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Pastourelle:
The Art of Machaut and the Trouvers
Fortune' Wheel
Dorian Recording
(DOR 93245)
The trouveres of northern France,
(the poet-musicians whose tales of courtly love defined so much
of the age of chivalry),
and the troubadours of Provence (from whom they drew much of
their inspiration), are celebrated in Pastourelle, the newest CD
from
Fortune's Wheel. This quartet performs these pieces for voice
and stringed accompaniment with a grace and elegance worthy of
their
origins in the courts of medieval Europe.
Many of these courtly songs are included in the form of ballades
and chansons, which told the tales of devoted knights, or ladies
who described their exquisite suffering in the thrall of their
faithless or uncaring lovers. "Je vivroie liement", "De
Fortune", and "Douce dame jolie"-songs all composed
by Guillaume de Machaut (c.1300-1377)- are among the best featured
on the CD. Another highlight is the haunting chanson de toile "Bele
Doette," the tragic tale of a young woman waiting to hear
from her long-distant love.
Other pieces on the CD celebrate the coming of springtime or
that of the poet's object of adoration. Caroles were dances accompanied
in a call-and-response fashion between a soloist and a group,
and
their lyrics reflect the delight felt by the participants at
the end of a long winter spent inside the icy walls of a castle.
In all, this CD is the perfect choice for those cold winter nights
when one wishes to remind oneself that spring is never that far
away.
--Richard Mackenzie
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