Orlando Consort, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, cond Paul Hillier
Harmonia Mundi HMU 807469
This fascinating disc spans the centuries by coupling medieval masterworks
with modern works inspired by them. The four male voices of the Orlando
Consort bring vigour and tonal variety to Machaut’s Messe de Notre Dame,
and its tenor Mark Dobell gives a lilting account of the composer’s song
Douce dame jolie. Tarik O’Regan’s Virelai on the same tune then makes
playful, contrapuntal use of its melodies.
His Scattered Rhymes, inspired by the Mass, pairs the Consort in medieval
English poetry with Paul Hillier’s choir in texts by Petrarch: a vivid
meditation on earthly and divine love.
The Consort’s perceptive accounts of Du Fay’s Ave Regina celorum and Gavin
Bryars’s Super flumina complete the picture.