Search - Anonymous 4 :: La Bele Marie: Songs to the Virgin from 13th-Century France

La Bele Marie: Songs to the Virgin from 13th-Century France
Anonymous 4
La Bele Marie: Songs to the Virgin from 13th-Century France
Genre: Classical
 
  •  Track Listings (17) - Disc #1

The arrival of a new Anonymous 4 album has become as much a fall ritual as the turning of the leaves. However, there's nothing rote about their 12th album for Harmonia Mundi. All 17 selections are in honor of the Virgin Ma...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Anonymous 4
Title: La Bele Marie: Songs to the Virgin from 13th-Century France
Members Wishing: 5
Total Copies: 0
Label: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
Original Release Date: 1/1/2002
Re-Release Date: 8/13/2002
Album Type: Import
Genre: Classical
Styles: Opera & Classical Vocal, Historical Periods, Early Music
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 093046731229

Synopsis

Amazon.com
The arrival of a new Anonymous 4 album has become as much a fall ritual as the turning of the leaves. However, there's nothing rote about their 12th album for Harmonia Mundi. All 17 selections are in honor of the Virgin Mary, ground familiar to fans of the ensemble's breakthrough first album, An English Ladymass (as well as 1998's Lammas Ladymass). Drawing upon both the Latin liturgy and chansons adapted from the French trouvère tradition of secular love songs, the combination of sources powerfully illustrates how strong devotion to Mary was in medieval France. But even more immediately striking is the New York-based vocal quartet's near-magical ability to enrapture their listeners. Whether they are coursing through a simply elegant monophonic chant such as "O maria o felix puerpera," a dazzlingly florid work like "Mater patris et filia," or the ethereal harmonies of "Mundum renovavit," their perfect intonation and pure tone are sublime. There's a special treat here, too--each of the ladies performs one piece solo. It's a chance to hear each singer's unique contribution to the group's inimitable sound: Marsha Genensky's exquisite smoothness, Susan Hellauer's dark-hued loveliness, Jacqueline Horner's creamy lightness, and Johanna Maria Rose's radiant resonance. It's a record that will transport you to another world, and yet one more star to add to Anonymous 4's constellation of celestially beautiful recordings. --Anastasia Tsioulcas

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CD Reviews

The bewitching variety of Anonymous 4
R. Rockwell | 10/23/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)

"The child-like simplicity beguiles the music's endless array of intricacies
and subtleties. The crisp phrasing, exquisite nuances, poingnant details of haunting beauty is heard throughout the disc. Perotin and Notre Dame over all, were lyrics of the first water."
Another masterpiece from Anonymous 4
R. Rockwell | Brooklyn, NY USA | 02/16/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)

"For me what sets apart an Anonymous 4 recording, besides the wongerful singing is the presentation of a coherent program that only enhances the listening enjoyment. This disc contains anonymous chansons and conducti--with the exception of the "Beata viscera" of Perotin. These enchanting hymns and songs to the virgin Mary are vividly brought to life by the ensemble. I highly recommend this recording."