here mirrors the working attitudes of an artist like Villard, embellishing and improvising, combining and recycling materials from a practical perspective. The characteristic and imaginative approach of Björn Schmelzer, along with his Graindelavoix singers, stands back from preconceived notions of how such medieval music may have been sung and aligns itself instead more with the working practices of artists such as Villard de Honnecourt (examples of the draughtsman's work are included in the CD booklet), medieval and modern artists embellishing and improvising, combining and recycling their materials from a practical perspective. The result is unusual to say the least and the closest I can come to describe what it is like is a perhaps unhelpful comparison with The Secret Archives Of The Vatican: an eclectic journey along some off-the-beaten-track routes but with a consummate sense of what works musically and a sense of humour. There is a distinct Eastern flavour to the music - somewhere between Turkey and Russia, perhaps, and if these musings are unhelpful the best I can do is suggest you visit glossamusic.com and listen to a sample.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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