Back from MD. Wow, that was tiring, but the gig is going to be awesome. Sadly, I already have a full time job worth of responsibilities that I have to do around here. I suspect that I’ll alternate weeks between RI and MD for the forseeable future.
Last night, we went to see Trio Mediaeval, a trio (duh) of sopranos who specialize in 13th and 14th century polyphony. They were, to put it mildly, mind-blowing. After the first song, I leaned over to redmed and said “Having seen that, I’ve never been in tune … ever … in my entire life. Also, I’ve never matched vowels.” Their voices were like spun crystal and filaments of gold, weaving together.
I’ve always had trouble hearing overtones. I usually perceive the first couple of overtones as a static against my eardrums … almost a pressure on top of the sung notes … rather than as distinct pitches. Occasionally, with really incredible tuning, the higher series will come out and I’ll hear a note floating in the air above the ensemble. Trio Mediaeval had something I’ve never even thought was possible: They had overtones moving in time with them as they shifted notes. redmed and I looked at each other the first time it happened … and talked it over to be sure that we hadn’t just heard a siren from outside the church or something.
Alas, I am weary
My heart is cold
Have i no sighs left
For such great love,
To stop you from dying?
It is you, my soul, that should have died,
False, ungrateful,
Boorish, blind, lazy
and careless;
Who even for such love will not live ardently,
So that you wither away.
Alas, I am weary.
The three women met at a summer music festival in 1997, after getting degrees in ancient music at various universities in Norway. They’re still new enough with the “international acclaim” thing that their bios in the program talk about coaching high school choirs and being active in local civic organizations. The three have matching pixie haircuts, and wore relaxed, matching khaki dresses. They used the cutest little head nod to stay synchronized and to acknowledge applause between bows.
They did most of their pieces as a trio, but each of them did a solo piece, and there was one duet.
The entire program was from the 13th and 14th centuries, primarily arrangements of ancient melodies. At the end of the concert, they came back out for an encore. I was expecting some sort of jaunty, fun thing to close out the night. Instead, we got the most mind-blowing piece of modern music I’ve ever heard.
Now, I’m not a big fan of modern music. I loathe and despise “art for arts sake,” art that requires an essay to justify the unpleasant pile of complex and intricate pieces that are dumped on highway medians and in concert halls around the world. This was something different. It was clearly the logical progression of 500 years of musical development, after those pieces from the actual concert. They started off on a perfect unison, one moved up a half step and somehow *tuned* that 2nd and made it pleasant … though uncomfortable. Then another moved up a minor third, and they *tuned* that to express the chord. The root then effortlessly and gently shifted up an octave. After that, I lost track of the chords. I don’t think that most of these chords have names … at least not ones that you learn in the undergrad version of music theory. At one point, the top voice floated what was at least a high C … and she did it effortlessly, without strain, distortion, or vibrato. Again, *tuned* so that we heard a single voice with many complex tones.
The text concerned the easter morning story, with the angel revealing to the disciples that “he is not here, he is risen.” The best chords were reserved for the voice of the angel. It’s hokey to say it out loud, in the calm light of morning, but I had never really given thought to what an angel’s voice might sound like. Given this song, I have a pretty decent idea of one way that it might sound.
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