Etoile du Nord: Mysteries and Miracles of Medieval France

Anne Azéma, voice and hurdy-gurdy, and Shira Kammen, vielle, rebec, harp

A Calliope CD, released March 2003

Miracles of the Virgin Mary as conceived and transmitted by the great musician poets of northern France in the thirteenth century, dances of the French jongleurs, story telling, and some surprising adaptations of the Northern legends from the Mediterranean world. This program, including several works presented in all likelihood for the first time since the Middle Ages, is the subject of a new recording scheduled for release in autumn 2002. Authors include Rogeret de Cambrai (13th c.), Gauthier de Coincy (1177/8-1236), Alfonso el Sabio (1221-1284), Thibault de Champagne (1201-1253).    Performed in duo with Shira Kammen (bowed strings, harp) Track listings and Details 10 de Répertoire, Paris (highest award) "Tout simplement ......miraculeux" François Camper National Post, Toronto Monday, May 26, 2003 CLASSICAL Anne Azéma, Shira Kammen Etoile du nord: Gauthier de Coinci et le miracle médiéval Calliope This is not the first CD to explore music devoted to the Virgin Mary, but it's unquestionably one of the most beautifully conceived and performed. French soprano Anne Azéma and Berkeley-based string player Shira Kammen breathe warmth and humanity into obscure (to most of us) 12th- and 13th-century songs from northern France to the court of Alfonso the Wise in Spain, in a program that reveals intriguing musical links between the two. Most of the songs recount miracles -- often wacky ones, to modern minds— allegedly worked by the Virgin Mary. The heart of the CD, however, is the touching devotional song, Pour yver, pour noif ne pour gelee, in which the poet, Gauthier de Coinci, addresses Mary in the intimate, courtly love tradition of the troubadours. Musical soul mates, Azéma and Kammen are at the height of their formidable powers in this recording. Azéma's gift for storytelling, her vocal freedom, the depth of her knowledge, and above all her purity of spirit go straight to the heart of both song and listener. Kammen's accompaniments -- her own inventions -- are miracles in and of themselves: with the simplest of means, playing medieval fiddles and harp, she lifts the affect of each verse off the page. Her virtuosic dance interludes leap about with the most mischievous, infectious fun I've ever heard in medieval music. Tamara Bernstein.

 

LISTEN TO SAMPLE TRACKS
(Click on icon to listen - download file size in parentheses)

Track	Length	Real Audio	MP3
De l'étoile - Anonymous	4:13	(1.5M)	630K)
Maravillosos - attr. Alfonso el Sabio	2:52	(1M)	(430K)

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