RED IRIS
- Audio Sample : RED IRIS listen here
Stevie Wishart, dynamic composer, improviser and experimenter returns to her medieval roots in Red Iris, a sequence of 14th century Florentine istampite of dazzling virtuosity.
Wishart, founder of the groundbreaking group Sinfonye, has long been acclaimed for her performances and recordings of the music of medieval Europe and in particular for her exploration and reappraisal of the mystical and spiritual music of Hildegard von Bingen. Her medieval background, involving extensive research into performance and improvising techniques, has much informed her own compositions, often exploring medieval & contemporary extremes, using ancient technologies such as the hurdy gurdy, as well as electronic and new technologies. This can be heard in her conventional scoring of works for groups such as Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles and also her solo performing and improvising with artists such as Fred Frith and John Tilbury
The Red Iris was the emblem of musicians working for the urban signoria and the aristocratic democracy who ruled Florence as a city state from the mid 13th century to the Medici takeover in and so contemporary with the istampite.
Istampite are extended pieces, often referred to as dance music in much the same way as Bach’s suites took their formal cue from dance genres. However, istampite are developed through an established improvisational method into innovative and intricate instrumental works. Stevie Wishart, in performing these istampite using a solo melody instrument, avoids a multi instrumental gloss and allows the music to speak clearly in its own terms. The most extended istampite along with her new improvisations, often display dramatic chromatic and rhythmic modulations that challenge the metrical and tonal stability of each piece.
In Red Iris, Wishart, playing the medieval fiddle and hurdy gurdy, intertwine these Tuscan istampite of mesmerizing and searching beauty with new improvisations to create a wholly contemporary take on these ancient and scintillating tunes, bringing them once again to life from their manuscript in the British Museum.
“ … sheer quality and inventiveness … aligns them with their true historical context [and] more than virtuoso showpieces … it says much to the power of Wishart’s playing that she keeps the music constantly interesting and persuasive. … superbly convincing.” Gramophone
“On the medieval superhighway. Here is something strange and new. We could be looking at a prototype for the concert of the future.” The Times
REVIEWS
What is new is the way Wishart plays them (the istampite). She views the shorter pieces as dances… they are done extremely well. But the longer ones are treated as elaborate and weaving instrumental solos, without any accompaniment. Stevie Wishart plays them on the medieval fiddle, and in one case, hurdygurdy, never rushing, never tempted to gloss over the many unexpected details in the lines. This kind of approach seems extremely productive: it stresses the sheer quality and inventiveness of the melodies, and it perhaps aligns them with their true historical context, the repertory of long monophonic lais from the fourteenth century. That in turn somehow makes the pieces considerably more than virtuoso showpieces. But it says much to the power of Wishart’s playing that she keeps the music constantly interesting and is invariably persuasive. The disc comes with a CD ROM track that portrays among other things, frescoes of the time, the instruments, and the manuscript, but even without that this is a superbly convincing performance, David Fallows, The Gramophone, London
Marrying old and new has always been a feature of Stevie Wishart’s eclectic approach to music. As much at home in contemporary as early music, her latest project brings together the music of the Florentine trecento with the microchip marvels of the modern age. Michael Quinn, The Gramophone, London
“On the medieval superhighway. Here is something strange and new. Out this week is Red Iris, a recording of 14th-century music by Sinfonye. But this is no ordinary disc. Put it in your CD player and you so indeed get nine scintillating tracks of Tuscan istampite. But put it into your computer and you get something quite different: a witty interactive that presents fascinating snapshots of the music and the era. It sounds a bit wacky, but don’t knock it. We could be looking at a prototype for the concert of the future. Richard Morrison, Arts Editor of The Times, London
While the bells-whistles-approach has its attraction, especially for listeners new to the convoluted melodies of pre-Renaissance secular music, it can easily slip over the narrow line dividing artistic license from kitsch. Stevie Wishart and her group Sinfonye prefer to interfere as little as possible with their source material, restricting their guesswork to interpretations of medieval theorists and of instruments depicted in religious art, while attempting to bring the music to life for a thougherly modern audiences. Their latest CD explores the often-bizarre untexted tunes to be found in a manuscript house in the British Library – works probably composed by musicians in the payroll of the aristocratic rulers of Florence in the 1300s. Red Iris comes complete with a CD interactive Mac and Windows compatible, making it the first ever medieval music CD-ROM. The trecento gets the techno treatment. Andrew Stewart, The Independent, London.
