Taco Tuesday #110: All I Want for Christmas is Tacos

Howdy! It appears that we are firmly ensconced in December and we shouldn’t waste time/space talking the good parts of Thanksgiving. I know you’re tired of me fonting about pumpkin spice, though I will admit that the pumpkin spice brake pads add a really nice touch to being stuck on Mopac or I-35; sometimes I just stop again to get a relaxing whiff! Anyway, we’re in December, and we know where that’s heading, so we’re serving up a nice Christmas Taco from our 2022 concert. (The next Taco, in two weeks, will be from 2023, and there won’t be any repeats with pieces coming up on our 2024 concert. More about that later!)

An Early Christmas

December 10 and 11, 2022

Texas Early Music Project · TT95 | Ye sons of men, with me rejoice

Ye sons of men, with me rejoice 🙞 Ireland, traditional, 18th century; arr. D. Johnson (2008; rev. 2022)
Daniel Johnson, soloist

Ye sons of men, with me rejoice, from the Wexford Carols, is part of an oral tradition handed down through the Devereux family of Kilmore, Ireland. The text is by Fr. William Devereux, fl. 1728; unlike our version, the Wexford Carols version contains twenty-seven verses.

Ye sons of men, with me rejoice, and praise the heavens with heart and voice!
For joyful tidings you we bring of this heavenly Babe, the newborn King.

Who from His mighty throne above came down to magnify His love
To all such as would Him embrace and would be born again in grace.

The mystery for to unfold: when the King of Kings He did behold
The poor unhappy state of man, He sent His dear beloved Son.

Within a manger there He lay; His dress was neither rich nor gay.
In Him you truly there might see a pattern of humility.

Give Him your heart the first of all, free from all malice, wrath, and gall;
And, now He’s on His throne on high, He will crown you eternally.

---

Texas Early Music Project · Lullay, lullay: Als I lay on Yoolis Night

Lullay, lullay: Als I lay on Yoolis Night 🙞 Anonymous, 14th century, Cambridge University Add. 5943, f. 169;
Poem by John Grimestone, 1372: Edinburgh: National Library of Scotland, MS Advocates 18.7.21, f. 3v–4v;
arr. D. Johnson (2011; rev. 2022)
Jenny Houghton, soloist

TEMP has performed Lullay, lullay: Als I lay on Yoolis Night in a few of our Christmas concerts since 2011. This mystical poem in the form of a dialogue by the Franciscan friar John Grimestone in 1372 is preserved in the National Library of Scotland. Although we use only seven verses, there are thirty-seven verses in all; some middle verses may have been added later. The melody, not present in the Scottish source, is found in a separate English manuscript that gives the refrain and first verse. Our arrangement adds some polyphony, first for the mother’s reply and then for the Christ-Child’s responses. The responses of the Angel are in fauxbourdon style.

Lullay, lullay, my dear mother, sing lullay.

As I lay on Christmas Night, alone in my desire,
I thought I saw a very lovely sight,
A maid rocking her child.
Lullay, lullay, my dear mother, sing lullay.

The maiden wanted, without singing,
To put her child to sleep.
To the child it seemed that she wronged him,
And he told his mother to sing.
Lullay, lullay, my dear mother, sing lullay.

“Sing now, mother,” said the child,
“What is to befall me in the future,
When I am grown up, for all mothers do that.”

“Every mother, truly,
Who knows how to watch over her cradle,
Knows how to lull lovingly
And sing her child to sleep.”
Lullay, lullay, my dear mother, sing lullay.

“Sweet mother, fair and free, since that is so,
I pray you lull me and sing something as well.”

“Sweet son,” said she, “Of what should I sing?
I never knew anything more about you
Than Gabriel’s greeting.”
Lullay, lullay, my dear mother, sing lullay.

Certainly I saw this sight, I heard this song sung,
As I lay this Christmas Day, alone in my desire.
Lullay, lullay, my dear mother, sing lullay.

