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1981: Teldec "Das Alte Werk" 6.35519 DX (2 LPs)
1985: Teldec "Das Alte Werk" 8.35519 ZA (2 CDs)
Chansons der Troubadours
Lieder und Spielmusik aus dem 12. Jahrhundert
Peire VIDAL (um 1160—um 1205?)
1. Baron, de mon dan covit [9:52]
Countertenor, Lira
Giraut de BORNELH (um 1138—um 1215)
2. Leu chansonet' e vil [4:22]
Tenor, Chitarra saracenica
3. Saltarello [3:12] Instrumentalstück, anonymus
Teil I: Schnabelflöte, Lira, Glocken, Timbrel (Schellen), Trommel
Teil II: Flöte (Querflöte), Schalmei, Vielle (Fidel), Rebec, Timbrel (Schellen), Trommel, Laute
Bernart de VENTADORN (um 1125—um 1295)
4. Can vei la lauzeta mover [6:32]
Tenor (solo)
5. Veris ad imperia [1:04] anonymus
Mezzosoprano, Countertenor, Tenor
6. A l'entrada del temps clar [2:14] anonymus
Mezzosoprano, Countertenor, Tenor
Flöte, Schalmei, Vielle (Fidel), Lira, Nakir (Kl. Trommel), Laute
Raimbaut de VAQUEIRAS (um 1155-1207?)
7. Kalenda maia [7:14]
Countertenor, 2 Fideln
Comtessa de DIA (um 1160)
8. A chantar m'er de so qu'eu no volria [11:52]
Mezzosoprano, Lira, Laute, Timbrel (Schellen)
Wissenschaftliche Ausarbeitung und Überwachung der Texte: Dr. André de Mandach
STUDIO DER FRÜHEN MUSIK
Thomas Binkley
Andrea von Ramm, Mezzosopran
Richard Levitt, Countertenor
Sterling Jones, Lira, Vielle (Fidel), Rebec
Thomas Binkley, Laute, Chitarra saracenica
mit
Nigel Rogers, Tenor
Johannes Fink, Vielle (Fidel)
Max Hecker, Flöte
Robert Eliscu, Schalmei
David Fallows, Schlagzeug (Nakir)
Chansons der Trouvères
Lieder des 13. Jahrhunderts aus Nordfrankreich
Jacques de CAMBRAI (vor 1260—nach 1290)
1. Retrowange novelle [6:23]
Raynaud 602 | Text: unbekannt
Guiot de DIJON (vor 1200—nach 1230)
2. Chanterai por mon coraige [11:30]
Raynaud 21 | Text: unbekannt
3. Lasse, pour quoi refusai [6:49] anonymous
Raynaud 100 | Text: unbekannt
Gillebert de BERNEVILLE (vor 1250—nach 1280)
4. De moi doleros vos chant [5:58]
Raynaud 317 | Text: unbekannt
Gace BRULÉ (um 1159—nach 1212/ 1213)
5. Biaus m'est estez [8:55]
Raynaud 317 | Text: Gace Brulé
Etienne de MEAUX (fl c1250)
6. Trop est mes maris jalos [4:48]
Raynaud 2045 | Text: unbekannt
7. Li joliz temps d'estey [6:07] anonymous
Raynaud 452 | Text: unbekannt
STUDIO DER FRÜHEN MUSIK
Thomas Binkley
Andrea von Ramm, Mezzosopran, Organetto, Psalterium, Harfe
Richard Levitt, Tenor, Nakir
Thomas Binkley, Flöte, Dulzian, Laute, Tambourin, Chitarra saracenica, Psalterium
Sterling Jones, Fidel, Lyra, Rabel, Rebec
mit
Alice Robbins, Fidel, Lyra
Hopkinson Smith, Chitarra saracenica, Laute, Tambourin
Digitally mastered
Cover: „Der Mai" Buchminiatur aus ,,Tres riches heures du Duc de Berry"
Paul von Limburg, nach 1400,
Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, Berlin.
Ⓟ 1970,1974 TELDEC Schallplatten GmbH
© 1985 TELDEC Schallplatten GmbH
Chansons of the Troubadours
The few Troubadour song manuscripts
that contain music give only a melodic scheme for the poem with little
indication as to its rhythm. What interests us however is the full sound
picture of Troubadour music, and this must be reconstructed with the
help of three kinds of evidence. First, the notation: we must not be
confused into thinking that this represents the entire music. Second,
our knowledge of Arab performance practice today; the importance of
Islam influence on European culture in the 10th to 13th centuries
applies to music no less than to poetry. Third, our knowledge of
mediaeval French and Italian performance styles as derived from the
Greco-Roman traditions, particularly that of the church.
The
accompaniments of the songs were not written, but devised by the
performers in keeping with the character and subject matter of the poem.
