The selections on this disc were selected from medieval sources of chant and polyphony associated with the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris and the monastery of St. Martial in Limoges. Some of the works have been attributed to Magister Leoninus (Leonin) and Magister Perotinus (Perotin), but the authorship cannot be securely established from the surviving sources.
PARIS, 1200. The Catholic Church has a firm hold in Europe. Notre Dame Cathedral is going up on the Ile de la Cité. But Paris is not Rome, and the geographic distance allows creativity to flow.
Plainchant was the only sacred music allowed in the church at that time, so naturally musical growth stemmed from it. As a first step medieval composers and performers added a voice moving in parallel fourths or fifths--the natural distance between the tenor and bass ranges--above the chant. After the parallel voice technique (organum) became accepted, the next creative step was to add a voice that expanded the notes of the chant into long phrases, and then to add separate texts to the different voices. The new poetry might even be in French and on such secular topics as love and sex. By building on chants without altering their pitches and texts, the church rule was followed in letter, if not in spirit.
Lionheart's performances will appeal both to fans of medieval classical music and to listeners looking for something similar to the CHANT of the Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos and the music of Hildegard of Bingen.