---

Texas Early Music Project · Berger, secoue ton sommeil profond! 2022

Berger, secoue ton sommeil profond! 🙞 Contrafacta of La bella noeva, Anonymous, Italy, 17th century;
France, traditional, 18th-century text; arr. D. Johnson (2013; rev. 2022)
Jenifer Thyssen, soloist

Berger, secoue ton sommeil profond! is an adapted 18th-century poem that I used to create a contrafacta of the Italian folksong La bella noeva. It is typical of the traditional music of the time, blending classical and folk elements around a simple story, in this case a very popular noël!

Shepherd, shake off your deep sleep!
The Angels from heaven sing very strongly,
Bringing us great news.
Shepherd, in chorus sing Noel!

See how the flowers open anew,
Seeing the snow as summer’s dew,
See the stars glitter again,
Throwing their brightest rays to us.

Shepherd, get up, hurry!
Seek the Babe before the break of day.
He is the hope of every nation,
All find redemption through Him.

---

Texas Early Music Project · Carol for St Stephens (Come mad boys, be glad boys) 2022

Carol for St. Stephen’s Day (Come mad boys, be glad boys) 🙞 Anonymous, New Christmas Carols, 1642;
arr. D. Johnson (2012; rev. 2022)
Joel Nesvadba & Gil Zilkha, soloists

Saint Stephen’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Stephen, commemorates Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr or protomartyr, celebrated on 26 December in the Latin Church, and so it is the second of the twelve days of Christmas. This text was set long ago to “Bonny sweet robin,” one of the more popular tunes of the mid-17th century. 

Come mad boys, be glad boys for Christmas is here, and we shall be feasted with jolly good cheer;
Then let us be merry, ’tis St. Stephen’s Day, let’s eat and drink freely, here’s nothing to pay.

My master bids welcome and so doth my dame, and ’tis yonder smoking dish doth me inflame;
Anon I’ll be with you, tho’ you me outface, for now I do tell you I have time and place.

I’ll troll the bowl to you then let it go round, my heels are so light they can stand on no ground;
My tongue it doth chatter and goes pitter patter, here’s good beer and strong beer, for I will not flatter.

And now for remembrance of blessed St. Stephen, let’s joy at morning, at noon, and at e’en;
Then leave off your mincing and fall to mince pies, I pray take my counsel be ruled by the wise.

---

We hope that some of this helps you get past Thanksgiving nostalgia and looking forward certain other celebrations (HINT HINT: Joy and Light on December 14 and 15)! We will be back in approximately exactly two weeks featuring hits from the 2023 “Joy and Light” concert! 

Stay safe, stay sane! If you’re wondering, blue is my favorite color. 
Danny

Joy and Light
Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 7:30pm at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church
Sunday, December 15, 2024 at 3:00pm at Redeemer Presbyterian Church

Taco Tuesday #109: We're serious about these tacos

Got any tacos, guv’nor?

Welp, we’re (I’m) a week behind schedule. Sorry! We had a good TEMP-Oh! Madrigal Sing last week so I guess I let that stand in TEMPorarily for the Taco. Back on track now, and we’re featuring the third Taco on the 2023 season opener! (Don’t worry – it’s all fresh ingredients. No microwaves employed.)

London City Limits: Town & Country

October 7 & 8, 2023

We began our 2023-2024 season of concerts with this lively celebration of music in England during the time frame of about 1580–1680; this is music of the people, a little bit from the courts and cathedrals, and definitely music of the pubs. The previous tacos from this concert have focused on the more light-hearted pieces, so let’s have some ‘serious’ offerings! I mean, we’re ‘serious’ about all of them… 

Texas Early Music Project · TT94 | Come Wofull Orpheus

Although William Byrd (1539/40–1623) lived well into the 17th century, his compositional style remained rooted in the Renaissance. Following Pope Pius V’s 1570 papal bull that absolved Elizabeth’s subjects from allegiance to her and effectively made her an outlaw in the eyes of the Catholic Church, Catholicism became increasingly identified with sedition in the eyes of the Tudor authorities. Byrd’s staunch adherence to Catholicism did not prevent him from contributing prolifically to the repertory of Anglican church music or secular masterpieces, renowned for their singable lines. Although not a madrigal, our first partsong is filled with imitation, text painting, and surprising dissonances created via chromaticism (just as the text suggests.)

Come wofull Orpheus 🙞 William Byrd (1539/40–1623), Psalmes, Songs, and Sonnets, no. 19
London: Thomas Snodham, 1611
Singers

Come wofull Orpheus with thy charming Lyre,
And tune my voyce unto thy skilfull wyre,
Some strange Cromatique Notes doe you devise
That best with mournefull accents sympathize,
Of sowrest Sharps, and uncouth Flats, make choise,
And I’ll thereto compassionate my voyce.

---

Texas Early Music Project · TT94 | Draw On, Sweet Night

John Wilbye (1574–1638) was heavily influenced by Morley’s lighter compositions (canzonets) and yet was able to incorporate the lightness of style into longer, more dramatic works through repetition (with sequencing and alterations) and modal changes. He never loses balance or control and maintains poise throughout the darkest melancholy. Draw on, Sweet Night includes some atypical and unusually effective techniques for the time, especially the return of the opening melodic and textual material.

Draw on, Sweet Night 🙞 John Wilbye (1574-1638); The Second Set of Madrigals for 3-6 voices, no. 31
London: Thomas Este alias Snodham, for John Browne, 1609
Singers

Draw on, Sweet Night, best friend unto those cares|
That do arise from painful melancholy.
My life so ill through want of comfort fares,
That unto thee I consecrate it wholly.

Sweet Night, draw on! My griefs when they be told
To shades and darkness find some ease from paining,
And while thou all in silence dost enfold,
I then shall have best time for my complaining.

---

Texas Early Music Project · Newcastle

This change of pace is a popular country dance tune found in The English Dancing-Master, which originally contained 104 dances and accompanying tunes set to the fiddle; Playford published it in 1650, but the collection is dated 1651. This popular and frequently expanded collection of music and dance steps remains the principal source of knowledge of English country dance steps and melodies to this day.

Newcastle 🙞 arr. John Playford (1623–c. 1687), arr. D. Johnson; The English Dancing Master, f. 77
London: Thomas Harper, 1651
Instruments

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We will be back in approximately exactly two weeks featuring hits from a concert to be determined!  In the meantime, have you gotten your tickets yet for our holiday concert in December? Join us for Joy & Light on December 14 and 15! Stay safe, stay sane! Happy Thanksgiving!  Remember, pumpkin spice everything! 

Danny

Joy and Light
Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 7:30pm at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church
Sunday, December 15, 2024 at 3:00pm at Redeemer Presbyterian Church

Taco Tuesday #108: More Fish and Chips Tacos!

Elizabeth woulda loved these here tacos.

I’m going to make an urgent request to TPTB to please add another several days to each month because I find myself running out of time to do all the things I have to do each month so it seems to me that a little extra time would solve the problem, no? I’m sure I wouldn’t allow myself to double down on procrastination, because that would just be the wrong thing to do, right? If you have an ‘in’ with TPTB, then please put in a good word for my plan! 

As promised, since it was ingredient-rich, we’re returning to the same concert we used for the most recent Taco.

London City Limits: Town & Country

October 7 & 8, 2023

We began our 2023-2024 season of concerts with this lively celebration of music in England during the time frame of about 1580–1680; this is music of the people, a little bit from the courts and cathedrals, and definitely music of the pubs. We will begin this Taco with a piece that was popular with Shakespeare.

Texas Early Music Project · O Mistresse Mine

O Mistresse mine (from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, II, iii) 🙞 Anonymous; 
consort setting by Thomas Morley (c. 1557–1602), The First Booke of Consort Lessons, Book I, No. 19, 
London: William Barley, 1599
Ryland Angel, soloist

In his short life (c.1557 – 1602), Thomas Morley was responsible for helping to stimulate the musical tastes of England by being a shrewd businessman and a composer with extensive and varied talents. Morley was the student of William Byrd, organist at St. Paul’s in London, a “Gentleman of the Chapel Royal,” probable acquaintance of Shakespeare, businessman in printing and publishing of metrical psalters, composer of sacred works, and works for keyboards, works for viols, lutes, mixed consorts, and madrigals. In short, there was very little about the musical life of late 16th-century England in which he did not play an important role. Morley’s modern popularity, though, is owing to his madrigals. O Mistresse mine survives in consort settings by Morley and keyboard settings by Byrd. Our version combines the consort setting and the version found in Twelfth Night.

