www.medieval.org (2006)      

RECORDING OF THE YEAR

It is unusual for a Record of the Year to feature a program where none of the individual pieces is particularly well-known or distinctive. In this case, the Turin Manuscript, featuring songs from French-ruled Cyprus, is entirely anonymous. There has been some debate regarding who might have compiled, and in turn composed, this material. There has also been debate over its musical merit, even more so than the Ars Subtilior material at large. Nonetheless, this is the single largest source of secular polyphony from these decades, making it significant by virtue of uniqueness alone. Beyond that, many of the songs are quite appealing, especially as the various idioms of c.1400 become better known.
After a period of intense interest in performing the Ars Subtilior repertory, often in very creative fashion, there had been something of a lull in recording this music. This year's release from La Morra breaks that lull, and does so with the most technically compelling interpretation to date. There is some excellent music here, performed well, and although it does not feature any "famous" pieces - as with the Chantilly MS collections - the program takes on a central place in the Ars Subtilior discography.
It is perhaps strange to be equivocal in a Record of the Year selection, especially one chosen largely on technical merit, but my general enthusiasm for this performance should not imply satisfaction with every interpretive choice. In particular, I do not like how the voice part is doubled instrumentally at times. Also, the choice of performing so many songs without lyrics, while creating enjoyable instrumental compositions, does not do them full justice. Nonetheless, the choice of repertory from the large manuscript is a good one, and the interpretation, pace the preceding comments, truly shines. Handling of rhythm, phrasing, articulation, and tuning are outstanding. La Morra sets a new standard for performing this repertory, producing a rendition that seems entirely natural, thus earning this spot for 2006. An interesting fact of note is that this is easily the earliest repertory they have recorded to date.