
Galdrbok - Medieval Songs of Love and Enchantment
performed by Daughters of Elvin (Daughters of Elvin, 2010), 1 hour 7 mins
Details
- Field of Interest
- Classical Music
- Description
- A stunning collection of love songs and instrumental dances from 12th to 15th
century Europe. The album includes passionate Spanish ballads by the Troubadour
Martin Codax about a woman who waits on the sea shore for her lover. There are
mysterious magical songs which describe meetings with the Fairy Queen, songs of
women who are spurned by untrue lovers by the female troubadour Comtessa de Dia,
and an anonymous song of a woman who escapes the cruelties of the cloistered
life for the outside world of earthly pleasures. There are also two courtly love
songs by Jehan de Lescurel a priest from Notre Dame who was later hanged for
debauchery.
The majority of the songs on this album come from monophonic melodic lines, sometimes accompanied by text, which the band have interpreted using a stunning array of early instruments which include gothic harp, hammered dulcimer, recorder, bass viol, bagpipes, hurdy gurdy, percussion, pipe and tabor with the beautiful voices of leading early music singers Jennie Cassidy and Sophia Brumfitt. The album concludes with 'Galdrbok' a Norse word meaning 'book of sung spells' which is an original compostition by director and bagpipe player Katy Marchant and hurdy-gurdy player Steve Tyler - so linking the medieval past with our lives in the modern age.
- Content Type
- Music recording
- Duration
- 1 hour 7 mins
- Ensemble
- Daughters of Elvin
- Format
- Audio
- Sub Genre
- Piece, Folk
- Label
- Daughters of Elvin
- Date Recorded
- 2007
- Release Date
- 2010-01-08
- Subject
- Classical Music, Music & Performing Arts