O Mistresse mine, where are you roaming?
O stay and hear! Your true love’s coming,
Trip no further, pretty sweeting.
Journeys end in lovers meeting,
Ev’ry wise man’s son doth know.

What is love? ’Tis not hereafter.
Present mirth hath present laughter.
Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty.
Youth’s a stuff will not endure.

---

Texas Early Music Project · Joviall Broome Man

The Joviall Broome Man / Jamaica 🙞 Anonymous, 17th c., arr. D. Johnson
Roxburghe Collection of Ballads, 1633–1652?
British Library, EBBA 30105, C.20. f. 7.166–167
The Men of the Quire & Instruments

Settle in for a little whimsy: The tune of The Joviall Broome Man first appeared as a country-dance melody called both Jamaica and The Slow Men of London. Like most ballads, the origins of the text about the tall tales (or are they?) of a soldier from Kent are murky. Nonetheless, it’s a great tune with a rousing chorus! Are ye not entertained?

Roome for a Lad that’s come from seas, Hey jolly Broome-man,
That gladly now would take his ease. And therefore make me room, man.
To France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spaine, Hey jolly Broome-man,
I crost the Seas, and backe again, And therefore make me room, man.

Yet in those countries lived I, Hey jolly Broome-man,
And see many a valiant souldier dye, And therefore make me room, man.
An hundred gallants there I kil’d, Hey jolly Broome-man,
And beside a world of bloud I spild, And therefore make me room, man.

In Germany I tooke a town; Hey jolly Broome-man,
I threw the walls there up side downe, And therefore make me room, man.
And when that I the same had done, Hey jolly Broome-man,
I made the people all to run, And therefore make me room, man.

And now I am safe returned here, Hey jolly Broome-man,
Here’s to you in a cup of English Beere, And therefore make me room, man.
And if my travels you desire to see, Hey jolly Broome-man,
You may buy’t for a peny heere of me. And therefore make me room, man.

---

Texas Early Music Project · The Honie Suckle

The Honie Suckle 🙞 Anthony Holborne (1545–1602)
Pavans, Galliards, Almains and other Short Aeirs, No.60, London: William Barley, 1599
Instruments

Anthony Holborne was an accomplished lutenist, a courtier in Elizabeth’s court, and a contemporary of Thomas Morley, John Dowland, and William Byrd. Continuing a tradition passed on from the court of King Henry VIII, music in Queen Elizabeth I’s court flourished under her patronage. The Early Music Consort of London’s 1976 recording of Holborne’s The Fairie Round from his Pavans, Galliards, Almains and other Short Aeirs was included on the Voyager Golden Record, copies of which were sent into space aboard the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes in 1977, as a representation of human culture and achievement to any who might find it.

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Texas Early Music Project · New Oysters

New Oysters 🙞 Thomas Ravenscroft (c.1582–1635); Pammelia: Musicks Miscellanie, No. 5
London: William Barley, 1609; arranged D Johnson, 2023
The Men of the Quire

We end today’s Taco with our adaptation of the popular round by Ravenscroft, adjusted to make dramatic sense for the street markets. Yes, we urged the singers to cut loose. Yes, they did. 

New Oysters, new Oysters, new!
Have you any wood to cleave?
What kitchen stuff have you, maids?  (kitchen stuff: refuse)

---

This was all pretty rowdy! I think we’ll visit this concert again with a focus on some of the brilliant ‘inner’ music!

Hey, might you wanna get rowdy with us? Join us for our Fall TEMP-Oh on Monday, Nov. 11! We’re putting some pumpkin spice on our madrigals and inviting everyone, from lowly peasants to experienced madrigalians to come to this fun community sing! This time, we’ll be joined by Guest Conductor Cina Crisara, a longtime friend of TEMP and the Conductor of the Austin Opera Chorus! We’re so excited! Suggested $20 donation to attend. RSVP today to reserve your spot!

