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CHORAL MUSIC REVIEW A Jolly Gustatory Romp November 9, 2002
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By Kaneez Munjee
"I want to eat, sing and make merry — that's what I like!" This
line from a thirteenth-century French song was the theme of Saturday
night's performance by the Orlando Consort at Berkeley's First
Congregational Church. The program, "Food, Wine, and Song," was a
musico-culinary journey through Europe between the early thirteenth and
late sixteenth centuries, all the music having some association with wine or food.
The four performers, Robert Harre-Jones, counter-tenor,
Charles Daniels and Angus Smith, tenors, and Donald Greig, baritone, introduced the different countries on the musical journey. While only a few of the
texts had been included in the program, this omission was covered by
the suggestion that their CD, available for purchase, would provide the full printed text.
That was scant help, for however engaging and amusing, their remarks could not convey the complexities of every text, many subtleties then being lost on the audience.
 The program opened in France with Charles Daniels singing the anonymous thirteenth-century conductus "In pauperitas predio." The church's acoustics were perfect for his voice and in fact excellent for the entire group. The balance of the Consort was always sensitive and appropriate, the diction clear; and the vocal qualities complemented each other well. This was demonstrated in the second piece, which included all four singers, and had four different texts. The group sang it three times, starting as a duo, adding one more voice at each repeat. This layering gave the audience a fascinating glimpse into the structure of the piece and the genius of its anonymous composer.
With each new country profiled, the Orlando Consort moved into a slightly later era of music. The second set came from fourteenth-century England, a chant with organum, a grace, and a dance. When it was Italy's turn, the medieval styles of chant, organum, three part motets, and other poetic forms had largely given way to the new style of the Renaissance, the music retaining just enough medieval musical markers to make it not belong definitively to either era. Even this transitional period had its own share of master musicians, as was evident in the anonymous Florentine Carnival song "Canto de cardoni" ("Song of the artichokes"). Separate from France in the fifteenth century, Burgundy had its own place at the head of the second segment, launched with Guillaume Dufay's "Adieu ces bons vins de Lannoy." The Consort's sensitive rendition of this plaintive farewell to the lands and happy life Dufay led in Laonnois was a choice interpretation of the piece, well-known to devotees of this music. Loyset Compère's motet "Sile fragor," another high point, was a combination of duet and quartet writing that allowed the individual voices more prominence, here featuring the pairing of Angus Smith, tenor, and Donald Grieg, baritone. The music of Spain and Portugal brought the program into the sixteenth century vigorously with Juan del Encina's rhythmically lively "Oy comamos y bebamos" (Let us eat and drink today since we fast tomorrow). "Quem tem farelos," a depiction of a market scene by an anonymous Portuguese composer, had an infectious energy. Juan Ponce's "Ave color vini clari." brilliantly mimicking the style of a religious motet in musical and linguistic style, was a "hymn" to wine and drinking.
The final section of the program continued in the fun line, with comic songs from Germany. One by Matthias Greiter listed all the kinds of eggs one could eat. With Ludwig Senfl's "Von edler Art," the Consort turned thespians. During the description of a man getting increasingly drunk, the singers progressively adjusted the notes, tuning, expressions, gestures, and postures to reflect the drunk, culminating in one of the men "passed out" on the floor (but still singing). The spirit and energy of the quartet gave life to this entire remarkable program sung in diverse styles, seven or eight different languages, and eleven pronunciation systems, reflective of the different eras. Ensemble was tight, dynamic range expansive, and intonation excellent save for unfortunate but typical counter-tenor problems from Robert Harre-Jones. Carrying the program's theme to its logical next step, a post-concert reception at The Musical Offering gave the audience a chance to sample at least one of the medieval delicacies described, as well as modern-day wine and cheese.
(Kaneez Munjee is a singer, writer and editor. She is currently a doctoral
candidate in Musicology at Stanford University.)
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