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Ensemble Musica Nova

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Ensemble Musica Nova · Musica Nova is a French early-music ensemble founded in 2000. It brings together singers and instrumentalists under the direction of the singer and conductor Lucien Kandel. The repertoire runs from the Middle Ages to the Baroque and is driven by the wish to convey emotion through music.

Music and breakthrough

The ensemble works with an eye for historical accuracy. It uses original manuscripts and pays attention to the rules of the time, such as musica ficta and pronunciation, and to the nuances the composer intended. The singers and musicians read their parts in facsimile, which inevitably changes their interpretation. Musica Nova performs in France and beyond.

Influence

The recordings let us hear that repertoire. Les Motets appeared in 2002, Flos florum in 2005, Missa cuiusvis toni in 2007, Ballades in 2009 and Se congie prens in 2013. The titles point to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the age of the French ballades and the motets. According to the source, some recordings have become a benchmark for how this style is now performed. In this way the ensemble contributes to the rediscovery of a music that remained almost invisible for centuries.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to an excerpt from Ballades and notice how a few voices and instruments each follow a melodic line of their own, without the broad orchestral sound we know from later music.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists