The Indiana History Center
450 West Ohio Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202. USA
Love hurts – Machaut and curtly love in the Trecento.
Mors sui, se je ne vous voy (I die, if I do not see you) ... The fierceness of courtly love in the fourteenth century – forbidden relationships, hidden desire, painful yet sweet partings, the joyful purity of unreciprocated devotion – shimmers with intensity in the masterworks of Guillaume de Machaut. Based on the many surviving sources, it's clear that his works remained popular and spread across Europe even after his death, especially in Italy. In Parlamento's rich program devoted to the multi-dimensional beauty of Machaut, the Italian composers of the next generation who were influenced by him, such as Johannes Ciconia and Anthonello da Caserta, are brought into dialogue with him, using the lute, flute, vielle, voice, and percussion to express medieval poetry which transcends both nation and time.
Review of the concert: Making US debut, Ensemble Parlamento opens Indianapolis Early Music Festival's second by Jay Harvey Upstage