Contre le Temps: NCEM Platform Artists
CONTRE le Temps’s Le Baiser de la Rose has to be one of the more unusual and immersive concerts I have ever experienced.
The pervading atmosphere was one of intimacy – the storytelling was deeply personal. The quartet of singers wove a magical musical spell.
This was creatively varied through solo, duet, trio and quartet singing, spatial arrangement and, most significantly, the use of subtly dramatic text to bring both context and focus.
The programme is built around two of the great literary works of medieval France: Le Roman de la Rose, the allegorical love story by Guillaume de Lorris, and Le Remède de Fortune, a narrative with songs by Guillaume de Machaut.
So, rather than simply presenting a sequence of songs, Contre le Temps wove together spoken poetry and music, telling the story of the Lover, who falls in love with the Rose – a symbol representing the object of desire – and, in so doing, retells the medieval tradition of courtly love.
The Springtime prose opens with the most poetic of intentions: “…The earth becomes so proud that she wishes to wear a new dress…”
The anonymous Venez ouïr les vrais amoureus took the form of a lively conversational invitation or welcome. It was quite delightful. This was followed by the complex monophonic song Qui n’aroit autre deport by Guillaume de Machaut, with contrasting sections reflecting the changing emotions of the text.
The drama was enhanced by the answering vocal calls, presumably an arrangement by the performers. Whatever the case, it was highly effective.
The anonymous chanson Contre le Temps, from which the ensemble takes its name, was more than simply a programme item, linking the performers’ identity with their exploration of medieval song. The singing was so seductive, so delicious.
Accompanying the section Entry into the Dream, we were treated to a trio singing with such elegance and poise in Guillaume Dufay’s Je me complains. The voices were equal, with finely judged imitative interplay, weaving a continuous musical web of sound.
Responding to the most poetic imagery in The Wonders in the Garden (“…flowers of extraordinary whiteness, yellow blossoms, and crimson ones with exquisite scents”), we were treated to a beautiful, flowing performance of Machaut’s Et pour ce engendrée s’est douce pensée. The long, aching phrases suggested a meditative, inward quality. The singing also possessed a timeless quality – I certainly could not discern a pulse.
Accompanying the text Cupid and the Rose, there was a change in style in the anonymous En remirant vos douce portraiture. Here we had an elegant four-voice ballade, with all four voices contributing to the texture. Each individual line emerged with remarkable clarity.
One of the many highlights was the anonymous Qui n’a le cuer, which followed The Pain of the Lover. The duet had a touching intimacy and lyrical grace.
The programme closed with Dufay’s Ma belle dame souveraine. Here all four singers clearly relished the richness and elegance of Dufay’s four-part texture. The closing cadence was deeply satisfying.
Contre le Temps’s Le Baiser de la Rose was a thoughtfully conceived and rewarding programme. The contrasts between solo chant and polyphony were superbly judged.
The rhythm of the medieval music was so complex that I often felt the melodies were floating freely, making the moments when the voices came together and locked into place all the more satisfying. Above all, it was the transparent purity of sound that lingered long after the final cadence.
Contre le Temps: Cécile Walch, soprano; Karin Weston, soprano; Amy Farnell, mezzo-soprano, and Julia Marty , mezzo-soprano.
Review by Steve Crowther