I'm thankful to this recording for opening my eyes to medieval music. Books such as Barbara Tuchman's Through A Distant Mirror may bring your imagination back in time to a good degree, but there is nothing like music to thoroughly immerse yourself in the ethos and aesthetics of a distant past.
These 13th century songs to the Virgin Mary are an excellent escape from the normal musical fare of the Christmas season. They bring you back to the court of Alfonso X of Castile. The language being sung is a mix of medieval Portuguese and Spanish. I included a PDF of the introduction. It gives brief historical background and a description of the wild assortment of wind, string, and percussion instruments used in the recording.
For more information, please see Greg Lindahl's wonderful page, including facsimiles of the original manuscripts as well as dozens of other related links. Lindahl is an active participant in the Society for Creative Anachronism. I've been told many times that I should also be an active member. Maybe one day.
In the meantime, Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year!
Download here (no password):
http://www.mediafire.com/?2jdvnydb6vuvz5h
Cheers,
Angus
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