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September 26, 2003
The draw of medieval music
Voice, vielle, oud, setar and percussion fuse on CD of Sephardi
songs.
PAT UNRUH SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
ANIMA Medieval Music Duo has just released a new CD, entitled La
Rosa Enflorece: Sephardic Song – Rhythm and Romance.
The recording features ANIMA's two co-founders, Janice Hill, voice
and percussion, and Pat Unruh, medieval vielle, as well as two guest
performers, Victoria's Douglas Hensley, playing oud and setar, and
Peter Maund, renowned percussionist from California's Bay Area.
What prompts a musician to become a medieval performer in this day
and age?
For me, a Jewish vielle player, there have been many strands: a
memory of enticing music heard on old LPs at home and from klezmer
bands at family weddings; a childhood home close to one of the earliest
Norman buildings in London, England; the chance to read Chaucer
at high school; the wasting of hours, literally, improvising on
my violin, in avoidance of my usual symphony-orchestra repertoire
(my poor distraught mother: "Do your proper practice! You have
a concert coming up!"). And there have been many other things:
meeting early music enthusiasts at McMaster University and the University
of British Columbia and gaining an MA in musicology.
My partner Janice's passion for communicating through music has
led her into performance in many styles, from opera and art-song,
through folk, pop and jazz. She has had an affiliation with the
Vancouver Jewish Folk Choir for more than 20 years and has sung
with the Beth Israel Synagogue Choir. With a range of nearly four
octaves, her voice is beyond the usual categorizations, and is perfect
for the variety of early repertoires.
What else binds us to music of earlier times? A love of other languages
and poetry, a curiosity about past cultures and awe at the immediacy
with which these can be called up through performance. Also, a desire
to challenge ourselves with something that can be musically dangerous
in performance, and intensely individual.
We formed ANIMA Medieval Music Duo in 1991, after playing together
in a workshop offered by Sequentia. This was during the annual summer
festival organized by Early Music Vancouver. We were drawn together
by a mutual love of medieval music – haunting modes, pure harmonies
– and we both enjoy the very detailed work of preparing a song
for performance – getting under the skin of its changing moods,
looking at its shape and rhythms, and devising ways to highlight
dramatic moments.
A big concern is always how to present this wonderful music in a
modern concert situation. If we were asked to define our mission,
we might say that it encompasses the ideas of exploring the musical
beauty of past cultures and evoking a sense of it for our present-day
audiences. Preparation of a program is always a delight for this
reason - we so enjoy sifting through the literature for just the
right combination of musical items and poems, jokes and stories.
Some of our program have had seasonal themes, while recent concerts/ventures
have had specific themes, such as Le Trésor des Dames: Music
by and for Medieval Women, and our most recent, La Rosa Enflorece:
Sephardic Song – Rhythm and Romance.
Our experiences producing this program and CD have been many. La
Rosa Enflorece was ANIMA's first involvement with the riches of
Judeo-Spanish culture and with a living oral repertoire, for Judeo-Spanish
pieces are still being collected from singers in Atlanta, Seattle,
Israel, Montreal. While the words of many of these songs may go
back to Renaissance times and earlier, the melodies have absorbed
the music of the cultures surrounding the Sephardi communities.
Musical styles emanate from North Africa, the Balkans and Greece.
The result is a fascinating web of musical and poetic themes, each
sample unique, but still part of a long tradition, and of great
musical variety.
We have had the good fortune to work with two friends as guest artists
on the CD: Hensley's plucked-string expertise extends from medieval
lute to new music for guitar, but what atmosphere he has provided
in this album with resonant oud and Persian setar. Maund's percussion
playing is featured on recordings all over the world – his
responsive and delicate inventiveness have made him a delight to
work with. Field recordings of Sephardi music usually feature singers
alone or with only percussion. Using our background in improvisation,
we have created arrangements that we hope will delight all who know
these pieces.
For information, contact www.members.shaw.ca/anima
or e-mail [email protected].
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