by Paul Matheson

GARDENS OF DELIGHT – Roses, Lilies & Other Flowers in Medieval Song by THE TELLING (First Hand Records FHR68, www.thetelling.co.uk )

As we approach the final weeks of summer, here is some perfect listening. This is a selection of medieval European songs that refer to lilies, roses, and flowers in general, as evocative symbols of love divine and earthly. Two flowers are especially beloved of the medieval poets and composers: the lily and the rose. Western Christian tradition associates both flowers with the Blessed Virgin Mary. The lily represents purity and brightness. The lily features again and again in musical, poetic, artistic and visual depictions of the biblical scene in which the Angel Gabriel announces to Mary of Nazareth that she will give birth to the Son of God. The rose appears again and again in music, poetry and art to represent love: sacred love, earthly love, mysterious transcendent love - the Rosa Mystica.

This collection of graceful medieval songs is performed by the England-based Early Music performance group The Telling. The album was recorded before the tragic early death of the Telling’s mezzo-soprano Ariane Prüssner. Thanks to the blessing of electronic audio-technology, we – like the angels in heaven – can carry on listening to Ariane’s splendid voice. The recording of Gardens of Delight took place in the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Sherborne, England, and the acoustics are superb. The musicians performing here are Clare Norburn (soprano voice), Ariane Prüssner (mezzo-soprano voice) and Leah Stuttard (medieval harp, frame drum and voice).

This generous CD is 65 minutes long and includes a booklet of the song texts and translations along with Clare Norburn’s interesting notes, on which I have drawn for this review. The songs are sequenced as a journey through medieval Western Europe, starting in Spain and travelling through France, England and Italy to Ariane’s native Germany.

We begin with the 15th century Sephardic song of love and longing La Rosa Enflorese: ‘The rose blooms in the month of May and a shadow passes over my soul’. The beautiful, modal, sweetly-melancholic melody has a soulful, cantorial quality. Ariane and Clare alternate on lead vocal to the plangent accompaniment of the harp.

Still in Spain, Ariane and Clare sing Rosa das Rosas (‘Rose of roses’) from the 13th century Cantigas de Santa Maria. They bring a religious devotional quality to this troubadour courtly ballad by singing it slowly and solemnly, without instrumental accompaniment, lingering on the words of praise to Our Lady: ‘Rose of beauty and great standing and flower of joyfulness and pleasure’.

The graceful courtly tone continues as the programme moves to France and a ballad from the 13th century Montpellier Codex. The soprano and mezzo-soprano voices alternate and intertwine with sensuous contrastive effect in the ballad Plus bele que flor (More beautiful than any flower): ‘The other day, I went into an orchard to pick flowers. Truthfully, as long as I live, no-one will have the joy and delight of my love except for this flower which is from Paradise: she is the mother of Our Lord’.

The programme moves to England in the year 1420, with the English traditional carol Ther is No Rose of Swych Virtu. We now associate this carol with Christmas Nativity carol services by church choirs, but here The Telling’s three voices sing it a-cappella in close harmony, to greatly atmospheric effect: ‘There is no rose of such virtue as is the rose that bore Jesus. For contained in this rose were Heaven and earth in little space: a wonderful thing!’.

Paul Matheson is a diversity officer with the police.