Trobár Talks

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 (https://www.patreon.com/trobarmedieval)

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 (https://www.patreon.com/trobarmedieval)

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 narrative control. She's a fully fleshed out character, with a sense of purpose and with aspirations that are upended by her encounter with the knight. Due to the sensitive topic and brief graphic description of rape that comes up in our introduction to the genre, we've decided to classify this episode as explicit. 

Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/trobarmedieval)

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 and joys of working with and presenting medieval music to modern audiences. Enjoy!

Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/trobarmedieval)

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-literature_and_fiction-literary_fiction&utm_custom1=_k_CjwKCAiAh_GNBhAHEiwAjOh3ZLanO8vQFNFhqRTzDxncvEj0bPZk3oyNGFL5E2lte3ac3IYmAI66mxoCJMQQAvD_BwE_k_&utm_content=go_12573073825_119955070496_507798476349_aud-1184785539738:pla-316241130904_c__1060686394_124916138&utm_custom2=12573073825&gclid=CjwKCAiAh_GNBhAHEiwAjOh3ZLanO8vQFNFhqRTzDxncvEj0bPZk3oyNGFL5E2lte3ac3IYmAI66mxoCJMQQAvD_BwE

Ed. Candace Ward

Reprint of The Second Shepherds’ Play, Everyman and Other Early Plays translated by Clarence Griffin Child (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, The Riverside Press, 1910)

Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/trobarmedieval)

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 (https://www.patreon.com/trobarmedieval)

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 of Performing Medieval Music."
 
Mentioned in the episode: musical selections by Boston Camerata; Sequentia; New York Pro Musica; Studio der Frühen Musik; more Studio; Altramar

Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/trobarmedieval)

In this episode we chat with singer/writer/medievalist/composer/designer Sasha Kaoru Zamler-Carhart about speaking and singing in medieval and modern languages, including medieval Occitan, Old French, and Middle High German.************ Join our Patreon...

In this episode we chat with scholar Andrew Albin about his approach to historical diction, namely Middle English. Andrew offers us some wisdom and encouragement on a topic that we have to grapple with each time we are putting together a new program of...

In this episode we discuss The Book of Memory by Mary Carruthers (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/book-of-memory/323D304448453717FAF27D72E13FFB76). ************ Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/trobarmedieval