Performers: Daniel Taylor (countertenor), Claire Gignac (contralto, recorders, percussion), Viviane LeBlanc (soprano), Catherine Herrmann (soprano, dulcimer), Rafik Samman (baritone, santur, percussion), Nicolas Lemieux (tenor), Betsy MacMillan (bass & treble viols), Robin Grenon (harp), Éric Mercier (shawm, penny whistle), Sylvain Bergeron (guitar)
Playing time: 55'
Recording date: November 1998 (Québec)
The present program is constructed entirely by La Nef, following the tweflth century story of Perceval and the Grail by Chrétien de Troyes. The original texts were not set to music (or do not survive with music), and so the music has been drawn from a variety of sources, including some traditional Celtic tunes. Unfortunately, the notes for the recording do not detail the individual sources with any precision.
The performance style itself is dramatic, as is usual for La Nef, but besides some of the more standard medieval-style interpretations, there is a Baroque operatic coloring to many sections. It is a very original production.
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Todd M. McComb