CD: Douce Dame Debonaire

Songs of Medieval France C12th - C14th
To capture the spirit of the trouvères, Joglaresa perform in as intimate a style as possible and with the most 'authentic' of line-ups: voices and harp. They dare to leave behind the sound of C17th-developed bel-canto (or the origins of modern classical singing), and sing completely 'off the voice' - risky and vulnerable in sound, but very evocative and atmospheric!

They have chosen some of the most beautiful songs from the enormous Ars Antiqua repertoire of Northern France - anonymous lays, reverdies, Latin and Langue d'oïl lyrics, monophonic and polyphonic pieces. Their survey takes them up to the beginning of the 'new style' - Ars Nova - of the 14th century but, to keep an integrity of style over the whole CD, the pieces by Machaut (a major figure in the Ars Nova) are those which look back to the old style and which lie very easily alongside trouvère song of the 12th and 13th centuries.

Amongst occasional well-known songs, such as Douce Dame Jolie (Machaut), they present some hitherto unrecorded songs such as Li Lai de Nostre Dame by Ernoul de Gastinois (fl. early C13th) and Li Lai de Vénus from the Roman de Fauvel (Thomas Binckley's Studio Der Frühen Musik recorded the first line only - Music from the Middle Ages CD 3 - Roman de Fauvel). Lays are generally a less-recorded repertoire because they are not as easy-listening as other types of song - their structures constantly vary, and their 'through-composed' nature (eg. no predictable strophic form with sing-along choruses) has an almost improvisational feel - this very improvisational feel has mesmorised Belinda and compelled her to develop five songs in lay form for this album.

De moi doloreus vos chant - Guiot de Dijon (fl. early C13th)
Douce dame debonaire - Anonymous, Roman de Fauvel
Douce dame jolie - Guillaume de Machaut (d. 1377)
Aurea personet lira - Anonymous Lay

Category:

Music

Tags:

• medieval
• mediaeval
• french
• france
• joglaresa
• belinda
• sykes
• trouvere
• harp

[MegMerrilies]

Beautiful, the 1st & 3rd particularly, gave me goosepimples....