A Worthy Mirror
A Worthy Mirror is a commissioning project of female and non-binary composers in response to 12th-century trobairitz texts.
A WORTHY MIRROR represents a time-traveling dialogue with the 12th-century trobairitz–the feminine counterpart of the poet-composers known as troubadours. Together with Forward Music Project, we are commissioning eleven female and non-binary composers to respond to and converse with the 36 extant trobairitz texts (of which we only have music for one). This body of lyric poetry represents a large group of historically female and anonymous femme voices in the literary tradition. Witty, ironic, heartbreaking, and erotic—these texts present a mirror to reflect upon what feels foreign about the past and what feels familiar, what is the role of gender and self in relationships, and how do we make space for the multiplicities of identity, both in the 12th century and today.
This program can be performed with or without textual projections.
Collaborators
composers
project partner
PROGRAM
Dompna… (Music: Li Qi; Text: Almuc de Castelnou and Iseut de Capion)
A great fog seeping into my veins (Music: Raquel Acevedo Klein; Text: Raquel Acevedo Klein)
Coindeta sui! (Music: Alison Cheeseman; Text: Anonymous, 12th-century)
Bels dous amics (Music: Hai-Ting Chinn; Text: Tibors de Sarenom)
Ab joi (Music: Patricia van Ness; Text: La Comtessa de Dia)
Ab joi et ab joven m’apais/I thrive on youth and joy
I’m very happy
Dompna/The Lady
I have picked a fine and noble man
Ar em al freg tems vengut (Music: Tis Kaoru Zamler-Carhart; Text: Azalais de Porcairagues)
neither flower nor leaf (Music: Maya Bennardo; Text: Azalais de Porcairagues)
Ab greu cossire et ab greu marimen (Music: Melika M. Fitzhugh; Text: Anonymous)
Friend, if I had found you kind (Music: Sarah Goldfeather; Text: Castelloza)
Oy Dieus (Music: Gelsey Bell; Text: Anonymous, 12th century)
Ben volgra midons saubes (Music: Niccolo Seligmann; Text: Felipa and Arnaut Plagues)
ARTISTS
Tracy Cowart (voice, harps, percussion)
Sarah Goldfeather (voice)
Amanda Gookin (cello)
Ben Matus (voice, medieval bagpipes, recorders, dulcian)
David McCormick (vielle)
Sian Ricketts (voice, recorders, douçaines)
Niccolo Seligmann (viola da gamba, vielles, psaltery, percussion)
Elisa Sutherland (voice)
PAST PERFORMANCES