''Music Of The Gothic Era'' was the last and arguably the most successful of David Munrow's boxed sets of pre-baroque music. Exploring as it did a repertory of late twelfth-, thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century polyphony that was still all but unknown when these records appeared in the mid-1970s, the venture proved to be nothing less than an ear-opener to many listeners of the time, not least because of the sheer verve and bravura of the performances. Today, a few of these might be criticized for their over-indulgence, extravagant instrumentation and rollicking high spirits; but most have stood the test of time extremely well, and the records still deserve to be cherished by all lovers of medieval music. To have a selection of the pieces made available on CD is a treat indeed, and the result is little short of spectacular, quite simply because of the breathtaking clarity of the sound reproduction.
Without doubt, the highlights of the collection are the settings of Viderunt omnes by Leonin and Perotin that open the anthology and the group of motets by Guillaume de Machaut that come towards the end. This latter includes a wonderful performance (by voices alone, in a style made more familiar in recent years by Christopher Page's Gothic Voices) of Lasse! comment oublerai/Se j'aim mon loyal ami/Pour quoy me bat, an extraordinarily plangent piece that inspires some controlled, expressive singing from Paul Elliott, Martyn Hill and Geoffrey Shaw. In general, the thirteenth-century motets are less sensitively done, largely because instruments are allowed to dominate the texture, but even here there are plenty of memorable moments. With its many excellent qualities and extremely generous playing time of just over an hour, this is a CD not to be missed, even by those who would normally think twice about buying records of such early music.'