TEMP-Oh Community Madrigal Sing
Fall Edition
Monday, November 11, 2024
7:00pm
First English Lutheran Church

We will be back in approximately exactly two weeks featuring more hits from this very concert!
Stay safe, stay sane! 

Danny

Taco Tuesday #107: Fish and Chips Tacos

Welp, I was gonna remark about how great Fall is, but since we are currently in 4th Summer, I might want to wait a bit longer, lest I jinx the onset of true Fall. If you’re like me, and I know I am, I know you wouldn’t want that to happen. Nevertheless, we will endure the heat and start making this musical Taco that’s a little bit overdue, sorry.

Since we just finished a quite fun season-opening Paris City Limits concert, let’s go back to last year’s season opener, which was, appropriately enough, London City Limits! It was great fun, too! We will re-visit this concert for this Taco and the next one, as well. 

London City Limits: Town & Country

October 7 & 8, 2023

We began our 2023-2024 season of concerts with this lively celebration of music in England during the time frame of about 1580–1680; this is music of the people, a little bit from the courts and cathedrals, and definitely music of the pubs. We will begin this Taco with two ballads and will end with a light-hearted canzonette for 2 voices. (This last piece has personal significance: I remember singing it as a Junior in the Texas Tech U. Collegium Musicum and for a long time after that!)

Our two ballads reveal both the musical humor and the political life of the times. Early ballads were dramatic or humorous narrative songs derived from folk culture that predated printing. Originally spread via oral tradition, many ballads survive because they were printed on broadsides. (A broadside or broadsheet is a single sheet of inexpensive paper printed on one side, often including a ballad, rhyme, news, and sometimes woodcut illustrations.) Musical notation was rarely printed, since tunes were usually established favorites, such as Greensleeves or Packington’s Pound. The term ballad eventually applied more broadly to any kind of topical or popular verse.

Texas Early Music Project · A SATYR on the Times: Fools and Mad-men

A SATYR on the Times: Fools and Mad-men 🙞 Anonymous, based on Greensleeves, 
arr. D. Johnson
Wit and Mirth: or Pills to Purge Melancholy, ed. Thomas d’Urfey
London: W. Pearson for J. Tonson, 1719/1720, vol. VI, p. 229
Cristian Cantu & Jeffrey Jones-Ragona, soloists

Our first offering is a satire on various figures of the English populace; there are many, many verses, so I picked some of the ones most relatable to current audiences. You might recognize the basic melody (The Praise of HULL Ale) as being a variant of Greensleeves, and I added two more levels of Greensleeves-love in our instrumental sections. I created variations on dances by John Playford (1623–c. 1687) and William Cobbold (1560–1639).

A World that’s full of Fools and Mad-men,
Of over-glad, and over-sad Men,
With a few good, but many bad Men,
Which no Body can deny.

Many Lawyers that undo ye,
But few Friends who will stick to ye,
And other Ills that do pursue ye,
Which no Body can deny.

So many of Religious Sect,
Who quite do mis-expound the Text,
About ye know not what perplext,
Which no Body can deny.

Many Diseases that do fill ye,
Many Doctors that do kill ye,
Few Physicians that do heal ye,
Which no Body can deny.

And if they will not take Offence,
Many great Men of little Sense,
Who yet to Politicks make Pretence,
Which no Body can deny.

A World compos’d, ’tis strange to tell,
Of seeming Paradise, yet real Hell,
Yet all agree to lov’t too well,
Which no Body can deny.

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Texas Early Music Project · The Cloak’s Knavery. To the Tune of Packington’s Pound.

