Search - Paul Hillier, Andrew Lawrence-King :: Bitter Ballads-Ancient & Modern

"Ancient and modern poetry set to medieval and traditional melodies," says the subtitle to this disc--and it's not as unusual an idea as it might seem: fitting a pre-existing melody to new words, far from being an invention of television advertising, has been done at least since the Middle Ages. Baritone Paul Hillier has revived this practice, pairing troubadour and traditional tunes with poetry ranging from Sappho to Swift and Blake to Brecht. The effect is that of a polished folk song recital--but with a more jaundiced tone: these really are "bitter ballads." Hillier's diction could be sharper (you may want to read the poems through before you listen), but his discerning choices and sensitive delivery, along with the exquisite playing of harpist Andrew Lawrence-King, make this innovative program fascinating and even moving--most of all in two excerpts from Gertrude Stein's The Making of Americans--"It was summer now" and "Disillusionment--sung to melodies by Hillier himself. --Matthew Westphal