Search - Joyce Todd, Shira Kammen, Natalie Cox :: The Romance Of The Rose - Feminine Voices From Medieval France / Heliotrope

The relatively recent enkindling of interest in women's roles in early music has led to a phenomenal increase in scholarship and an expanding catalog of recordings. Most of these recordings focus on composers--heard of Hildegard?--but others are concerned with performers and those who in some way influenced poetry and music. This recording features the unique songs of the women troubadours from southern France (trobairitz) and women's songs (chansons de femme) sung by trouvères in the north. The music covers the period from the 11th to the 13th century. The songs are concerned with traditional subjects, namely, courtly love in all its aspects. Because very few melodies exist from this period, modern performers have to work with a combination of skimpy sources, musicological research, and intuition, which this fine ensemble of (mostly) women does with impressive results. The liner notes are well-written and very informative on this rarely discussed topic. --David Vernier