The Arab Nuba has been taken as a model for the creation of the
accompaniments since it is a form which seems to have changed little
since the time when Arabian culture exerted such a positive influence on
Western Europe. The Introduction (Mayalia) in the Nuba begins with a free section (Burguia) which presents the material of the song, its mode and the salient characteristics of its melody; this is followed by a Tuxia in which the rhythm is established. The interludes between the stanzas (Atuachi)
are either formed from the same material as the song or independently
conceived. In the song "A chantar" the interludes used are pieces that
occur elsewhere in the Troubadour manuscripts. These earliest preserved
examples of pure instrumental music are scarce, but they do have precise
stylistic characteristics; thus the "Saltarello" (No. 3), which comes
from a manuscript somewhat later than the Troubadour period, has been
included on the record because it belongs to the same tradition.
The accompaniment to "Kalenda maia" is played on two vielles, as described in the Razo
which tells of the song's composition (see enclosed text sheet). The
contemporary German writer Wirnt von Gravenbere tells of vielle players
improvising together on a similar occasion as follows: "neither let any
note that the other played go unnoticed in his own playing". It is
reasonable to assume that something similar occured in the performance
of "Kalenda maia".
Our knowledge of the instruments used by the
Troubadours comes from two main sources: references to instruments in
the poems and pictures of them in manuscript illuminations. The
instruments are mostly of Arab derivation: the Lute (Ud), the Vielle (Kimancha), the Lira (Rebab), the Nakers (Nakir) and others.
To
begin, we hear two so-called "Sirventes" addressed by poets to their
patrons. Peire Vidal from Toulouse enjoyed being at the court of Barral,
Viscount of Marseilles. But he sometimes quarrelled with him, and had
to move on to another court, to Toulouse, Catalonia, Northern Italy or
elsewhere. With his song "Baron de mon dan covit" he seems to have
reconciled himself with Barral again. It is a song in praise of fame.
His songs also bring fame to the person to whom they are dedicated; the
author asks his patron to reward him accordingly. It is a passionate
song, full of bragging and wishful thinking.
Giraut de Bornelh
from the district of Limoges dedicates his song "Leu chansonet' e vil"
to three patrons at once, the main dedication being to the Prince or
"Delphin" of Auvergne in Clermont-Ferrand, i.e. Robert I of Mainsat. On
its way to Clermont the song passes through the districts of Ussel
(Dept. Corrèze) and Saignes (Dept. Cantal), where the troubadour and
nobleman Eble resides. Giraut begs the song to present his greetings to
Sir Eble. In the "Envoi" he further presents his compliments to his lord
"Sobre Totz", (honoured) "above all", i.e. his patron Raimon Bernart de
Rovinhan, (lord of Rouvenac near Limoux in the Pyrenees). All three
patrons are not only enthusiastic lovers of troubadour art, but also
troubadours themselves.
We next hear three of the most beautiful
Provençal love songs. Bernart de Ventadorn is certainly the most
spontaneous poet; in his songs the mood changes in each verse, from
deepest sorrow to greatest joy. We hear his Lark Song, his song of
despair, one of the most tragic and beautiful in Provençal poetry. In
"Kalenda maia", Raimbaut de Vaqueiras increases the intensity of his
longing until it reaches its climax in the sensual 4th stanza. In the
classical 5th stanza, the "Envoi" to the Margrave Bonifaz, the song ends
with an allusion to Chrétien de Troyes and his novel "Erec" that tells
of the most fervent service to love. Like Raimbaut, the Countess of Dié
(Dept. Drôme) comes from Provence proper — unlike Giraut de Bornelh and
Bernart de Ventadorn who are natives of Limousin. The Countess is the
best known of the lady troubadours, her song "A chantar" her most famous
declaration of love. She fights desperately for her beloved, who turns
his attentions to others.
In between we hear some dance songs:
beside the instrumental "Saltarello" from a later period the Latin trio
"Veris ad imperia", a prayer to Hecate, the goddess of birth, and the
spring song "A l'entrada del temps clar", a dance song in honour of the
loving queen and in deprecation of her jealous, aged husband. Both songs
have the same melodic and metric structure, the same refrain text. The
dance song "Kalenda maia" belongs to the category of the "Estampida" or
"Stantipes". According to the "Vida" or troubadour biography and the
"Razo" or song preface of the 13th century, Raimbaut de Vaqueiras was at
the court of Monferrat (in Casale) when he wrote the song to a melody
that was played by two vielle players from Northern France. The
"Estampida" is also accompanied by two vielles.
We thus hear
various types of troubadour poetry, and we meet not only the troubadours
of Limousin and the South-West, but also those of Provence. The most
important centres of troubadour art are represented in these songs — the
courts of Auvergne and the Pyrenees, of Marseilles, Provence and
Northern Italy.
