Codex Las Huelgas: Bestiaire et Symboles du Divin, 1300-1340

by Jordi Savall, Hesperion XXI

Overview

The undiminished creative activity of Jordi Savall as he enters his ninth decade is truly something to behold. This release examines the Codex las Huelgas, an early 14th century manuscript held, as per the billing, at the female Santa Maria Royal Monastery of Las Huelgas in Burgos, Spain. This doesn't have quite the marquee appeal of one of Savall's grand synoptic projects, bringing together centuries of music from various countries to illuminate themes in medieval culture, but for the listener willing to devote a bit of attention, the album will reveal this Catalan master's characteristic mixture of sensuous beauty and philosophical depth. From the 186 pieces in the manuscript, Savall extracts 11, which are enough to reveal a couple of intriguing features. First, the manuscript seems to telescope several hundred years of medieval musical development into a single collection; there are pieces ranging from chant (richly ornamented here with instrumental sounds), through organum of the Notre Dame type, to up-to-the-minute Parisian genres like the multipart conductus and the first stages of the late medieval motet. The program suggests that stylistic innovations, even in a time of difficult transportation, were recognized in far-flung lands. A second interesting feature relates to the texts, many of which, as the album title suggests, pertain to animals and their role as symbols of the divine. Sample the Alpha, bovi et leoni / [Domino] for a taste of this exotic and ecstatic poetry; its symbolic dimensions must be partly lost to today's hearers, but the flavor remains. Savall's Capella Reial de Catalunya, with a wonderful new generation of singers, and Hesperion XXI ensemble are in fine form, and those who luxuriate in this particular sound will find their needs met here. Those delving more deeply into the medieval mind will also find much more to consider. As usual with Savall's Alia Vox label, the sound is crystalline and clear; it was recorded not at Las Huelgas but at the Church and Abbey of Fontfroide in Narbonne, France. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	12/16/2022
Label:	Alia Vox
UPC:	8435408099516
Rank:	12166

Tracks

1. Iocundare, plebs fidelis, cuius Pater est in celis (Prose XVIII, E-BUIh, Ms, 11, no. 67, f. 60)
2. Audi pontus, audi tellus (Conductus XXI, E-BUIh, Ms 11, no. 161, f. 167v, 157
3. ¿¿terni numinis (Prose VI, E-BUIh, Ms 11, no. 55, f. 38v)
4. Kyrie, fons bonitatis (Organum III, E-BUIh, Ms 11, no. 3, f. 2v)
5. Gaude, Virgo, plena Deo (Prose XXVII, E-BUIh, Ms 11, no. 76, f. 73v)
6. Alpha, bovi et leoni / [Domino] (Motet III, BUIh, Ms 11, no. 83, f. 84v)
7. Virgines egregie Virgines sacrate (Prose XXIII, E-BUIh, Ms 11, no. 72, f. 67v)
8. Cum sint difficilia Salomoni tria (Conductus, ¿¿cole de Notre-Dame, F-Pnm Latin 15139 (St Victor), 270v)
9. Virgo sidus aureum (Prose VIII, E-BUIh, Ms 11, no. 57, f. 41)
10. O Maria, maris stella / O Maria, Virgo davitica (Motet XXI, E-BUIh, Ms 11, no. 104, f. 102v)
11. Flavit auster (Prose IX, E-BUIh, Ms 11, no. 58 f. 45)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jordi Savall   Primary Artist,Rebec,Conductor,Hurdygurdy
Hesperion XXI   Primary Artist,Ensemble
La Capella Reial de Catalunya   Vocal Ensemble

Technical Credits

Andrea Kowalenko   Liner Note Translation
Benjamin Bleton   Engineer
Herve Pouyfourcat   Photography
Claudia Kalasz   Liner Note Translation
Eduardo Nestor Gomez-Scarantino   Design
Paolino Nappi   Liner Note Translation
Karl More   Engineer
Anonymous, Codex Las Huelgas   Composer
Agnes Prunes   Editorial
Juan Carlos Asensio Palacios   Liner Notes
Juan Gabriel Lopez Guix   Liner Note Translation
Gilbert Bofill i Ball   Liner Note Translation
Jacqueline Minett   Liner Note Translation
Manuel Mohino   Mastering,Editing,Mixing
Jordi Savall   Liner Notes