The discovery in 2015 of a 15th-century parchment chansonnier still in its original binding was made still more startling because it contained twelve previously unknown, anonymous chansons. Most are rondeaus, and they range from the uncomplicated to the refined and elaborate; many bear musical indications that they are the work of the greatest composers of the period. In this recording they have been contextualised with other known songs but in the variant versions found in Leuven. As on their recording of the Chansonnier Cordiforme (on 8.573325), Ensemble Leones employs a range of performance possibilities, from a cappella ensemble to a mixture of instruments and voices.
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Reviews
Critics’ Choice 2023
“…They [Ensemble Leones] opened up new ground in the way they performed these marvellous songs.”
David Fallows – Gramophone magazine – December 2023
International Classical Music Award 2024 Nomination in the Early Music category
International Classical Music Awards 2024
“… the outstanding track here is Jacob Lawrence’s energetic singing of Caron’s Cent mille escuz with a previously unknown text stanza. The disc puts a triumphant cap on a few years of seriously marvellous issues of 15th-century songs…”
David Fallows – Gramophone magazine – August 2023
“Marc Lewon has once again been guided by his sense of discovery and unearthed a true musical treasure: a parchment chansonnier from the 15th century that was discovered in Leuven in 2015…As usual, Marc Leon and his Leones approach the priceless scores with great sensitivity … Especially in the polyphonic works, the performers stand out as a homogeneous ensemble, guiding through the wonderful harmonies with fine transparency and clarity of expression…The instrumental trio fits seamlessly into this almost fragile vocal fabric and lends additional timbres to some of the chansons, transporting us to a distant, sometimes alien world …” *****
Guy Engels – Pizzicato.lu – 23 March 2023
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