Pilgrims were prepared to travel huge distances and suffer great privations to hear the hymns to St James in the cathedral dedicated to the saint. The mediaeval Santiago de Compostela echoes through the folios of the codex Calixtinus, a 12th-century treasury of monodic repertoire for the mass and liturgy. An appendix also includes several polyphonic pieces in ‘organum’ style. The German ensemble PER-SONAT has resumed the practice of improvised counterpoint that was described as early as the late 9th century in Musica enchiriadis: a practical handbook for singers and one of the earliest sources of polyphony. The unknown author explains how to invent a second voice based on a Gregorian melody. By intertwining the ‘vox organalis’ with the ‘vox principalis’, a completely new sound was created: the ancestor of Renaissance polyphony. Accompanied by instruments of the Carolingian era, PER-SONAT uses this milestone of music history to create a dialogue between improvised songs and complex compositions from the codex Calixtinus: a cutting-edge play of voices, as exciting for the performers as it is for the listeners!
Program
Polyphonic hymns from the Codex Calixtinus and improvisations in the style of the Musica Enchiriadis Codex
Performers
Dorothea Jakob, Karin Weston, soprano | Tessa Roos, mezzo-soprano | Bernd Oliver Fröhlich, Martin Kautzsch, tenor | Tim Scott Whiteley, bass | Elizabeth Sommers, Elizabeth Rumsey, vielle | Sabine Lutzenberger, mezzo-soprano & artistic leader