Machaut: Messe de Notre Dame

The Mediaeval Frenchman Guillaume de Machaut is one of those composers who shaped the course of musical history most significantly. He wrote some of the earliest known polyphonic pieces of vocal music, as well as writing astonishing poetry for his own semi-sacred songs or 'lais.' On this disc, the Hilliard Ensemble present three of his most representative works, all well worth exploring.
The "Messe de Nostre Dame" (not specifically written for performance in the Paris Cathedral of that name) is a stunning piece with which to open the programme. The impeccably clear-toned voices of the Hilliards etch out Machaut's austere lines with blazing intensity, revelling in the strangely dissonant cadences and dexterous interplay of parts that are the hallmarks of his polyphony. The performers use a quaint form of pronunciation for the Latin, one that (supposedly) re-creates the Mediaeval French flavour with which the listeners of seven centuries ago would have been familiar. This work alone is worth the price of the disc: it makes for rewarding and memorable listening.
The "Lai de la Fonteine" is a simpler work, yet strangely harder to grasp on first hearing. Machaut sets his own text here: a complicated and extensive hymn in praise of the Virgin Mary, using endless metaphors and subtle imagery to create an advanced form of poetry around which music is woven. The music itself is quite simple, doing seemingly little more than to carry the poetry for the listener: much of it is monophonic, with verses being shared amongst three singers who come together for polyphonic sections every so often. The work is best heard complete; much is lost in sampling it although the tracks are conveniently divided to give the listener a choice in the matter. Machaut was clearly a mysterious person - religious yet close to the secular; it shows through in such works as this 'lai.'
The disc closes with a final example of rich-blooded polyphony, again using just three voices, and moreover a sample of Machaut's extraordinary genius. "Ma fin est mon commencement" sets a poem that is crafted as a sort of palindrome (indeed, the second phrase is "et mon commencement est ma fin" - "My end is my beginning and my beginning is my end"). The music is equally well crafted to counterpart the words - three voices, winding their way through repetitive and yet fluid lines as if through some sort of musical jigsaw puzzle. It is a delightful end to a wonderful programme. If you're looking for a sample of Machaut but can only afford one disc, then this has to be the one. Mediaeval music is rarely so well displayed as it is here!

On this recording, I most enjoyed Le Lai de la Fonteinne and the rondeau Ma Fin Est Mon Commencement. The Messe, while impeccable, was a bit too esoteric for me. But the other two pieces, which sounded somewhat akin to Machaut's secular compositions in rhythmic and melodic structure, were compatible even with tastes as unsophisticated as mine. By the way, an excellent collection of Machaut's courtly music was recorded by David Munrow, that's how I know what it sounded like. The Hilliard's performance, as usual, is flawless. I love their ethereal voices - so light, so clear, and yet so exact in focus and projection! Each voice sounds somewhat standardized (of all the people that ever sang with the Hilliard, I can readily recognize only David James and Mark Padmore), but at this level of accomplishment uniformity is good. Definitely buy this, it is one of the best Hilliard recordings. But the very best Hilliard recording (in my amateur view anyway, although at least one of the Gramophone editors seems to agree) is Dunstable Motets (reissued on Virgin Veritas). David James sounds like no countertenor ever sounded before or after, including himself. Paul Elliott outdoes himself. Listening to him sing Agnus Dei practically makes one feel for the moment that he outdoes not just himself but every other male vocalist on the British Isles. That is the recording you don't want to miss! Believe me, you'll forget to breathe when you hear it. Of the secular things with some of the Hilliard members don't miss John Gay The Beggar's Opera (w/Paul Elliott) and Charpentier Medee (w/Mark Padmore).

The Hilliard Ensemble provide an excellent performance of these works, as is typical of their craft. The Notre Dame Mass is really one of the 'standards' of 'early music,' and should not be missed. This is a definitive recording of the work. Don't look any further.