What to do first, the cooking or the music? Why not both; after all, one of the points of this new Orlando Consort recording/medieval cookbook (the group’s debut for Harmonia Mundi) is that food and music “have been natural partners throughout the ages.” Indeed, the evidence is clear, and yet this program is not designed to set a mood for a dining experience. Rather it’s meant to call attention to the manner in which some Medieval and Renaissance poets and musicians chose to observe, discuss, and/or illustrate the subject of food, whether it be its associations with love and lust or as an essential accompaniment to celebration and sheer revelry. In most cases, this means lively, upbeat, highly rhythmic realizations with catchy tunes–and from the spirited, personable, crisply inflected performances, I’d be willing to bet that these four singers–countertenor Robert Harre-Jones, tenors Charles Daniels and Angus Smith, and baritone Donald Greig–were inspired by their own happy remembrances of dinners (and revelry ) past and the hope of more soon to come.
Among the livelier selections are “La tricotea” from Spain, 47 seconds of delightful yet nearly untranslatable nonsense, and the infectious “Trinkt und singt” (it has to be, with a title like that!) that closes the disc with a lighthearted flourish. Perhaps the most familiar piece on the program is one of two with sacred texts, the rollicking English song “Nowell, nowell: The boarës head”, a delightful three-part carol full of jumping, dancing syncopations. “Oy comamos y bebamos” is an unabashed eating/drinking song that is reminiscent of the popular “Riu, riu chiu!”–and what program of medieval and renaissance secular music would be worth its salt without a few bawdy puns and double-entendres, in this case involving certain vegetables and pastries and human sexual organs? Not all is rollicking fun, however; several of the songs (Gilles Binchois’ “Je ne vis onques la pareille”–roughly, “I never saw a woman like you”, and Machaut’s “Nes qu’on porroit”) are more plaintive and moody, and the Orlando Consort seems to have a special affinity for finding the emotional heart of these pieces. At least one song (the abovementioned “Je ne vis onques”) doesn’t mention food at all but happened to have been sung at a famous banquet in 1454.
As for the rest of this handsomely packaged, clear, natural-sounding recording, it’s a full-fledged cookbook containing 19 recipes (printed in five languages) expertly adapted from medieval sources by some of today’s finest chefs/food writers (including Clarissa Dickson Wright, Roz Denny, Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray, Sara Paston-Williams, Jean-Christophe Novelli, and Félix Velarde). So even if the very worthy musical program doesn’t entice you–you’ll also find outstanding pieces by notable composers such as Isaac, Senfl, Ponce, and Dufay–perhaps the thought of “Roast Pork with Spiced Red Wine”, “Asparagus in Sherry Sauce”, “Frittata with Wild Leaves”, or “Haddock in Ale” will do the trick. And if you’re really adventurous, try the “Orange Omelette for Pimps and Harlots”.
