Anonymous Booklet Full.Indd
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8.550751 8.553132 8.553442 8.553502 8.553617 8.555861 8.557138 8.557627 8.553618 8.553697 8.554256 8.554257 8.554284 8.554425 8.554516 8.554744 8.554837 8.557637 8.553192 Anonymous Booklet full.indd 1 6/5/09 2:45:12 PM bargain early in life so she would have time enough to write all the music that was inside her? How else to evoking the ennobling power of the sweetest emotion. One can easily imagine a Knight Templar, example for other composers. There was a newfound aggression in her instrumental pieces that account for his centuries-spanning output, familiarity with vastly disparate musical forms, and the fact that for example, on leave from a military campaign, paying court to a young noblewoman to the lilting prefigured subsequent developments in rock music. In other words, Anonymous liked to get Anonymous his music was woven into the cultural fabric of not just one but numerous countries? Was he a musically accompaniment of Anonymous’ achingly beautiful “Quant voi la flor novela” (When I see the new flowers). his instrumental jam on, Renaissance style. Just give a listen to his “Cantiga de Santa Maria No. inclined brother of Methuselah, gifted with an equally long lifeline? Could he have been the physical mani- As the Middle Ages progressed, musical structure gradually became more sophisticated and com- 77/119,” an awkwardly titled but righteously rocking little number written in honor of the Black “What is fame? The advantage of being known by people of whom you yourself know nothing, and festation of Apollo, god of music? Or, even more fanciful, a visitor from another time and dimension? plex. Whereas early medieval music (before 1150) was primarily vocal and characterized by a beguiling Madonna of Montserrat; or to the dynamic lyricism of “Ronde 4-1-6”, one of many Flemish dance for whom you care as little.” No one can ever know, of course, but whatever the facts of her life, what is clearly beyond dispute is simplicity, the 12th century witnessed the development of polyphony and greater rhythmic complexity. tunes she composed. In the increasing melodic and harmonic sophistication of these works one can – Lord Byron that more music is credited to Anonymous than to any other composer in history. That in itself may Anonymous participated directly but discreetly in these innovations, as his “Agnus Dei” from the Mass discern the eventual transition to the Baroque era. Fame, fleeting fame. In music, as in all other arts, composers who were famous during their provide some personality clues. Anonymous was either tremendously modest, content to serve his muse of Tournai, the first polyphonic setting of the Mass, eloquently attests. Also noteworthy was her genius However, the end of the Renaissance period also coincides with a sharp decrease in Anonymous’ lifetime are often unknown today. Germany’s Heinrich Schu˙˙tz and Italy’s Giovanni Pacini are but without the balm of fame; or something of a prankster, seeing the humor of producing innumerable for assimilation: Her traditional Sephardic music from Spain is musical alchemy at its finest, blending compositional output. While she did experiment with sonatas, concerto grossi and some operatic two classical composers who come to mind. Then there are those upon whom fame never smiled— masterworks seemingly bereft of creative ownership. Moreover, being Anonymous likely had its practical melodic and rhythmic influences from Morocco, Greece, Argentina and Turkey in such bewitching songs genres, he slowly but surely retreated even further into obscurity, until her name stopped for every Mozart, a Mayr; for every Beethoven, a Bortniansky. The cruelty and capriciousness of advantages. Such an extreme low-profile approach enabled her to practice her craft in peace and quiet, as “Avrix Mi Galanica” (Let Me In, My Love) and “Partos Trocaos” (Babes Exchanged). With such music appearing altogether sometime around 1700 or so. As with all other aspects of his life, no reason the general public is enduring and universal. undisturbed by disciples or disputants. He was also able to avoid being identified with a single type of Anonymous proved himself a weaver of dreams, taking listeners to exotic hemispheres of mystery and can be divined for his disappearance from the music scene. Maybe she found it harder to remain The ultimate no-name composer was, ironically, the most prolific, versatile and long-lived the music, helping to free him creatively. And, not least, being hidden from the prying eyes of historians excitement. Other composers of the Middle Ages have received kudos for similar contributions (among anonymous while maintaining a consistently high level of quantity and quality. Or perhaps, having world has ever not known. Compositions attributed to him stretch across the centuries, from the meant he need never have suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous criticism. them Andrea da Firenze and Donato da Cascia), but Anonymous, in her typical stealth