La Bele Marie: Songs to the Virgin from 13th-Century France

Performers:	French Anonymous	Click Image To See Full Size Pic
CD Title:	Furtwängler at Covent Garden: 1937 "Ring" Excerpts
Composer:	French Anonymous
CD INFO:	Harmonia mundi, France HMU 907312
Reviewer:	John L. Holubiak
Notes:	English essay by Susan Hellauer, translations in French and German Latin and French texts, English, French and German translations.

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Review:
I enjoyed this collection the more I listened to it. The selections have an apparent simplicity and expressiveness which I feel will appeal to a wide audience of listeners.

The performers have selected texts reflecting a range of feelings, most being quite direct in expressing their admiration of Mary. The four French chansons have perhaps the most personal texts and each of these is sung as a solo by a member of the group.

Anonymous 4 produce a beautiful and unique sonority that imprints an indelible mark on the performances. The recording was captured in a very reverberant acoustic, and sounded best to me played fairly loud, bringing into relief the emotional expressiveness of the singers. It also produces a more natural dynamic range and adds bloom and clarity to the sound (which also sounds great on a portable player).

I believe that this disc is (generally) best listened to with pauses (I believe most CD listening should be broken with pauses). This allows one to better savor individual performances and follow texts.

I think fans who love a wide range of vocal music will find this disc a treat. For persons new to music of this period (or early music in general), this may not be the best introduction although taken on its own terms it represents an enduring contribution to the legacy of recorded art.