Discography of trouvère, troubadour, and related music

The following disks can be found in the classical room of any major record store (Tower, Virgin, etc.). Some can be found at public and/or University libraries, and most can be found at our house.

Some of the composers in this category could also reasonably fall under the heading of Ars Antiqua. We've drawn a sort of arbitrary dividing line between them.

The Recordings

Theatre of Voices.  Chansons de Trouvères.  (Harmonia Mundi HMU 907184)
Paul Hillier's voice is accompanied by Andrew Lawrence King, variously on psaltery, harp and portative organ, in nine pieces from northern France.
Theatre of Voices.  Proensa.  (ECM 1368 837 360-2)
Stephen Stubbs, Andrew Lawrence-King, and Erin Headley provide instrumental accompaniment to Paul Hillier's voice in eight Provençal songs.
Sinfonye. The sweet look and the loving manner.  (Hyperion CDA66625)
Trobairitz love lyrics and French chansons de femme from medieval France.
Sinfonye. The Courts of Love.  (Hyperion CDA66367)
Music from the time of Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Sinfonye. Bella Domna.  (Hyperion CDA66283)
The medieval woman as lover, poet, patroness and saint.
Ensemble Alcatraz.  Danse Royale.  (Elektra Nonesuch 9 79240-2)
French, Anglo-Norman and Latin songs and dances from the 13th century.
Studio der Frühen Musik.  Troubadours, Trouvères, Minstrels.  (Teldec 4509-97938-2)
A two-CD set, recorded variously from 1966 to 1974, that has aged remarkably well.
Studio der Frühen Musik.  Chanterai por mon coraige.  (Teldec 4509-95073-2)
A one-disk compilation from the above.
Sequentia.  Trouvères - Courtly Love Songs from Northern France.  (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 77155-2-RC)
Say something here....
Brigitte Lesne.  Ave Eva.  (Opus 111 OPS30-134)
Subtitled "Songs of Womanhood from the 12th and 13th centuries".  Brigitte Lesne accompanies her own voice variously with harp and percussion.
Esther Lamandier.  Chansons de Toile.  (Alienor AL 1011)
Esther Lamandier's unaccompanied voice presents half a dozen chansons de toile, sometimes described as songs for women to spin to; these tend to have female protagonists, and often to be more sensual than the fin' amors tradition.
Gothic Voices.  The Spirits of England and France 2: Songs of the Trouvères.  (Hyperion CDA66773)
Eighteen songs from northern France, 1170-1300.
Gothic Voices.  Music for the Lion-hearted King.  (Hyperion CDA66336)
Sixteen songs in Latin, French, and Provençal from the late 12th and early 13th centuries.
Heliotrope.  The romance of the rose: feminine voices from medieval France.  (Koch International Classics 3-7103-2 H1)
Nine lyrics from 12th-13th-century women -- most don't survive with music, so they've been set to other music from the same time -- as well as four estampies which, if I understand it right, are modern arrangements based on various surviving tunes of the time.
Hespèrion XX.  Cansós de Trobairitz.  (EMI reflexe CDM 7 63417 2)
Jordi Savall's group, featuring the voice of his wife Montserrat Figueras and various instrumental accompaniment, presents seven songs by Provençal trobairitz from around 1200 A.D.

Last modified: Mon Mar 6 21:27:45 EST 2000
Stephen Bloch / webmaster@ostgardr.org