I asked myself what chance would we have here to encounter this rare but wonderful music performed 'live'. What we hear in any performance is thus the musicians' own ideas on how to beef-up of this minimal score. On the first night, we were treated to a near complete selection of songs and dances from Medieval Europe. The Collective produced a fascinatingly diverse range of colour, though not the widest I've heard. Yet I think it is this quality, their balanced and beautifully-blended instrumental groupings, which distinguish the Collective's performances.
Balance also seems to characterise the way they deal with the rhythmic aspects of the music.
Also, moderate tempo was favoured for most of the music. Whatever the case, what we had then was a demonstration of the flow in the Collective's music-making. Speaking of colouring, the most engaging aspect of the Dufay Collective must be their vocals. Let's start with the men. The only point this didn't quite work was on the second night, during O Virgo Splendens .