Anonymous 4 appeal revealed
By John Mangum
Everyone wants to try and uncover the secret behind Anonymous 4.
What about this vocal group could possibly account for their rise to success? Perhaps the unique sound of four female voices singing repertoire traditionally assigned to men intrigues audiences.
Maybe the repertoire itself appeals to concert-goers. The Anonymous 4 perform music written during the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries, and medieval music gains new followers every day.
Talking with one of the group's sopranos, Johanna Rose, one understands why this is so, at least from the performer's standpoint. "We, as a group, focus on music from the 12th to the 14th century," Rose says. "It's very satisfying to sing."
Audiences seem to find the quartet satisfying to listen to as well. Because many are unfamiliar with the chants and polyphonic pieces the group specializes in performing, they have to produce a convincing sound.
Rose believes that this sound comes from the blend of four female voices. Polyphony, which simply means "many sounds," can sometimes sound dense and muddy.
Only the highest quality of singing can separate the strands of a polyphonic work and create a lucid product. "I think that some people feel that they can hear the individual lines a little more clearly," Rose says.
Sopranos Ruth Cunningham and Marsha Gensky and alto Susan Hellauer join Rose in two programs at the Westwood Methodist Church Feb. 4-5. The first, titled "An English Ladymass" features 13th and 14th century songs praising and honoring the Virgin Mary.
Rose describes the program in more specific terms, revealing the extent to which the performance will illuminate medieval musical life. "You'll hear a couple of chants which are mostly from the Dublin Troper, which is an Irish manuscript," says Rose.
"There will also be mass ordinaries. Those are set polyphonically," she continues, "and along with the mass movements will be a mass proper. There will also be some devotional songs praising the Virgin Mary."
The dominance of music associated with the medieval church service affirms the importance of religion in the middle ages. Courtly love was almost as essential, perhaps even more so for the people who actually hung out at court.
Anonymous 4's second program, called "Love's Illusion," appropriately explores this other aspect of the age of faith. Rose explains that even though the texts may be provocative (in 13th century terms), monks or priests probably wrote them anyway.
"The texts are courtly love lyrics. They might have been written in clerical circles.
"There are a couple of different elements within the works, one of which is popular or troubadour songs incorporated into these polyphonic or polytextural quartets," Rose says.
Rose describes them as polytextural because usually the popular tune interweaves with others to form a satisfying whole. "They're kind of intellectual," explains Rose, "like a puzzle. But they're also very beautiful."
There, perhaps, is the key to the mystery. The group successfully balances the intellectual and the beautiful which grapple with equal strength in medieval music. The result can be exhilarating.
MUSIC: Anonymous 4 at Westwood Methodist Church. Feb. 4 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 5 at 4 p.m. Presented by UCLA Center for the Performing Arts. For more info call (310) 825-2101.