The Cloak’s Knavery. To the Tune of  Packington’s Pound. 🙞 Roxburghe Collection of Ballads, 1660?; arr. D. Johnson;
British Library, EBBA 30194, C.20.f.9.394, p. 3.394
Ryland Angel & Jenifer Thyssen, soloists

The second ballad is a little trickier. The melody, Packington’s Pound, was already in vogue during the reign of Elizabeth, and it was applied to countless other ballads with myriad themes. The Cloak’s Knavery is thought to be an attack on the Covenant Movement and the Protestant Succession, written by someone with strong Catholic sympathies. The image of the black cloak that dominates the ballad most likely symbolizes religious ritual and there are also references to the ending of Common Prayers, which Charles I had introduced in 1637. The references to the plundering of churches also supports the interpretation that the ballad is a protest against the dominance of Protestantism and was written sometime around 1650. Again, there are many verses in the original; I moved some around and picked several of the verses that would be most easily relatable. 

Come buy my new Ballad, I have’t in my Wallet,
But ’twill not, I fear, please every Palate:
Then mark what ensu’th, for I swear by my Youth,
That every Line in my Ballad is Truth:
A Ballad of Wit, a brave Ballad of Worth,
’Tis newly Printed and newly come Forth.
’Twas made of a Cloak that fell out with the Gown,
That cramp’d all the Kingdom, and crippl’d the Crown.

I’ll tell you in Brief a Story of Grief,
That happen’d when Cloak was Commander in Chief:
It tore Common-Pray’rs, imprison’d Lord Mayors,
In one Day it voted down Prelates and Play’rs:
It brought in lay Elders could not Write nor Read,
It set publick Faith up, but pull’d down the Creed;
Then let us endeavour to pull the Cloak down,
That cramp’d all the Kingdom, and crippl’d the Crown.

This Pious Imposter such Fury did Foster,
It left us no Penny nor no Pater Noster;
To Father and Mother, to Sister and Brother,
It gave a Commission to Kill one another:
It routed the King and Villains Elected,
To plunder all those whom they thought Disaffected:
Then let us endeavour to pull the Cloak down,
That cramp’d all the Kingdom, and crippl’d the Crown.

This Cloak did proceed to a Damnable Deed,
It made the best Mirrour of Majesty bleed:
Tho’ Cloak did not do’t, It set it on Foot,
By rallying and calling his Journey Men to’t:
For never had come such a bloody Disaster,
If Cloak had not first drawn a Sword at his Master:
Then let us endeavour to pull the Cloak down,
That cramp’d all the Kingdom, and crippl’d the Crown.

Though some of ’em went hence, by sorrowful Sentence,
This lofty long Cloak is not mov’d to Repentance;
But he and his Men, Twenty Thousand times Ten,
Are Plotting to do their Tricks over again:
But let this proud Cloak to Authority stoop,
Or Catch will provide him a Button and Loop,
hen let us endeavour to pull the Cloak down,
That cramp’d all the Kingdom, and crippl’d the Crown.
For we’ll ever endeavour to pull the Cloak down,
That cramp’d all the Kingdom, and crippl’d the Crown.

---

Texas Early Music Project · I Goe Before, My Darling

I Goe before, my darling 🙞 Thomas Morley; The First Booke of Canzonets to Two Voyces, No. 5
London: Thomas Este, 1595
Jenny Houghton & Jenifer Thyssen

Thomas Morley was a driving force in Elizabethan-era music, though often behind the scenes. His arrangements, editing, and promotion of pieces in the Italian style (occurring at the same time as the maturing of his English training) had the utmost influence on the development of the madrigal and created the standard for the other madrigalists. Although he generally eschewed the chromaticism and dramatic word-paintings of other madrigal composers, the beauty, grace, and poetic balance of his madrigals ensure their popularity for audiences and for singers, both professional and amateur. The easy lightness and humor combined with his skillful imitative writing of this duet are prime components of his canzonet style.

I Goe before, my darling,
Follow thou to the bowre in the close alley,
Ther wee will together,
Sweetly kisse each eyther,
And, lyke two wantons,
Dally, dally, dally…

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Ah, yes, I remember ‘dallying’ with as much ‘ham’ as I could muster back in the old days; we were trying to convince people that early music wasn’t cold and book’ish. The struggle continues! 