fashion, always established so many lasting musical templates and inspired so many composers, he decided that he beginning of the Middle Ages, through the Renaissance, and into the early stages of the Baroque So we must turn to the 48 selections on this unique Naxos compilation—all of them written by remained at the forefront of musical innovation. had done enough to further the development of music. period. His music was by turns spiritual and secular, romantic and raucous, traditional and Anonymous—for clues as to the measure of this remarkable and reclusive individual. We begin during Anonymous managed to remain undercover during the Renaissance era (1400-1600), although Despite his compositional silence for the past three or four hundred years, some musicologists forward-looking. She was equally at home writing Gregorian chant, songs for troubadours, and the early Middle Ages, a dark and violent era marked by plague, torture, intolerance and hardship. The composers generally enjoyed greater recognition than they had during the Middle Ages, due in part to are inclined to the belief that Anonymous still lives, her inextinguishable spirit somehow sustaining instrumental dance music. He assimilated elements from both Western and Eastern cultures, tapping church was the dominant social institution, and life was lived amidst the savage context of unending the invention of printing. They could now write down their compositions for posterity, instead of having the flesh. The fact is, he hung around for so long that it’s hard to imagine him ever succumbing into musical traditions from England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Greece, North religious crusades. The music Anonymous wrote during this time captured the full range of the era’s to pass them on orally as in previous centuries. Commercial printing also contributed to a much wider to mortality. One imagines her living in splendid isolation in some small and remote European Africa and beyond. You name it, she could write it. political, religious and cultural textures while offering welcome spiritual respite from the harsh tenor of dissemination of musical styles and trends, and it became easier to ascribe ownership of individual pieces village, taking in such 20th century developments as minimalism, serialism and spectralism with Yet the one thing he never wrote was his name, and so history has provided one for her: everyday life. This speaks to a noble and compassionate nature. Sacred and secular songs dominated early of music. Like many other Renaissance composers (notably Guillaume Dufay, Josquin des Prez and John wonder and delight. And, perhaps, with no small sense of ownership, having been responsible for Anonymous. Needless to say, we know virtually nothing about him. No artist sketched his features. medieval music, and Anonymous was a master of these forms. For proof, one need look no further than Dowland), Anonymous wrote more secular music and explored/innovated such emerging compositional so many contributions to the global musical vocabulary. After all, in music, as in all other arts, the No poet sang her praises. No registrar listed his birth. All of which leaves us only with questions: her beguiling religious carol “Eya Mater Stephane,” or the haunting plainsong of “Gregorian Chant for forms as madrigals, chansons and rondeaux, while never losing sight of the most important element of her fruit of the future has always grown from the seeds of the past. Was Anonymous highborn or lowborn? Compassionate or cold? Charismatic or unprepossessing? the Dead.” The deceptive simplicity of this music (characterized by single melodic lines and repetitive, music—emotion. His most famous and popular work, the 16th century folk song “Greensleeves,” resonates European or Middle Eastern? The only general assumption is that Anonymous was a man, given hypnotic rhythmic patterns) is belied by its emotional complexity and expressiveness. with a warmth and wistfulness that has come to represent the spirit of Christmas for countless generations “All is ephemeral—fame and the famous as well.” the almost complete lack of female composers during the Middle Ages (Hildegard of Bingen the The Medieval era wasn’t all doom and gloom, of course. The notion of courtly love was conceived the world over. Ironically, it was once attributed to Henry VIII, perhaps by lesser composers jealous of – Marcus Aurelius notable exception). A number of dissenting scholars hold the opposite view, however, believing around the time of the First Crusade in 1099, and reached exalted heights in successive centuries (and Anonymous’ prolific output, but time has restored the rightful provenance of this evergreen. Anonymous to be a woman who felt it necessary to compose behind a cloak of obscurity due to contributed greatly to modern notions of romance). Grounded more in spiritual rather than physical love, Instrumental music was also developing rapidly, abetted by the invention of new instruments such as the era’s discomfort with women assuming any type of creative role.