Anthonello de Caserta ~ 1400 (Ars subtilior)
Mala punica =
Pedro Memelsdorff, Kees Boeke : flûte à bec / recorder
Karl-Ernst Schröeder : luth / liuto
Svetlana Fomina : viella
Christophe Deslignes : organetto
Jill Feldman : chant / canto
Ars subtilior is a very special moment around 1400+-20, evidence of which is found in 2 manuscripts in Modena and Chantilly. These pieces are characterized by extremely sophisticated rhythms (very subtle syncopations) and tricky proportions between sections. Notation involving colored notes may vary from a composer to another, and staves are sometimes written in a very special and beautiful way (for instance around the borderline of a human heart) !
There's no agreement about the origin of this sophistication. Some people argue it might have been transcriptions of improvisation sessions, but one may also think of an extreme game by composers.
Musicologists discovering this music in the first half of XXth century described it as abstract and nearly unplayable - I think this kind of recording cleverly proves they were wrong (but thanks to these pioneers without whom we wouldn't have been able to improve our understanding of this music) !
:-) I love this piece so much.
Thanks for listening!
AlainNaigeon 3 years ago