Two impressive reissues demonstrate just how vibrant medieval and Renaissance music can sound.
When people in the classical music world speak of “early music,” they are generally referring to works composed before 1600 – medieval chants, Renaissance songs, early vocal music, and sometimes even early Baroque. Although these eras, with their archaic timbres and complex vocal textures, have a fascination all their own, they tend to occupy a rather niche position in the vinyl market. All the more reason to celebrate when labels such as Audionautes Recordings and Hyperion Records devote themselves to this repertoire – with care, ambition, and a feel for paths less traveled. Two recent reissues serve as exemplary proof of how exciting early music can be when it is interpreted with devotion and pressed on vinyl in high-quality editions.
Anyone who believes early music is synonymous with Gregorian chant echoing through reverberant spaces will quickly be proven wrong here: Early Music at Wik is a musical treasure chest. The album presents fascinating interpretations of medieval and early modern music by the Swedish ensemble Joculatores Upsalienses – literally, “Players from Uppsala.” Founded in 1965 by Sven Berger, John Björklund, Per Åberg, Ola Persson, and Torbjörn Carlsson, the group ranks among the pioneers of historically informed performance practice in Scandinavia. Joculatores Upsalienses devote themselves equally to sacred and secular music of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance – approaching the material with scholarly rigor, yet with a palpable sense of joy in making music.
The recordings for Early Music at Wik were made in 1973 and 1974 in the striking setting of Wik Castle, a medieval fortress south of Uppsala. The location underscores the authentic character of the music and lends the interpretations a special depth.
The repertoire on this recording goes far beyond familiar sacred chants. It also includes secular songs, folk melodies, drinking songs, and dance pieces – music that was rarely documented in its original form and lies largely outside the established early-music canon. This blend of cultural heritage and archaic joie de vivre is precisely what makes the album so distinctive. During the 1970s and 1980s, the ensemble toured extensively – not only throughout Sweden, but also in Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, and what was then Yugoslavia. Their music has also left traces beyond the concert hall, including appearances as part of the soundtrack to the strategy game Europa Universalis II.
Audionautes Recordings has now brought this sonic document back into circulation in a carefully produced reissue – cut directly from the original 1975 master tapes. The release stands out for its high-quality presentation, excellent vinyl, and audiophile sound that meets this music on equal terms. Acoustic finesse meets editorial care here: an album that goes far beyond mere nostalgia. Early Music at Wik is audiophile music off the beaten path – a work of significant repertory value that is likely to surprise even seasoned early-music aficionados. For some, it will be a discovery; for others, a long-overdue rediscovery. One thing is certain: this record belongs in every serious collection of historical music.
Let us now venture a little further forward in time, into the English Renaissance. The LP English Motets, recorded with The Gesualdo Six, offers an overview of English vocal music from the late Middle Ages through the early Baroque period. It spans roughly two centuries and includes works by John Dunstable, William Cornysh, Thomas Tallis, John Sheppard, William Byrd, Thomas Tomkins, and Orlando Gibbons. Hyperion Records is reissuing this recording – originally released digitally seven years ago – as part of a newly established vinyl series.
At the center of the program is the development of sacred music during a period of profound religious and social upheaval. The selection does not follow a strictly chronological order but is instead conceived dramaturgically, like a concert program. Thus, works of dense polyphony – such as Dunstable’s isorhythmic Veni Sancte Spiritus – alternate with more restrained, text-centered settings, for example Tallis’s If ye love me, which reflects the Reformation ideal of textual clarity. Particularly striking is how flexibly composers responded to changing confessional requirements. While Dunstable and Cornysh remain rooted in the late medieval sound world, works by Tallis and Byrd show how polyphony could develop in divergent directions.
The interpretation by The Gesualdo Six is consistently controlled and well balanced. The singers perform with great precision without losing sight of the emotional substance of the works. This is especially evident in Tomkins’s When David heard, where the transition from detached narration to personal grief is convincingly shaped. Dynamic contrasts, such as those demanded by Byrd’s Vigilate, are also realized coherently, without slipping into theatrical excess.
From a technical standpoint, the close miking achieves a high degree of transparency. The complex polyphonic structures remain clear even in densely written passages, although the overall sound can occasionally feel somewhat compact – particularly when compared with the CD release. Since many vinyl enthusiasts value precisely this sense of compactness, however, Hyperion has done everything right with this reissue on vinyl.
Early Music at Wik
Ensemble Joculatores Upsalienses
Senfl, Susato, Trad. u. a.
Label: AudioNautes
Format: LP (180 g)
English Motets
The Gesualdo Six
Dunstable, Tallis, Byrd, Gibbons u. a.
Label: Hyperion
Format: LP