In this episode we take a tour through Conrad von Zabern's 15th c. treatise on singing chant, "De modo bene cantandi choralem cantum." Von Zabern's exhortations are entertaining and still relevant today! Support the show ..read more

In this month's episode we interview award-winning playwright and poet Robert Kehew. Kehew was gracious enough to let us use some of the translations from his book Lark in the Morning: The Verses of the Troubadours, a Bilingual Edition, for our latest season program, Found in Translation 2.0. You can learn more about the book and even hear some live readings of their translations by Kehew and W. D. Snodgrass here, and here's a link to a talk given by Kehew at the Library of Congress shortly after his book was published. Support the show ..read more

In this episode we discuss the poetic pastourelle genre popular with 13th c. French trouvères, and read excerpts from Christine de Pizan's longer narrative pastourelle, the Dit de la pastoure (Tale of the Shepherdess). Medieval pastourelles all begin with the same setup: a knight encounters a shepherdess while he's out riding. The stories play out in a variety of ways, but there is a consistent undertone of potential sexual violence, which is often realized in the narrative conclusion. While the tale is typically told from the perspective of the knight, Christine gives the shepherdess narrativ ..read more

This month we chat with our friend and colleague, David McCormick. David is the Executive Director of Early Music America, the Artistic Director of Early Music Access Project, a beautiful vielle player, and an overall delightful human being. We get to hear all about how he came to early music, and what his hopes and dreams are for the field. Support the show ..read more

Warning: This month’s episode of Trobár Talks is so bad that we can only imagine you all using it as blackmail material years from now. Regardless, we wish everyone a happy holiday season and promise to do better in 2022!! ******* In the episode we read excerpts of The Second Shepherds’ Play in a modern translation (with a few semi-appropriate musical insertions). Dover Thrift Editions - https://www.etsy.com/listing/1060686394/vintage-pop-culture-book-everyman-and?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_c-books_movies_and_music-books-literatu ..read more

In this episode the trio was fortunate enough to snag a conversation with Anne Azéma, French-born vocalist, scholar and stage director, as well as the director of The Boston Camerata since 2008 and the French ensemble Aziman, which she founded, since 2005. We got to hear about Anne's musical training, and chat about the challenges of working with and presenting medieval music to modern audiences. Enjoy! Support the show ..read more

In this episode the trio reads aloud an English translation of "Guigemar," an engaging and somewhat strange lai (or tale) by Marie de France, preserved in a manuscript from the 13th c.  And of course we provide context and color commentary along the way! Support the show ..read more

In this episode the trio discusses the influence that Middle Eastern traditions may or may not have had on the development of European medieval music, and what modern re-creators of the music (like Thomas Binkley) have learned from studying those traditions. In particular we discuss Binkley's "On the Modern Performance of Medieval Monophonic Repertory," Jonathan Shull's "Locating the Past in the Present: Living Traditions and the Performance of Early Music," Kirsten Yri's "Thomas Binkley and the Studio der Frühen Musik: challenging 'the myth of Westernness," and John Haines's "The Arabic Style ..read more

Join the trio for a romp through The Story of an Early Music Quartet, Sterling Jones's first-hand account of the rise and fall of the Studio der frühen Musik. The Studio helped set the standard for medieval music performance in the 1960s and influenced future generations of performers as founding members of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and the Historical Performance Department at Indiana University. The book is full of delightful anecdotes that paint a picture of an early music scene somewhat different from today's. Support the show ..read more

In this episode the trio explores Christmas traditions in medieval England, including feasting, decorating, knife throwing, caroling, and extra-special holiday treats (dried fruit and nuts disguised as entrails, anyone?) ***************************** Watch this space for performances by yours truly of seasonal music, including one of the carols discussed in the episode. ***************************** Relevant episodes of the History of English Podcast: The Birth of English Song ****** Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ****** Food for Thought ***************************** Relevant episodes of Tast ..read more