Search - Martin Best Medieval Ensemble :: Songs of Chivalry

A companion disc to The Dante Troubadours by the same ensemble, this program focuses on a dominant feature of medieval life, the complex code of conduct known as chivalry. The musical selections are songs from northern and southern France that survive in various 13th and 14th century manuscripts. Chivalry conjures images of knights and ladies, defense of lord and honor, various aspects of love, the nobility of battle, and ultimate loyalty to God. And those images are exactly what we get in these colorful, dynamic, uniquely expressive, often powerful songs. You can't be indifferent to a song in which the ladies of battle-tired knights, wishing to know "what the blows are like which their lovers strike for them," arm themselves and stage their own brutal tournament; or a 12th-century call to the Crusades; or a tender love song. Each of these medieval masterpieces is performed in a style that perfectly matches the spirit of its poetic text. --David Vernier