Polyphonia Antiqua – ultreia! Sur la route de Saint Jacques de Compostelle / AudioNautes

"Ultreia" means "forward". In the Middle Ages, this was the marching call of pilgrims and crusaders. At that time, thousands of people set out every year on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Rome or Santiago di Compostella.

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the pilgrimage to Compostella in Galicia was certainly the most popular, because since about 830 it was rumored that a tomb containing the remains of the Apostle James had

been found in this westernmost part of Spain.This 1982 recording with the Polyphonia Antiqua ensemble was made at the Abbey of Sénanque in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France for the Disques Pierre

Verany label. With 15 tracks arranged in the form of a medieval liturgical drama, the ensemble recreates the long march of a group of pilgrims to Compostella.Due to its sound quality, the vinyl version of "Ultreia!" quickly

became the vaunted reference LP among audiophile music fans for testing the imaging accuracy of hi-fi systems. AudioNautes aims to reproduce the extraordinary transparency and musicality of the original 1982 edition.

Despite the perfect state of preservation of the master tapes, this classic is characterized by a particularly critical change of signals, combining weaker sounds from the background with extremely high dynamic peaks.

Attempting to transfer this to the grooves of a record without compromising the finest nuances or, even worse, lapsing into excessive distortion was not only a challenge, but a Herculean task. Scott Hull had to summon all

his experience and patience to find the right compromise and settings for the remaster.

Single LP with 33 1/3 rpm.

Title

Side A

1. Ductis

2. Amour Ou Trop Tard Me Suis Pris

3. Ahi Amours, Com Dure Departie

4. Primus Ex Apostolis

5. Chevailers Mult Estes Guariz

6. Trotto 7. Sire Cuens J’Ai Vielle

Side B

1. Primus Ex Apostolis

2. De Grad’a Santa Maria

3. Primus Ex Apostolis

4. Te Cantemus Domino

5. Gratulantes Celebremus Festum

6. Benedicamus Domino

7. Ad Honorem Regis Summi

8. Te Deum