MC: I remember back in the ‘80s when Early Music, and particularly medieval music pretty hard to find. Nearly all of it was funded by Universities or Foundations. At least in the USA, in the days before the net if you didn’t live in a college town it was virtually impossible to find. In the past few years, Early Music has become much more popular. What do you think are some of the factors that sparked the public interest in this type of music?

LVCVS: Surely in the last few years the interest in early music has grown. It started back in the 60s when some classical musicians started to explore baroque and renaissance music. Traditional and ethnic music from other cultures pushed listeners and musicians towards more authentic sounds. Also, early music is easier to listen than classical music for the modern ears.

MC: It is very fascinating how the songs of LVCVS are written by Andrea, and not performances of medieval songs, and yet they have a very authentic medieval sound. What factors led you to decide not to perform medieval songs, but to compose your own?

LVCVS: The aim of LVCVS is not to play authentic medieval music. We already do this with our side-project LILIUM AERIS.    LVCVS  is inspired by Folk and Ethnic music as well as Medieval and Renaissance music.

MC: What drew you to Early Music? Do you see any correlations between earlier eras and our own?

LVCVS: A really fascinating thing about early music is that in an age when musicians explored everything, the real avant-garde seemed to be the exploration of the origins of music.

MC: Many bands that are inspired by or incorporate medieval/renaissance music also use modern electronics. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think that music with modern electronics can convey the true spirit of medieval music?

LVCVS: The mix between ancient sounds and electronics can create a really interesting and fascinating music. But we think that the true spirit of the Middle Ages can truly be reached only through the authentic and sometimes rough sound of the medieval instruments.

MC: Do you have any favorite Medieval/renaissance poets or musicians? Also, were you inspired by any of the “first generation” early Music performers such as Alfred Deller, Musica Reservata, or David Munro?

LVCVS: We really love the Italian literature of thirteenth and fourteenth century. From Dante to the “Scuola Siciliana”, Cecco Angiolieri, Petrarca. As listeners and players of medieval music we know our debt to the pioneers of early music.

MC: On your website, you refer to the music of LVCVS as Neo-Folk, as opposed to Early Music. I have also seen the term Neo-Medieval used for similar music. What is the difference between these terms?

LVCVS: We refer to LVCVS as dark-folk because our music is inspired more by folk and ethnic music, and sometimes renaissance music, than by medieval music. But it’s really hard for us to label our music.

MC: What are your thoughts on the debate in Early Music circles about the performance of the music and authenticity? Since notation was a fairly late development and what survived in writing is doubtless only a fraction of what was actually performed, can we ever really know how early medieval music sounded? Is it important?

LVCVS: We can answer to this question as medieval musicians (with our project LILIUM AERIS) not as LVCVS. It’s not easy to know how early music was performed. However beside the notation there are many Middle Age treatises and iconography, which tells us how the instruments were played and something about the vocal technique.

MC: You describe your music as a mix of Medieval and Renaissance influences, and your vision of “a faeric middle east, seen through the eyes of the medieval Europe”. This is very appropriate, since many musical elements of the Middle East filtered Medieval Europe by way of the Troubadours and Moorish Spain. (Just like how the most advanced Medieval medical techniques came from Arab physicians and medical treatises.) Was the music of LVCVS influenced by the Troubadours? Do you have any favorite Medieval poets or musicians?

LVCVS: We share with the Middle Ages the compositional spirit, the union between distant cultures, and the mix of instruments from distant places. We love the Troubadours and all Medieval music.

MC: Is your first album, Cantiones Filicatae, still available?

LVCVS: There’s just a few copies. You can ask for it directly to us, contacting us at www.lvcvs.com (lvcvs@lvcvs.com)

MC: What other music do you enjoy?

LVCVS: We love many kinds of music: classical, early, folk, ethnic, dark, metal.

MC: Why did you decide to start your own label? Has this been a difficult endeavor?

LVCVS: The record label Ars Aeterna was created in 2009 by Andrea and Serena with the aim to support not just our projects (LVCVS, LILIUM AERIS and SEPULCRUM SPEI), but also similar bands. We would like to release bands playing ancient music (medieval and renaissance but also ancient Greek, Roman and Etruscan music), folk and traditional music. We are also interested in other kinds of music, mainly acoustic. “Semen Roris” is our first CD release, and to date we have gotten good feedback from the public.

MC: Are you going to be touring anytime in the next year? Is there anything else you would like to add? Thanks so much for the interview!

LVCVS: We are organizing the concerts of the next year. In 2009 and 2010 we’ll have an intense performance schedule. You’ll find the dates on our website. Thanks to you for your support!

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http://arsaeterna.com

http://lvcvs.com