February 1, 2012

  • Review: Minnesinger Music

     

    Neidhart: A Minnesinger and His “Vale of Tears”
    Ensembles Leones
    Naxos 8.572449
    Total Time:  64:42
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

     

    The present release shakes things up a bit for Cinemusical.  Sometimes though, it is good to shift gears from the normal musical coverage especially when something unique appears.  Such is the case with this new Naxos release of German music from the Middle Ages.  For even the most casual listener, Medieval music rarely finds a place in their musical experience.  In Western Music surveys, most of the energy is spent on religious music as it tends to have the best written transmission.  The music of the courtly singers may get a nod and often it surrounds the Troubadours and Trouveres.  The Minnesingers, essentially the German equivalent, get a by-line usually.  Perhaps it is because we tend to think of court music in France and England more than in the German provinces of the period.

    Neidhart’s music lands squarely in the period one would cover when discussing courtly songs of the Middle Ages.  Living between c. 1185 and c.1240, Neidhart (historically misattributed as “von Ruental”) was one of the popular Minnesingers towards the late Middle Ages.  His texts are quite unique though in that they often turn the concept of courtly love on its head (he is sometimes called an "Anti-Minnesinger").  Often they refer to peasant aspirations to be like the ruling class which are essentially songs intended perhaps to poke fun at the actual hearers of these works.  They deal with sex, crime, and often erotic and obscene situations—reminiscent perhaps of the parts of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales or Bocaccio’s Decameron you were not allowed to read in high school.

    For the present release, the superb early music group, Ensemble Leones, has selected a number of songs from a late 13th century document referred to as the Frankfurt Neidhart-Fragment.  The manuscript features several damaged pages consisting of six Neidhart songs that include nearly complete melodic content for five works.  After researching and editing this work, the ensemble has created a performance edition which should appear soon allowing for deeper appreciation of the texts and music.  You need to access the texts however on-line as they are not included with the booklet (following Naxos’ common practice for many vocal releases).  The texts tend to be in Low or Middle High German which might cause some to hesitate at first.  The release includes a mix of songs and instrumental numbers.  The songs tend to be accompanied by vielle, and occasionally a gittern or Lute.  A “bonus” work by Adam de la Halle (“Je muir, Je muir”) closes off the release.

    The opening track is one of several instrumental numbers.  “The Cock” is a cantilena for bagpipes that will be striking for its somewhat plaintive melodic sound and florid improvisation-like melodic moments.  The dance-like music of these pieces is quite captivating and even the drones that accompany the songs are reminiscent of rustic music (creating a sort of bagpipe effect).

    The first song, “Mir ist ummaten leyde” (“I am grieved beyond all measure”) begins with veilles playing the main melody.  The voice then enters while the veilles play held tones for support underneath.  The tale unfolded here features some rather interesting melodic turns for the ending affronted questions representing the sung short story that these works often excel at.  The through-composed feel of the first couple of songs, with a ballad-like text, is somewhat fascinating to hear as some ideas recur while new directions in the melodic ideas provide surprises for the textual context.  Occasionally, the vielle interlude between stanzas will take on brief dance-like qualities.  In addition to the musical interest here, the real fascination comes in the texts Neidhart wrote and laying these aside other court love songs will allow for great discussion and reflection.  The unrequited, or unaccepted overtures of love make for a variety of interesting texts that may seem quaint in these days of more explicit sexuality, but they do make for several amusing scenarios of which “Non veul mari” (“I do not want a husband”) is a highlight.

    The performances are really excellent with clear diction (a plus for the early language usage).  The quality of the voices is very pure and unaffected, though not without proper emotional intensity.  The trio of performers (Marc Lowen, Els Janssens-Vanmunster, and Baptiste Romain) manage to lend this music a timeless quality suffusing the instrumental dance-like works with a good sense of rhythm and subtle improvisational qualities that are simply marvelous.  The choice to include instrumental music is a definite plus for students exploring this music for the first time.  The works allow for good comparisons of style for the period and will open the door to further study of text-setting as well.