Romaria = The Dowland Project – John Potter, tenor/ Milos Valent, violin and viola/ John Surman, soprano sax, bass clarinet, tenor and bass recorders/ Stephen Stubbs, baroque guitar, vihuela – ECM 476 5780, 77:03 ***:
The Dowland Project continues its latest foray into the world of old music played by disparate instruments. I have been critical of this approach in the past and can’t see a lot here to change my mind. First, the essentials; the music is all played with a consummate professionalism that should lay to rest any qualms about quality–these folks know what they are doing. Second, if you like this sort of thing and have bought before, you will not be let down and will find much to enjoy.
There are several issues here that preclude a general recommendation from me. One is the almost dire somberness to the whole album. While looking at the track listing below may not lead you to think that it would be so, I found it rather a strain to keep from dosing while this was playing. Repeats and familiarity did little to assuage that condition. It is simply a quiet and meditative sort of session that could very well satisfy if this is what you are looking for, but it is only fair to post this warning. Next is the issue of combined or mixed genres. I really have no issue with using modern instruments, or even instruments outside of what might be considered appropriate for this type of music. After all, we have to recreate the music for our own time using what we have available to us, and this is where many “period instrument” philosophies go awry. But for goodness sake, whenever a saxophone is playing must it mean that there are going to be some jazz-like riffs introduced? Is this not musical stereotyping of the worst sort? Saxes were playing other things long before they played jazz. And I like the way the bass clarinet is used in this recording–why not do the same thing with the sax? Why does it always seem to be renaissance and baroque music tinged with a jazz flavor?
To be fair there really are only a few examples of this on the album, and most of it sounds very much what we have gotten used to renaissance music sounding like. My chief complaints are the somberness of the program and the sameness of sound that these instruments provide–very little color here. But I know there are many fans out there who will want this, and the sound is very good, as almost all ECM releases invariably are. The album is simply too static for me, and does not display as much creativity as the notes would seem to indicate.
TrackList:
Got schepfer – early 13th century
Veris dulcis – Carmina Burana manuscript
Pulcherrima rosa – Franus codex
Ora pro nobis – Anonymous
La lume – traditional Iberian
Dulce solum – Carmina burana manuscript
Der oben swebt – Oswald von Wolkenstein
O beata infantia – Gregorian
O Rosa – traditional Iberian
Saudade – Valent/Surman/Stubbs
In flagellis – Josquin Desprez
Kyrie Jesus autem transiens – Friminus Caron
O beata infantia – Gregorian
Credo Laudate dominum – Orlando di Lasso
Ein gut Preambel – Hans Neusidler
Sanctus Tu solus qui facis – Josquin Desprez
Ein iberisch Postambel – Valent/Surman/Stubbs
— Steven Ritter
