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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Astonishing beauty, 21 Dec 2005
Like several other of the Anonymous 4 CDs, this one entitled 'The Lily & the Lamb' is a collection of chant and polyphony from medieval England. 'The Lily' is a reference to the Blessed Virgin Mary; the Lamb, of course, is the Christ. Mary was a very popular subject in medieval Britain - perhaps two-thirds of all the music that survives from this period is dedicated to her, or involves her as a subject. Included in this piece is a processional hymn and other pieces (conductus, sequences, hymns, motets and a concluding antiphon). The sequence is a liturgical form that are often monophonic. The conductus, on the other hand, has many voices, but usually declaiming the same text. Hymns are strophic, with verses repeating to the same music. The motets here involve somewhat strange pairings of chant and songs overlaid on each other. This is a disc from the midpoint of the career of Anonymous 4, and their voices are in perfect sync with each other. According to the American Record Guide, 'The singing is absolutely gorgeous. Not only do the 4 sound like angels; they phrase and inflect seraphically as well. You need go no further than the 'O Gloriosa Domina' Processional that starts the program to hear their clear, handsome, seemingly effortless unanimity in action.' The beginning with the processional is significant, for in live performances the Anonymous 4 often incorporated this to echo a liturgical feel to the music. -- Liner Notes --
This text accompaniment to this disc is very full, so much so that the booklet is not contained within the jewel case, but rather within a slipcover in which both the CD/jewel case and the booklet reside. The liner notes include a description of the work, a brief piece about the quartet, and the lyrics of the songs both in original language and in translation - all repeated in English, German, and French sections. -- Anonymous 4 --
Contrary to the implication of their name, the Anonymous 4 are not anonymous. This is a vocal quartet made up of Ruth Cunningham, Marsha Genensky, Susan Hellauer, and Johanna Rose at the time of this recording (Ruth Cunningham will later go on to a solo career early, and another member will join - Jacqueline Horner). They came together as a formal group in 1986, and have been ensemble-in-residence at St. Michael's Church in New York City, giving concert series in New York as well as throughout North America. They have been featured a number of times on national media in North America as well as Germany. They then went on to yet more success, eventually performing more that 1000 concerts worldwide. Their specialty is working with chant, monophonic and polyphonic music, and working with medieval texts. According to one source, 'The group takes its name from an anonymous music theorist of the late 13th century, Anonymous IV, who is the principal source on the two famous composers of the Notre Dame school, Léonin and Pérotin.' The group ended a touring career of nearly two decades in 2004.
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~ Anonymous
~ John Tavener
~ Anonymous 4
~ Anonymous 4
~ Codex Calixtinus Anonymous
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