Ensemble Nusmido
dedicated to Gregorian Chant and Early Polyphony
Ivo Berg - voice, recorder, bells
Milo Machover - voice, Renaissance flute
Martin Erhardt - voice, recorder, portative organ
Ensemble Nusmido specializes in the interpretation of medieval and Renaissance music. Taking monodic, liturgical plainchant as its starting point, the Ensemble's repertoire covers the main stations of medieval music, right up to the vocal polyphony of the early 16th century.
As a result of having studied together with Dr. Rebecca Stewart and Maurice van Lieshout in Holland, the three musicians have been striving to defend a particular kind of performance practice. Namely, one that implies singing and playing exclusively from the original notation of any given period, performing solely on copies of period instruments, and using historical solmization techniques to apprehend melody and counterpoint in a 'modal' way.
As would have been the case for any musician of the time, the members of Ensemble Nusmido consider themselves both singers and instrumentalists, whereupon the human voice, in natural alliance with the acoustics of its surroundings, stands in central focus. Within these surroundings (most often a church), the aim is to reach, through a flexible tone production, a most intense, contrapuntal interaction of the voices, in which the text declamation can truly become a supporting element of the music.
The trio core line-up can be expanded to a quartet with soprano Anne Schneider, among others.
The name Nusmido comes from the famous Organum Viderunt Omnes written in Paris by a member of the Notre Dame school. In one of the many clausulae that were written out for the word 'Dominus', the syllables as well as the notes of the cantus firmus appear backwards - 'Nusmido'.
Download press photos
Photographers: Heinrich Ripke, Martin Erhardt, Heinrich Ripke.
Video / Audio
CDs with Ensemble Nusmido
"Not only are we set apart from Johannes Ockeghem by several centuries, but profound and unmeasurable changes in our social, political and philosophical world view separate us from his music. Bearing this in mind, we should not give the illusion that our efforts towards a historically informed performance practice aim at recreating an original sound or at performing the music in an allegedly authentic manner. Rather, a historically informed approach can, by helping us experience the distance and remaining mystery of our own culture, give rise to a performance practice defined by artistic and spiritual humility.
[...] All of this offers the potential for a form of sacred polyphony in which the individual voices are neither independent nor autonomous, but point instead, through sensitive interrelation and interaction, to a common entity, whose intangible and unfathomable character appears to be part of the compositional and artistic/religious intention. At its finest moments, this manner of making music leads away from a subject-oriented approach, one in which the performer considers himself as the creator of the sound: instead it turns his attention to the acoustics of his surroundings, to its reflections and vibrations, which are in fact at the very basis of this music; it turns his physical perception away from the subordination to a fixed metrical hierarchy and towards a free flowing pulsation in complete harmony with the rhythm of his breath. Nothing, however, can be forced in this process: all too often, the hectic pace of our daily lives stands in the way for these moments to appear and develop freely. And so this music exerts for us a constant fascination, as its daunting unfamiliarity, its fragile mystery and inaccessible slowness holds a mirror to our faces." (Ivo Berg, from the CD booklet)
The CD appeared in february 2015 on Rondeau Productions and can be ordered for 15 Euro directly with us.
"There is nothing run-of-the mill here, the Ensemble Nusmido invest these scores with a wealth of imagination and effortless radiance. What I find compelling from these young musicians is their instinctive phrasing, subtle dynamics and immaculate intonation. The instrumental items provide contrast and help sustain interest. This is a most enjoyably release, that would grace any vocal collection."
"... whereas I had not found this mass cycle to be terribly interesting previously, I now find it quite engaging. So, in that sense, one cannot praise the interpretation enough: There is much linear independence here, focusing on a chant-like reading of the parts, with tuning alignment expanding from the middle parts (rather than in a top-down approach)."
Todd M. McComb
Schola Nusmido
Every summer Milo Machover, Ivo Berg and Martin Erhardt teach a project week in the Johannesgemeinde in D - Halle (Saale) on a topic of early polyphony and pass on their experiences to all interested singers and singing instrumentalists. Here is the current flyer: