Noël Akchoté - Gaudeamus (Missel de Saint Vougay, XIth Cent.)

(Bandcamp, 2025)

Noël Akchoté

That mad Frenchman, Noël Akchoté, is delving into the earliest music committed to paper with the “Gaudeamus” from the 11th-century Missal of Saint-Vougay, this manuscript originates from Brittany, France, and is the oldest known text referring to the Seven Founding Saints of Brittany. The Departmental Archives of Finistère presently preserves this precious manuscript.

Historical texts mention its connection to the region and its specific neumatic notation style, and the missal originated from the church of Saint-Vougay, a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany, which is considered a crucial piece of Breton heritage. The manuscript is notable for containing a prayer that invokes the Seven Founding Saints of Brittany, making it a unique historical source on Breton Catholicism.

The first mention of the “Seven Founding Saints of Brittany” (”Latin manuscript” dating from 1275, Bibliothèque nationale de France). The Saint-Vougay Missal, dating from the 11th century, is the oldest handwritten text to refer to the Seven Founding Saints through a prayer dedicated to them collectively, but which likely reflects older traditions. This makes the music ripe for Akchoté picking.

Rather than use his trusty acoustic guitar (Martin HD-28) or electric guitar (Gibson ES-175-D), Akchoté uses a National Dobro (Tuning A=415). This instrument gives the music a more antique sound, secondary to the traditional use of the instrument. The guitarist’s execution is as beautifully fractured and esoteric as on his previous recordings. There is a considerable amount of outside noise (breathing?) on the second piece, “Hush Gaudeamus Omnes (Improvisio)” that is a bit distracting, but no more than Keith Jarrett’s vocalizations on his live recordings.

The music is wonderfully old and worthy of comparison to a choral exposition, that is, if one could be found.