GCD P32103 Poissance d’amours New release information February 2008 Graindelavoix “Le grain, c’est le corps dans la voix qui chante, dans la main qui écrit, dans le membre qui exécute...” (Roland Barthes) NOTES (ENG) NOTES (FRA) Little attention has been given on record so far La discographie avait jusqu’à présent négligé to the music and writings emanating from the la musique et les écrits extraordinaires dus à flourishing economic and cultural environs of la floraison économique et culturelle du Brabant 13th-century Brabant but it is from the au XIIIe ; et c’est à cette source prodigieuse remarkable outpouring associated with this ayant surgi dans ce duché médiéval que Björn medieval duchy – covering the areas of Brussels, Schmelzer et Graindelavoix ont puisé pour créer Antwerp and the present day Belgian provinces leur troisième volume chez Glossa. Au cours of Vlaams and Walloon Brabant as well as des deux précédents, Caput (GCD P32101) et Noord-Brabant in The Netherlands – that Björn Joye (GCD P32102), Schmelzer et son ensemble Schmelzer and Graindelavoix have created their résident à Anvers ont exploré, dans la musique third recording for Glossa. In Caput (GCD médiévale tardive de Johannes Ockeghem et P32101) and Joye (GCD P32102) Schmelzer de Gilles Binchois, des courants et des tendances and his Antwerp-based ensemble explored in qui illuminent notre temps. Graindelavoix, en the late medieval music of Johannes Ockeghem effet, s’intéresse principalement, dans le cadre Poissance d’amours and Gilles Binchois undercurrents that illuminate de la musique ancienne, à la relation entre la Mystics, monks and minstrels our own times. What preoccupies Graindelavoix notation et ce qui n’est pas écrit, c’est-à-dire : in 13th-century Brabant in early music is the bond between notation la haute connaissance et le savoir-faire de and what eludes it: the higher consciousness l’interprète lui permettant de faire revivre une Graindelavoix and savoir-faire that the performer brings to œuvre par l’ornementation, l’improvisation, le Patrizia Hardt, Silvie Moors, a piece (ornamentation, improvisation, phrasé, l’expression... L’un des atouts de ce Yves Van Handenhove, Lieven Gouwy, gestures...). An integral part of this new project nouveau projet – rassemblant trois collectivités Paul De Troyer, Thomas Vanlede, – uniting three broad groups active in Brabant, actives dans le Brabant : les mystiques, les Bart Meynckens, Björn Schmelzer, voices mystics, monks and minstrels – is where it was moines et les trouvères – est le lieu de Jan Van Outryve, guiterne & lute recorded: the Dominican Church in Leuven, l’enregistrement : l’église dominicaine de Louvain Thomas Baeté, fiddle where Schmelzer considers much of this music où, selon Schmelzer, la plupart de cette musique Floris De Rycker, lute & guiterne may have been performed. Constructed a probablement été interprétée. Bâtie suivant Björn Schmelzer, director following the model of the Sainte Chapelle in le modèle de la Sainte Chapelle, cette église Paris, the church retains an acoustic unchanged possède une acoustique que les siècles n’ont Glossa Platinum by the passing of time and contributes to a pas modifiée et contribue ainsi à retracer, dans GCD P32103 new CD which provides a fascinating musical ce nouveau CD, le monde musical fascinant account of an important region of Europe in d’une importante région de l’Europe du XIIIe the 13th century. siècle. Programme Vocal and instrumental pieces by Hildegard von Bingen, Goswin de Bossut, NOTAS (ESP) NOTIZEN (DEU) Hadewijch van Brabant, Henri III de Brabant, Tassin, Carasaus, Gillebert de Berneville, La música y la literatura procedentes del Der Musik und den Schriften, die aus der Perrin d’Angicourt, Jehan Erart et al. económica y culturalmente floreciente ducado während des 13. Jahrhunderts wirtschaftlich de Brabante del siglo XIII no habían recibido und kulturell blühenden Umgebung Brabants Includes plainchant from the Villers and apenas atención por parte de la discografía. stammen, wurde bisher von der Plattenindustrie Nazareth Abbeys. Un agujero que ahora cubren Björn Schmelzer wenig Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt. Aus den y su grupo, Graindelavoix, que han escogido außergewöhnlichen Werken, die mit diesem precisamente este repertorio para su tercer mittelalterlichen Herzogtum in Verbindung Production details disco en Glossa. En Caput (GCD P32101) y stehen, haben Björn Schmelzer und Joye (GCD P32102), estos músicos de Amberes Graindelavoix ihre dritte Aufnahme für Glossa Playing time: 77’08 habían explorado las músicas tardomedievales zusammengestellt. In Caput und Joye haben Recorded at the Dominican Church of Leuven de Johannes Ockeghem y de Gilles Binchois, Schmelzer und sein in Antwerpen beheimatetes (Belgium), in January 2008 sacando a la superficie corrientes que han Ensemble die spätmittelalterliche Musik von Engineered and produced by Manuel Mohino llegado a la música de nuestros días. En música Johannes Ockeghem und Gilles Binchois Executive producer: Carlos Céster antigua, Schmelzer siente especial fascinación untersucht und dabei Strömungen