Ricordanze: a record of love
Musica Secreta / Laurie Stras
Lucky Music
From Lucrezia Borgia's Daughter to Galileo Galilei’s daughter there's no end to the historical web of musical nuns that Musica Secreta explore, and this ensemble has been on my mind since the passing of their co-founder and soprano, Deborah Roberts (1952-2024). Despite their loss, vocally and musicologically Musica Secreta are as strong as ever: I once called Laurie Stras an 'intrepid musicologist' and here her work on the Biffoli-Sostegni manuscript (c1560) containing seventy-eight works for use in the ex-convent of San Matteo, Arcetri, near Florence is the source of this sumptuous album.
I particularly enjoyed Antoine de Fevin’s: Je le lerray puisqu’il me bat, a secular moment in which the voices veer towards a direct and rustic mode (for one of a better term), and fine singing on the lower line underpins the sound. Then, in Messa sopra Je le lerray, the Christe section recalls that song but this time it's performed with a charming touch of breathlessness. This is a good reminder of how Musica Secreta make upper voiced polyphony float, and whilst avoiding an obsessively homogenised sound also infuse individual lines with crackling, expressive interest. [...] there’s a deliciously dissonant moment in Sancta Dei genitrix which is guaranteed to make you shiver.
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I feel Musica Secreta are having a moment of brilliance, and if they are not yet on your radar yet I heartily recommend this new album and for those who enjoy physical formats I detect an homage to Kate Bush in the design of the fold out packaging. Possibly one of the first contenders for a seasonal 'stocking filler' as we approach the autumn months?
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