HISTORIA SANCTI
MARTINI
13th century
Released: 2011
1 Salva stella – Rundellus
2 O summi regis – Rundellus
3 O vera, o pia – Conduit
4 Martinus ecce migrate – Invitatoire
5 Beatus Martinus obitum – Repons
6 Dixerunt discipuli – Repons
7 Cum videret beatus – Repons
8 In ripa ligeris – Conduit
9 Domine si adhuc populo tuo – repons
10 O beatum virum martinum – Repons
11 O quantus erat luctus – Repons
12 Gaude felix francia – Conduit
13 O beatum virum in cujus – Repons
14 Over beatum – Repons
15 Martinus abrahe – Repons
16 Presul nostri tempori – Conduit
17 Te deum laudamus
Listen
Nestled behind their powerful walls, the two neighboring towns of Tours and Châteauneuf enjoyed great prosperity at the start of the 13th century. The choirs of the Saint-Gatien cathedral in Tours and the Saint-Martin abbey church in Châteauneuf were rebuilt there practically at the same time, deemed too small to accommodate the crowds of pilgrims on feast days. The prestige of Saint Martin's Basilica is immense. The liturgies in his honor are the object of grandiose solemnities and a manuscript (“Ritual”) written around 1227 by a canon of the basilica, Péan Gatineau, informs us very precisely about the richness of the worship but also about the musical practices. of the Mastership of the Basilica.
This Ritual was written during a period of very rich musical and poetic creative activity. Liturgical poetry in particular experienced an astonishing flowering of original works and composers were not left out since the famous School of Notre-Dame was still in its most active phase.
The reconstruction of a service dedicated to Saint Martin allows us to approach two fundamental repertoires of this century so privileged for the history of art in general and of music in particular: plainsong in its beautiful square notation, the monodic responses, some of which will be highlighted by an interpretation based on the improvisation technique of “chant sur le livre” and the polyphonies of the School of Notre-Dame.
Distribution
Tenors: Olivier Germond - Branislav Rakic
Bass-baritones: Emmanuel Vistorky - Geoffroy Buffière
Bass: Philippe Roche - Jean-Paul Rigaud
Recorded at Fontevraud Abbey from November 27 to 30, 2009
Sound recording, editing: Jean Marc Laisné
Newspaper
"Without the aid of the image, rediscovering the considerable liturgical pageantry of this feast seems impossible. However, relying on medieval sources, Antoine Guerber and his team prove the opposite: the song of Diabolus in Musica itself becomes even a splendid ceremonial action."
Xavier Bisaro - Diapason, April 2011
"It is however a feeling of freedom, of superiorly controlled improvisation, which emerges from this recording which, by its interpretative coherence and its desire for verisimilitude, does justice to pieces that would have been regrettable, taking into account their qualities, of never being able to hear."
Jean-Christophe Pucek - Past of the arts, mars 2011