★★★★☆

Capella de la Torre is dedicated to the performance of an older brand of music. Their instruments are similarly old, from shawms, slide trumpets and sackbut to lute, cow horn and percussion. With an eye to authentic historical readings, their playing evokes distant times and places, and frequently explores the music of the Middle Ages by focussing on people, locations and events. In their recent release, the group have reconstructed through music the 15th ecumenical council. 

Imagine tens of thousands of dignitaries, clerics, noblemen and women of various nations gathered together at Constance for this important ecclesiastical meeting. Written accounts of the time describe great parades through the streets, accompanied by music of the various regions raining down from roof and castle-tops. The various tracks on the disc feature music for drums, pipes, strings and trumpets, in the music of noted medieval composers like Guillaume Dufay, Philippe de Vitry and Gilles Binchois. 

Capella de la Torre’s musical reconstruction is a great success. With their keen eye for historical accuracy, the group have pieced together a programme of music that conjures the spirit of this momentous occasion. Admittedly, there’s not really enough on the disc to convince nonbelievers of the power and potency of medieval music. But if you’re already a convert, this is one for you. 

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