One of the most important poetic epochs of Europe is once more made available to us in the present recording.
Chansons of the Trouvères
Perhaps two thousand Trouvère melodies
have survived along with countless texts without melodies, in the many
Trouvère Chansonniers. Clearly, the repertory is immense, but it is not
simply a tremendous number of simple songs: it includes extended
religious epics, political satire, philosophical dialogues, pastorelles,
dawn songs, courtly love songs, folk-song imitations, etc. As a matter
of fact, only two things bind this considerable repertory together: the
fact that it is all written in the langue d'oil, Old French (although in
different dialects) and the fact that it is a monophonic repertory.
The
language of the Trouvères, langue d'oil, was the language spoken in
France north of Aquitania. Several of the dialects belonging to the
langue d'oil became important literary tongues, e. g. Norman and
Picardic, and we are reminded of great and monumental works such as the
Arthurian romance, the famous chronicles of Villhardin and of Joinville,
the Roman de la Rose, and many other works.
Only one other
vernacular language is associated with medieval France, the langue d'oc
of the south, which was spoken in Catalunia (including Majorca), along
all the coast to Italy, and North to the limits of Aquitain. It was also
a literary language in Italy north of the dolce stil nuovo,
particularly Montferrat, Genoa, Mantua, Venice and the surrounding
countryside. Those who practiced the arts of verse and music in the
lange d'oc were called Trobadors (trobar = to find), while those who
practiced in the langue d'oil were called Trouvères (trouver = to find).
Today,
unquestionably, the term Troubadour is more widely known than Trouvère,
and the reason for this may lie in the fact that a number of
manuscripts contain Vidas or biographical sketches of the
Troubadours, while this was not practiced among the Trouvères. Another
reason may lie in the scandalous end to which the Occitanean
civilization was abruptly brought. Seven hundred years ago this culture
of music and poetry, primed by the interest of wealthy patrons and
flourishing within the pleasantries of a particularly sympathetic and
indulgent life-style, suddenly ceased. The monstrous war of avarice and
hypocrisy, the Albigentian "crusade" (1209-1229), condoned by king and
Pope alike, was the cruel blight that devastated the Languedoc. The
armies of Simon de Montfort systematically destroyed the cities, towns,
monasteries and estates of the vast Mediterranean area; and when he was
finally killed and the rape of Provence ended, it was too late. The
patrons of the Troubadours were no longer in a position nor of a mind to
waste away the seasons with love and frivolity as before. As a result
the Troubadours, unable to live in their homeland, became displaced
persons, existing as they could in Spain and Italy.
No such
misfortune befell the Trouvères, and thus it is that we have such a
wealth of Trouvère material that to this date no single comprehensive
study of this area has been attempted.
We mentioned above that
this repertory is bound together by the language (langue d'oil) and by
the fact that it is monophonic, which means essentially that, like
folk-songs, only the text and melody are fixed, the accompaniment not.
When instruments accompany these songs, they impress their own specific
character on the sound-picture, with the result that performances
employing differing instruments will have quite different sound pictures
and may even be considerably different in length!
Thus in De moi doleros vos chant
for example, the accompaniment is little more than the stroking of a
few odd strings — except for the flute, which tries to impress its
personal character on the performance in prelude and interlude. In Biaus m'est estez
there is a single four-course lute accompanying the singer, and the
personality of that instrument is enhanced by its wanderings as it moves
towards notes which it reaches together with the singer — not quite a
dialogue but just a hint at the companionship of instrument and singer.
The
reasonable performer today of course always must be aware of the
boundaries of historical style — he may not be as uninhibited as his
13th century counterpart in shaping his accompaniment; this forefather
was very much more at home in the subtleties of regional performance
characteristics and symbolism. Thus, to him, a particular sound common
to the streets of Toulouse in the south, in the heart of the Languedoc
(Troubadour) might have its roots in the Moorish occupation of that city
when the Arabs worked out a sanitation system for the city (still
functioning with modifications) and a (still existant) irrigation system
for the countryside. That Arab sound would perhaps not be noticed as
anything unusual: not so in the North, where that Arab sound would have
great meaning, would be quickly identified as "foreign" and would have
symbolic significance.
Thus in Chanterai por mon coraige, a
song concerned with a Christian captured by the Saracins in Syria, the
sound of a distant Arab mode, with clashing dissonance, is thought of as
a symbol and is heard in contrast to the clearly European Christian
sounds. The melody itself hints at this solution through its unusual
chromatic alterations.
