español | français Medieval Renaissance Baroque Clasicism Opera  5 STARS All periods MEDIEVAL RENAISSANCE BAROQUE CLASICISM OPERA THE SPIRITS OF ENGLAND AND FRANCE Music for court and church from the later middle ages Christopher Page Gothic Voices Pavlo Beznosiuk Hyperion HELIOS CDH55281 1994 - 63:00 min. With this recording Gothic Voices initiated a transitional series of recordings – something of a ‘late period’, one might say. It’s the first of their recordings not to include Margaret Philpot, who left the ensemble shortly after: hence a different sound. In terms of repertoire this opening disc of the new series actually re-visits Gothic Voices’ familiar stomping-grounds: the Old Hall and Canonici manuscripts, with a welcome smattering of earlier marerial – including some estampies performed by Pavlo Beznosiuk on the medieval fiddle (not the ‘violin’ as the cover information asserts!). Despite the familiarity of the repertoire, the ensemble sounds as fresh as ever, and the all-male line-up imparts a vigour and energy typical of the group at its best. The Old Hall Gloria by Cooke is especially exhilarating, and contrasts with the comparatively more restrained French repertory. The sound recording seems to me to improve on the standard of a few years earlier, being exceptionally vivid. On recent showing, one assumes that Hyperion will continue to reissue Gothic Voices’ discography catalogue, which remains one of the jewels of its catalogue. FABRICE FITCH ABOUT US | CONTRIBUTE   web map - home page - cover Legal warning Copyright 2003, Goldberg. info@goldberg-magazine.com