Credits:

La Morra

Description:

Cultural flourishing in Poland in days of yore! A good project that traces the medieval times of the ancient city of Krakow back to the next generation of Ars Nova. The musicians are a group of talented players from the Basel Schola Cantorum, the nucleus for the study of ancient music since the 20th century, and are led by Polish lute player Michał Gontko, who brings together a group of highly trained players including Doron Schleifer, a renowned countertenor singer, and Corina Marti, a medieval keyboard and recorder virtuoso. Gontko, who has also released an album of Renaissance lute works from Poland on RAMEE, goes back even further in time to the Polish church music that flourished around the time of Ars Nova at the end of the Middle Ages. The album also includes western composers such as Ciconia and Zakara da Teramo, but most of the historical documents used in the performance were found in Polish libraries in Krakow and Warsaw, and it is fascinating to trace the footsteps of cultural exchange through Catholic music.The four singers are supported by a simple and tasteful selection of medieval keyboard instruments such as organettes (portatif organs) and clavicimbalums (early harpsichords), recorders, medieval fiddles, and medieval lutes played on plectrums (similar to modern picks). The selection is simple and tasteful, consisting of recorders, medieval fiddles and medieval lutes played with plectrums (similar to modern picks). The music is full of atmosphere and draws us into the fascination of otherworldly sounds from the very beginning, in accordance with the style of church music in those days when instrumental music also participated in church music. The a capella tracks are also full of the old-fashioned charm of the "pre-Dufay" sound. Engineer and lead conductor Rainer Arndt, who has extensive musical experience as a baroque violinist, fully conveys the charm of the program through his recording and packaging, which vividly captures the natural soundscape of the ancient instruments. Naxos Japan