entdeckt, por los vínculos intangibles entre la notación die sich auf unsere eigene Zeit auswirken. Was Art direction: Valentín Iglesias (00:03:00) y aquello que la elude: una consciencia elevada Graindelavoix an Alter Musik so fesselt, ist die Booklet essay: Björn Schmelzer y el savoir-faire con el que los intérpretes Verbindung zwischen der Notation und dem, English Français Nederlands Deutsch Español afrontan cada pieza: ornamentación, was diese nicht bezeichnet: die höhere improvisación, gestos musicales... Parte integral Bewusstheit und die Kunstfertigkeit, die die de este proyecto (que reúne a tres grandes Ausführenden zu einem Stück hinzufügen grupos activos en Brabante durante el medievo: (Verzierungen, Improvisation, musikalische místicos, monjes y troveros) es el lugar donde Gesten...). Ein wesentlicher Bestandteil dieses se grabó: la Iglesia Dominica de Lovaina, en neuen Projektes (in dem die drei großen la que Schmelzer supone que se interpretó en Gruppen der in Brabant tätigen Mystiker, Mönche su día gran parte de la música aquí incluida. und Minnesänger vereint werden) ist der Construida según el modelo de la Sainte Aufnahmeort: die Dominikanerkirche in Löwen. Chapelle parisina, esta iglesia conserva la Diese Kirche wurde nach dem Vorbild der Sainte acústica gótica original, y por tanto contribuye Chapelle in Paris gebaut und blieb im Verlauf a revivir los sonidos fascinantes de una der Zeit akustisch unverändert. So leistet das región enormemente influyente en la Europa Gebäude seinen Beitrag zu dieser neuen CD, del siglo XIII. auf der faszinierende Musik zu hören ist, die aus einer Gegend stammt, welche im Europa des 13. Jahrhunderts eine herausragende Rolle spielte. 8 424562 32103 8 www.glossamusic.com Björn Schmelzer and his “Poissance d’amours” “Making these old, broken stones sing is a wonderful experience” Following Caput and Joye you are now strong affinities and contact with other trouvères turning to another area of the medieval from Arras, the important city in Northern musical world. What has inspired you to France. What we do know is that in the middle consider 13th-century Brabant? of the 13th century the court of Brabant was a real paradise for literature and music, much After trying to show two important 15th-century more so than the French court (Louis IX was composers in a different musical light, I thought a real enemy of all such profane practices and it would be interesting to do a programme forbade them during his reign). An interesting which is more geographical yet at the same hypothesis says that the climate in Paris changed time more “virtual”: one based only on musical with the coronation of Marie de Brabant in 1274 remnants, traces and ruins. In this way we and that musical traffic was not so much one- might try and create the sound world of an way (from Paris to the “province”), but more entire region: rather than producing portraits the other way round. one would be able to paint full landscapes of scenes hitherto lost and in need of being With the abbey repertoire we are focusing on invented anew. Villers, an important Brabantine Cistercian abbey and spiritual centre. One reflection of After talking to two very enthusiastic specialists this is that the monks at the end of the 12th of the Brabantine literary tradition in Frank century for example corresponded with the Willaert and Remco Sleiderink, I became visionary nun Hildegard von Bingen and she resolved to focus on Brabant, and in particular sent one of the two existing manuscripts with its oldest musical repertoire. Strangely, nobody her music to them. I had two reasons to before has concentrated on this repertoire: concentrate on Villers. Firstly, because two local there are no recordings of the very attractive offices composed by the cantor of Villers Goswin songs of the Duke of Brabant, Henri III, almost de Bossut are still extant: we are moving into none of his colleagues, no focus on the local unchartered territory with this repertoire and plainchant from the very important Cistercian it gives very good insight into the evolution of abbey of Villers and almost nothing on the Cistercian plainchant in the 13th century. mystical songs of Hadewijch. As there is no Secondly, because I wanted to try out the musicological research on the subject we had discoveries made recently by researchers into to start from the beginning and do it almost all 13th-century Cistercian plainchant performance ourselves – something which is always quite together, but kept mostly a form of celibate practice. Two-part singing for example was an adventure and provides a lot of fun – and life, and were known for the accuracy of their very common. Some abbeys even tolerated we became most inspired by the studies of handicrafts, something of significance for the three- and four-voice improvisation practice in architects and archaeologists, art historians prosperity of the developing nearby cities. the manner found at churches in cities. and linguists. For example, there is a little island Some were involved with mystical thinking and in the centre of Leuven (the capital of Brabant practice.