Search - Richard De Fournival, Sinfonye, La Comtesse de Die :: Bella Domna - The Medieval Woman: Lover, Poet, Patroness & Saint - Sinfonye

For their debut recording (made in 1987), the ensemble Sinfonye put together a program focusing on (as the subtitle puts it) "the Medieval Woman: Lover, Poet, Patroness and Saint." Naturally, Sinfonye includes "A chantar m'er," the only lyric by a female troubadour (the Comtessa Beatriz de Dia) to have survived with a melody; they also include two examples of the chanson de femme, a genre that, though written by a man, depicts a female narrator lamenting the loss of her beloved to another. The centerpiece of the disc, however, is the Cantigas de Amigo by the Galician trovador Martin Codax: this six-song cycle depicts a young woman alternately lamenting the absence of her seafaring lover and celebrating his imminent return. Very little is known for certain about how or even whether these songs were accompanied by instruments; Sinfonye uses various combinations of medieval fiddle, hurdy-gurdy, harp, and drum--and even unaccompanied voice. Singer Mara Kiek, whose background is in Balkan folk singing, has a throaty, slightly rustic tone yet sings with a vivid eloquence fully worthy of the material. --Matthew Westphal