ARS NOVA
Treasures of “Trecento”
Marc Mauillon, baritone (France)
Roger Helou, organetto (Argentina/France)
Stylistically, the music of the Ars Nova represents a significant departure from the earlier Ars Antiqua. Around the year 1300, innovations in musical notation allowed composers to write with far greater rhythmic flexibility, breaking free from the rigid rhythmic modes that had dominated the 13th century. This evolution resulted in music of increased complexity, expressiveness, and nuance, paving the way for the rich polyphonic textures that characterize the 14th century.
This program explores the brilliance of the Ars Nova through two of its greatest exponents: Guillaume de Machaut in France and Francesco Landini in Italy. To bring this exquisite repertoire to life, we are honored to present world-class experts of medieval music, the baritone Marc Mauillon, one of the foremost authorities in Ars Nova interpretation, and the organetto virtuoso Roger Helou.
The organetto, a small portable organ, plays a crucial role in this repertoire. Widely used in the Trecento, especially in Italy, the organetto's expressive capacity, portability, and nuanced dynamics made it ideally suited for accompanying vocal lines or performing instrumental dances. It is prominently featured in the works of Landini, who himself was a master organist. Moreover, the organetto represents a key stage in the technological evolution of the pipe organ, bridging the gap between medieval portative instruments and the larger organs of the Renaissance. Its use in chamber and secular contexts helped to diversify organ building practices and extend the instrument’s expressive range beyond the liturgical setting.
Rodrigo Calveyra
PROGRAMME
Francesco Landini (1335-1397)
Gran piant’agli ochi
Anonimo Codex Cyprus/Torino (14th century)
La bonne et belle
Zacara da Teramo (c.1350-1413)
Un fior gentil
Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377)
J’aim la flour de valour
Dou mal qui m’a longuement
Foy porter
Antonello da Caserta (1355-1402)
Beauté parfaite
G. de Machaut / Codex Faenza
De toutes fleurs
Guillaume de Machaut
Puis qu’en oubli
Francesco Landini
Fortuna ria
Johannes Ciconia (1370-1412)
Una panthera
Giovanni da Firenze (1270-1350)
Quando la stella
Francesco Landini
Questa fanciulla
Adieu, adieu
Johannes Ciconia
Ligiadra donna
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PERFORMERS
MARC MAUILLON, baritone (France)
With his very personal and recognisable voice, French baritenor Marc Mauillon has been exploring 10 centuries of vocal music with insatiable curiosity.
Aged 22 he met W. Christie and developed an acknowledged expertise in the baroque repertoire, with, among others, les Arts Florissants, Le Poème Harmonique (V. Dumestre), le Concert d’Astrée (E. Haïm), Le Concert Spirituel (H. Niquet), Les Talens lyriques (C. Rousset), singing operas and concert pieces by Lully, Rameau, Charpentier, Campra, Monteverdi, Cavalli, Purcell, Lambert or Mondonville in places such as Paris Opéra Comique, Opéra de Paris, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Philharmonie de Paris, Berliner Philhamonie, Theater an der Wien, Wiener Festwochen, De National Opera Amsterdam, Bozar Bruxelles, Barbican London, BAM and Lincoln Center in New-York, Edinburgh Festival, Salzburger Festival, Utrecht Festival…
Since 2005 he also started to work on Machaut’s secular music, shedding a new light on his pieces. It led him to meet J. Savall and M. Figueras and join Hesperion XXI for many concerts and recordings.
Besides Baroque operas, he also sang operas by Mozart, Poulenc, Britten, Bernstein, and many others, including contemporary composers. His also records and performs with pianists French melodies and Lieder.
Many times he was invited to teach master-classes about medieval, baroque or French music, in France and abroad (Basel, Santander, Moscow, Minsk, etc…) From 2014 to 2018 he was a teacher in Pôle Supérieur 93 (Aubervilliers) and from 2018 to 2024 he taught medieval secular music interpretation in La Sorbonne (Paris).
ROGER HELOU, organetto (Argentina/France)
Roger Helou was born in 1978 in Buenos Aires, where he studied piano and organ. In 1998 he moved to Europe to study baroque and medieval organ in the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. During his formal music training, he began self-teaching on Argentine Tango and Folklore.
In 2001 he founded the SILENCIO Tango Orchestra, which has recorded 3 albums and one DVD. This ensemble, dedicated to the traditional Argentinian tango, has visited major cities throughout Europe. Since 2001, Helou has been working as a coach for many ensembles all over Europe, and has been invited to work as a teacher for specialized Argentinian music workshops in many festivals in Paris, Berlin, Malmo, Toulouse and elsewhere. In Argentina, he has worked with the famous Cuarteto Cedron as a pianist and arranger. Recently he has been working as a music programmer for the most important tango radio station in Argentina, La 2x4.
Helou studied medieval music theory in Buenos Aires and in Milan with Pedro Memelsdorff: through these meetings he discovered his passion for the organetto, the portative-organ, an instrument with extreme expressive capacities. In 2014 Helou resumed his studies in the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where he graduated in medieval keyboard music with Corina Marti.
The 14th century music and the Argentinian music of the 20th century have something in common: the co-existence and interaction of a very complete and refined notation with a very developed oral tradition. These combined aspects make the central point in Roger Helou's artistical quest.
