Confréries : Chants de dévotion par Jaikes de Cambrai. Schmelzer.

   in Early Music Today (Dec, 2013)
Think ‘Graindelevoix’ and words like original, inspired, challenging and Marmite might come to mind: their craggy, visceral performances divide opinion, but they achieve – par excellence – that elusive, essential impression of time travel, opening a window to admit a blast of unrefined medieval air. Here they celebrate a thirteenth- century urban and social phenomenon: cathedral-associated confraternities with their spiritual songs in the vernacular. Whether solo or chorus, the idea of ‘ordinary’ people story-telling is all- pervasive, yet these earthy voices are invariably extraordinary in their technique, timbre and immersion in both style and text – the listener is racked by agonies of devotional fervour with the men and soothed by …