Passion, Pilgrimage and Plague

Songs and music from the tempestuous fourteenth century

The fourteenth century was a time of plague, war, and famine. The old certainties of the feudal order began to crumble. After the Black Death destroyed a third of the population, the world would never be the same again. In the grip of social upheaval, fourteenth-century Europe produced some true oddities: processions of German Flagellants; a French king who thought he was made of glass; a hysterical dancing mania; a war between two popes . . .
Surely, this was the end of the world, the Judgement Day.

But this was also a time of increasing musical freedom, inventiveness, and complexity. This emergent musical style was dubbed Ars Nova, ‘The New Art’, by Philippe de Vitry in 1329.

From the relative comfort of the twenty-first century, we can look back with fascination and some incredulity at the richness and variety of cultural life at this time. This programme aims to explore the musical legacy of the fourteenth century, highlighting the frenetic energy, the rhythmic complexity and harmonic richness of the art music of this era.

Joined by singer Helen Barber and percussionist Terry Mann, Misericordia resurrect the manic dance music of Northern Italy, popular pilgrimage music from Spain, and the intensely passionate and polyphonic love songs of England and France, using medieval instruments such as hurdy gurdy, bagpipes, gothic harp, citole, recorders and voices in consort.

Helen Barber trained as a mezzo-soprano (though she sings here in all manner of styles and ranges!) As well as early music she specialises in the classical music of the early twentieth century, and has been known to delve into the world of Jazz.
Terry Mann is an award winning composer of modern music but here joins Misericordia as a percussionist, using North African instruments such as tapan, darabouka, reque and frame drum as well as lending his voice for some of the three-part polyphony. He is also the percussionist for Zephyrus, the English bagpipe orchestra.

	This programme is accompanied by the new CD 'Passion, Pestilence and Polyphony', which is available on our Recordings page.
	Some soundfiles from this programme: Saltarello, Italy (bagpipe, hurdy gurdy, percussion) Puis qu'en oubli, France, Machaut (harp, lute, voice) Belicha, Italy (hurdy gurdy, percussion) Wynchestyr, England (hurdy gurdy, harp, voice) Je suis aussi, France, Machaut (citole, voice) Quant je suis, France, Machaut (harp, voice) Douce dame jolie, France, Machaut (two hurdy gurdies, voice)

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Passion, Pilgrimage and Plague	English Medieval Music	Coeur de Lion	Love and Death in the Middle Ages	Across the Centuries

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