In Trop est mes maris jalos the musicians are having fun with a light and amusing song of mal-mariée, stressing rhythmic play, while in Li joliz temps d'estey
the light character is brought out through dance-like interludes
derived from the tune but placed in different rhythm. A striking colour
in Lasse, pour quoi refusai is the douçaine playing in two distinct registers punctuating the lines of text just as the psaltery in the Retrowange novelle punctuates the strophes.
The biographies of the Trouvères have not yet been written. Holgar Petersen Dyggve, Onomastique des trouvères, a remarkable work of scholarship, is the first step. The Trouvères manuscripts do not provide Vidas
as did the Troubadour manuscripts, so most of the biographical data
must be derived from the songs themselves. A central date for our
Trouvères is 1200.
Guiot de Dijon, for example, was active in the
first part of the 13th century: he mentions three people who took part
in the 5th crusade, Erart II de Chassenay, Jehan I d'Areis and Andrieu
III de Montbard. Erart II returned from the crusade in the Spring of
1220, the other two were captured in Syria. Andrieu III did eventually
return, but Jehan died in the Saracin prison. Now if Guiot is the
composer of this song, it is not unreasonable to suppose it was written
soon after the arrival of Erart II. Spanke (Zeitschrift fiir frz.
Sprache und Lit. 53 1930) brings convincing evidence to show that Guiot
may not be the composer of this song. It doesn't really matter. Gace
Brulé was at the court of the daughter of Eleonor of Aquitain in the
Champagne. The countess (wife of Henri I, Count of Champagne) was as
active and influential as her mother had been. She brought poets of
Langue d'oc (e.g. Bertran de Born) together with those of the Langue
d'oil (e.g. Chrestien de Troyes), and encouraged and supported poetic
activity. It is possible that the Trouvère Etienne de Meaux may have
borrowed the tune for his Trop est from Gillebert de Berneville (composer of De moi doleros) or it might have been the other way around. It was not uncommon for poets to share a melody.
Well,
whoever our Trouvères may have been, their works testify to a high
artistic level, and it remains a challenge to the singers of today to
draw more and more attention to this large and exceptionally beautiful
repertory.
1. Retrowange novelle
A
hymn in honour of Mary, the mother of God. She is simultaneously virgin
and mother, and helps in the redeeming work of her son. The prophecy of
Isaiah has been fulfilled, a rod has come forth from the stem of Jesse.
It is beautiful beyond all measure. Mary has borne Jesus who, by his
death on the cross, has saved all who were previously lost from eternal
damnation.
2. Chanterai por mon coraige
The
song of a pilgrim in captivity. He tells of the dangers threatening a
pilgrim on his long wanderings in the land of the enemy Saracens. It is
doubtful whether he will see his homeland again; he thinks of the lover
far away whom he left. She gave him as a souvenir her chemise, which he
presses against his body to ease the pain of separation. The pilgrim
recalls the happy times when he vowed he would be eternally faithful to
her. The wind carries to him pleasant memories and thoughts of his
distant homeland.
3. Lasse, pour quoi refusai
Lament.
A girl's regret for having rejected her lover. He loved her a long time
but she did not respond. She reproaches herself for having been foolish
and having a hard heart. She now realizes that she cannot live without
him. She is inconsolable. If he still desires her now she will surrender
herself to him entirely. Her song is meant to reach his ears and call
him quickly back. If he comes she will make up for everything.
4. De moi doleros vos chant
Lament
over an unhappy love affair. The lover finds no joy in life. He is
lonely and cannot find help or understanding anywhere. A traitor spoke
ill of him, thus causing him unhappiness and stealing his honour. He
wishes for happiness and contentment, but love brought him only
unhappiness and suffering.
5. Biaus m'est estez
Love
song. First the lovesick singer describes beautiful, external nature.
The lover professes his love for a high-born lady who is unable to
respond to him because of the differences in class. Wherever she is, his
thoughts are with her, night and day. Cupid should teach him how he can
conquer the lady. However, the lady does not give way. The rejected
lover weeps and is sad. He can neither sleep nor laugh. He is a martyr
to love, but still the lady remains unmoved.
6. Trop est mes maris jalos
The
complaint of a woman about her too jealous husband. She charges that he
is a mean fellow and takes revenge on him by meeting her lover. Her
husband thinks that he possesses her, but he cannot control her love and
affection. These belong to her lover. Her husband drove her to this and
she feels free of all guilt. She is not afraid to tell him this.
Concluding comment of the poet: Friendship is better than marriage.
7. Li joliz temps d'estey
Love
song. Summer has returned and with it the desire to love. Remembering
the lover is both sweet and full of sorrow. Love is a malady, but wants
no cure; desire and pain are inseparably linked with each other. At
first sight of the lover the man was already overcome with yearning for
her. Since no man can live without love, he intends to endure his
suffering patiently until death, and to serve his lady always in
unshakeable faith. He hopes that she will eventually listen to him.