Monday, December 13, 1999
Anonymous 4 merges into one medieval voice
BY TOM SCHNELLER
Enquirer contributor
In format and content, a concert by Anonymous 4 is unique.
The vocal quartet, which has achieved international renown through its immaculate renditions of medieval music, has perfected a compact approach to concert programming designed to cast a spell of unbroken concentration on the listener. The group requests that applause be withheld until the end of the concert.
Chant and polyphonic works, spoken or sung narrative, are interlaced in a progression of short works that coalesce into a single dramatic unit held together by a theme.
Anonymous 4's Friday show at Miami University's Hall Auditorium revolved around St. Nicholas. Through a mosaic of antiphons, hymns, motets and other short pieces in Latin and old English, the group assembled a colorful evocation of medieval faith. It ran the stylistic gamut from the plain chant of the early Middle Ages to the intricate polyphony of the 14th century.
Anyone familiar with the recordings of Anonymous 4 knows their extraordinary precision and musicality: In unison passages, the four singers seem to merge into a single being.
Of course the homogeneity of voice types (three sopranos and one alto) contributes to the blend. But most important, the members of Anonymous 4 share a musical sensibility that allows them to extract from each phrase a spectrum of subtle nuance.
Without instrumental accompaniment and shorn of vibrato, any flaw of timbre or intonation would be glaringly obvious.
The sheer perfection with which Anonymous 4 negotiates a simple line of chant is as virtuosic a feat as the most extravagant operatic flourishes. It proves that the greatest art is often found in the greatest simplicity.
The tone of the group was consistently soft and mellow. Each phrase seemed bathed in candlelight. A certain distance, a calm, dispassionate serenity, prevailed in their delivery even of the most dramatic texts.
To listeners conditioned by a tradition of musical word painting and the concept of interpretation as a vehicle of expression, such reserve might seem cold and detached. But that would impose a modern understanding of the relationship between text and music on works that do not lend themselves to emotional self-indulgence.
In medieval music, text and melody coexist harmoniously but on separate levels. The transient joys and tribulations of earthly existence described in the words appear against a calm, unperturbable musical background that suggests divine eternity.
By remaining true to the spirit of the Middle Ages, Anonymous 4 gave the audience a window into another era at the same time as their luminous performance affirmed the ageless beauty of medieval music.
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