243 CD / Mare Balticum Vol. I. Music in medieval Denmark
Description
The project Mare Balticum aims to present the medieval musical heritage of the Baltic Sea region in the 12th-15th centuries. It consists of four musical programmes, prepared in great detail, and employing the newest musicological, philological, historical and organological research. Each of these programmes presents the local character of a different coastal region of Balticum, its specific historical and cultural situation, its most important saints and rulers, and the Christian roots of the relevant country.
They provide an insight into the local literature and musical repertories of medieval Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Poland; both Latin and the vernacular are represented, as well as the diversity of historical musical instruments used in those regions at the time.
The project as a whole, however, aims to show something of the strong political and cultural connections between those medieval countries, their development over time, and the similarities between them, all of which are essential to our understanding of the common identity and history of Balticum, as is reflected to us through its centuries of music.
(Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett)
As special guest we welcome Benjamin Bagby.
8 reviews for 243 CD / Mare Balticum Vol. I. Music in medieval Denmark
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Schweizer Musikzeitung –
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[Automatic translation of the original French review - see below]
Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett and her ensemble Peregrina offer us a remarkable recording in every respect. First of all, the interest of discovery. The ear discovers the mysteries of Danish music written between the 13th and 15th centuries. Dance music, meditative music, epic music: a varied program that leaves you hooked from the first note to the last. Then there's the interest of the performance. The singers and musicians know their subject and are passionately committed to it. Benjamin Bagby's voice flourishes in this magnificent repertoire. His warm timbre is placed at the service of the melodic arc, without ever abandoning his desire to tell the story of the text. Chifonie, harp, lyre and hurdy-gurdy accompany the singing with the same concern for narration. The texts, in Latin, Danish and old German, are sometimes sacred, sometimes historical, even recounting crimes of the time, a veritable medieval gazette! A fascinating CD, produced with love and spirit.
Thierry Dagon
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Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett et son ensemble Peregrina nous proposent un enregistrement remarquable en tous points. L’intérêt de la découverte, d’abord. L’oreille découvre les arcanes de musiques danoises écrites entre les 13ème et 15ème siècles. Musiques dansantes, musiques méditatives, musiques épiques, un programme varié auquel on reste croché de la première à la dernière note. Intérêt de l’interprétation ensuite. Chanteuses et musiciens connaissent leur sujet et s’y impliquent avec passion. La voix de Benjamin Bagby fait florès dans ce magnifique répertoire. Son timbre chaleureux est mis au service de l’arc mélodique sans jamais se départir de la volonté de raconter le texte. Chifonie, harpe, lyre et autre vielle accompagnent le chant avec ce même souci de narration. Les textes, en latin, en danois et en allemand anciens sont parfois sacrés, parfois historiques, contant même des crimes de l’époque, véritable gazette médiévale ! Un CD passionnant, réalisé avec amour et esprit.
TOCCATA-ALTE MUSIK AKTUELL, Nummer 95 –
(…) Sowohl von Seiten der Musikalität als auch der Musikwissenschaft sind die (…) Interpretationen makellos. Das war natürlich bei Peregrina zu erwarten. Und in Benjamin Bagby hat man ja auch einen Altmeister (…) mit ins Boot geholt. (…) Was aber wie immer fesselt, ist die Lebendigkeit des Vortrags. Das ist Musik, bleibt Musik und soll auch nichts anderes sein. Trotz aller Wissenschaftlichkeit wird hier mitreißend und eingängig gesungen und gespielt.
Robert Strobl
EMA – Early Music America –
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(...) their musicality is absolutely top-notch, from the clarity of the text to the beautiful shape of the melodic lines, the quality and sensitivity of the instrumental accompaniments and solo works, the suppleness, control, blend, and tuning throughout—they are utterly convincing. Each individual album is an entire education unto itself, the series a revelation.
Karen Cook
CD HotList –
(...) The vocal works are sometimes sung by a solo voice and sometimes in unison by the wonderful Ensemble Peregrina, the liner notes are extensive and informative (...)
CONCERTO – Das Magazin für alte Musik Nr. 278, Seite 47 –
(...) Everything seems so natural and matter-of-fact that, despite our rudimentary knowledge of the performance practice of medieval music - especially in Denmark - we think that this music can only sound like this and no other.
(...) The excellently informative booklet not only provides the texts with translations, but also meticulously names the sources used, and Andreas Spreer (...) has created a wonderfully auratic sound that perfectly matches the weightless music-making of the ensemble. Already a CD of the year for me!
Andreas Waczkat
High Fidelity Poland –
The new TACET CD is perfect in any aspect. Recorded in a big church space it shows beautiful juicy, full-bodied voices (...). The music itself and the sound beautifully complement each other (...) Perfect!
Rick Anderson
Klassik heute –
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With this CD, TACET begins its four-part Mare Balticum project, which aims to shed light on the musical heritage of the Baltic Sea region from the twelfth to the fifteenth century. Each of these programs presents the local character of a particular coastal region of the Baltic Sea with its specific historical and cultural context, its most important saints and rulers and the Christian roots of the respective country. The programs provide an insight into the local literature and musical repertoire in medieval Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Poland; both Latin and vernacular texts are represented, as well as the various historical musical instruments used in the different regions at that time.
We begin with medieval music from Denmark. The 850th anniversary of the founding of the city of Copenhagen in 2017 was a fitting occasion to dedicate this CD to the Scandinavian kingdom. It is music from the great age of Denmark, which was the dominant state in the Nordic region in the Middle Ages.
The ensemble Peregrina, founded in 1997 by singer and musicologist Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett, specializes in European music of the 12th to 14th centuries and has already made numerous recordings of medieval music. In addition to her artistic and musicological mastery, Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett is also ideally suited to presenting the medieval music of the Nordic center of power thanks to her intensive studies in Scandinavian philology. The singer and harpist Benjamin Bagby will take part in this project as a guest; he has been leading the traditional ensemble Sequentia since 1977, which was one of Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett's great role models when she founded her own ensemble Peregrina. The result is an extremely lively portrayal of Danish medieval music, which makes it easy to understand the cultural status of the Nordic kingdom as a European power in the Middle Ages and also provides excitement and listening pleasure through a lively performance of this music.
As usual, the Tacet label guarantees perfect sound reproduction of the music in sound and space.
Detmar Huchting
klassik.com –
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Working on a sounding history of the medieval Baltic region is plausible. The first episode of the Tacet series is promising.