Love to My Liking
Refrains of Desire in Gothic France
Love to My Liking is a program of sensuous and saucy music by 13th-century trouvères.
Multimedia Experience
LOVE TO MY LIKING features music from the trouvères of Northern France who continued the troubadour tradition with some of the most captivating vocal music of the 13th century. Their songs of public and private adoration weave together allusions both sacred and secular—creating mystical and spicy meditations on love and longing, punctuated by repeating refrains that recur across songs and texts.
Alkemie reimagines these courtly love lyrics for our time, transforming songs typically sung for and written by men into passionate evocations by female singers. The lush musical textures performed on early instruments are equally informed by historical performance practice, bluegrass, old time, and Celtic music, creating an alien yet familiar soundscape that bridges the past and present.
Multimedia Add on: This program can be performed with medieval dances choreographed by the ensemble.
Workshop: Alkemie uses music from this program as the basis for a workshop on Medeival and Renaissance dance steps. This workshop can be tailored to beginners (no experience necessary!) or intermediate dancers of any age.
PROGRAM
E, bone amourette / La rotta della Manfredina (Elena Mullins Bailey / Anonymous) – Oxford Douce 308 MS 29987)
Por mon cuer a joie atraire (Anonymous – Chansonnier Clairambault)
La tierche estampie (Anonymous – Chansonnier du Roi)
Li louseignolz que j’ai chanter (Pieros Liborgnes de Lille – Chansonnier du Roi)
Li maus amourous | Dieus, por quoi | (Portare) (Anonymous – Montpellier Codex)
La septime estampie real (Anonymous – Chansonnier du Roi)
Joliement | Quant voi | Je sui joliete | (Aptatur) (Anonymous – Montpellier Codex)
Dieus, de chanter | Chant d’oisiaus | (In seculum) (Anonymous – Montpellier Codex)
La seconde estampie royal (Anonymous – Chansonnier du Roi)
Nus ne set | (Regnat) / Duskes ci ai plus amors honoree | (Regnat) (Anonymous – Chansonnier dit de Noailles)
Bele doette as fenestres se siet (Anonymous – MS X ff. 65v-66r)
La joliveté | Douce amiete | (V) (Anonymous – Montpellier Codex)
L’autrier chevauchoie delez Paris (Richard de Semilly – Paris BN f. fr. 845)
(55 minutes of music - the show is about 75 minutes with readings, tuning, and talking to the audience.)
ARTISTS
Tracy Cowart (voice, harps, percussion)
Ben Matus (medieval bagpipes)
David McCormick (vielle)
Elisa Sutherland (voice, lyre)
Sian Ricketts (voice, recorders, douçaines)
Niccolo Seligmann (vielles, viola a chiavi, psaltery, percussion)
PAST PERFORMANCES