The Clerks, Durham University Music School

ONCE again, The Clerks presented a mixture of medieval and renaissance polyphony in an academic programme that tested the audience’s perception and understanding of what they were hearing.

Overlapping words and voices challenge our sense of hearing and comprehension if we are at a party, and they did so here.

Just as in October last year, there was a questionnaire to assess how much of the text the audience had heard, and then understood. It was even more testing this time as the Latin texts of the motets were sung not only simultaneously but also overlapping between the parts.

Questions seeking to discover how much we had understood asked for the English translation of what was heard – too scholarly a task for some of us.

Sponsored by the Wellcome Trust and with a three-year residency supported by the Radcliffe Trust, The Clerks continue to investigate scientific issues surrounding text intelligibility.

Apart from that, we were treated to the mesmeric music of the 15th century that accompanied the pageantry following Henry’s V's victory at Agincourt. The celebrations displayed the contemporary veneration of St George and utilised plainsong melodies to extravagant effect.

The Agincourt Carol began each half, sung in old English pronunciation, and was followed by music by Dannett, Power, Sturgeon, Forest and Dunstaple.

Simple, fluid melodic lines in the upper parts are accompanied by “cantus firmus” in the bass, often repeating a small section of music but with different time signatures. Edward Wickham explained how the effect of speeding up the music is achieved by the subtly changing time signatures, as well as the contemporary use of improvisation and sacred chants within this music.

One of the loveliest moments was the simple six-part harmony of Beata progenies by Leonel Power. The concert ended with Ascendit Christus by Dunstaple, whose music led gently from the medieval towards the renaissance.

Accomplished singing, academic input and a brain workout for the audience – quite a combination.

Sue Shaw