How about you? Might you fancy some ‘dallying’? Join us for our Fall TEMP-Oh on Monday, Nov. 11? We’re putting some pumpkin spice on our madrigals and inviting everyone, from lowly peasants to experienced madrigalians to come to this fun community sing! This time, we’ll be joined by Guest Conductor Cina Crisara, a longtime friend of TEMP and the Conductor of the Austin Opera Chorus! We’re so excited! Suggested $20 donation to attend. RSVP today to reserve your spot!

TEMP-Oh Community Madrigal Sing
Fall Edition
Monday, November 11, 2024
7:00pm
First English Lutheran Church

We will be back in approximately exactly two weeks with a bright, shiny new Taco for you featuring more hits from this very concert! Stay safe, stay sane! 

Danny

Taco Tuesday #106: Medieval French Crêpes

It’s been a busy 2 weeks since last we spoke/communicated/fonted. We’ve been finishing up the concert program, getting ready for rehearsals, getting all the travel plans finalized (well ok, they’ve been finalized for a few weeks now) and getting all the things ready for this week’s concert. More about that at the end. 

As promised, we are back with some more Musical Tacos from our Covid-lockdown era concert video with music from Medieval France, and this time we’re featuring the women. Let’s get started! 

Ah, Sweet Lady: Passion in Medieval France

A Video Premiere for the Public
Saturday, September 12, 2020

Montpellier Codex

The Montpellier Codex contains early polyphonic works in France and was likely compiled around 1300. While many of the texts deal with some truly tender variations on love themes as well as more jovial ones (“I love B but C loves me and I don’t know what to do, because B loves D who loves C...”), there are others about country kids visiting the big city (Paris) with Medieval versions of the still popular trope.

Texas Early Music Project · S’on me regarde /Prennés i garde/ Hé, mi enfant

S’on me regarde /Prennés i garde/ Hé, mi enfant ☙ Montpellier Codex, Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de médecine, H. 196, Mo Fasc. 8, No. 325, f. 375v–376v

Triplum: Gitanjali Mathur & Jenifer Thyssen
Motetus: Cayla Cardiff & Shari Alise Wilson
Tenor: Nooshin Wilson & Laura Mercado-Wright

 [In order of performance:]
Motetus:
Take note, if someone looks at me;
I am too daring, so tell me, in the name of God, I beg you.
For when one looks at me, I can hardly wait
For him to have me with him;
And I see another here who is, I believe,
 (May hell fire burn him!) jealous of me.
But I refuse to cease loving on his account,
It doesn’t do him any good to watch me, he’s wasting his time:
I’ll find an escape and have the love of my sweetheart.
I must do it; I will be a coward no longer.

Triplum:
If anyone is looking at me, tell me;
I see well that I am too daring;
I can’t stop my gaze from wandering,
For when a certain one looks at me,
I can hardly wait for him to have me with him
And receive in faith the gift of my love fully.
But here I see another who is, I believe,
(May hell fire burn him!) jealous of me.
But I refuse to cease loving on his account,
For by my faith it doesn’t do him any good to watch me,
He’s wasting his time: I’ll find an escape!

Tenor:
Hé, my child!

---

Guillaume de Machaut, c. 1300–1377

And now we’re back to the music of Guillaume de Machaut. He was not only a poet of high regard, but also a composer of both musical miniatures and larger works. When I was an undergraduate music student, learning about him was yet another life-changing experience. The New York Pro Musica Antiqua had recently released their album, Ah Sweet Lady: The Romance of Medieval France, with works by Machaut and others, and it was a great way to introduce us to the amazing possibilities of this music. This was another disc (of many) that I listened to so much that I created grooves in the album. (Yes, I apologized to the music librarian!) The title of our concert is a tribute to the New York Pro Musica album. I think that spending so much time with those records as well as singing music by Machaut in the very first Texas Tech University Collegium Musicum concert was when I became hooked on early music. At that time, I didn’t know how long that relationship would last. 

Texas Early Music Project · De triste cuer/Quant vrais amans/Certes, je di

De triste cuer/Quant vrais amans/Certes, je di ☙ Ballade 29, Paris, 
Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Triplum: Gitanjali Mathur & Jenifer Thyssen
Motetus: Cayla Cardiff & Shari Alise Wilson
Tenor: Nooshin Ghanbari & Laura Mercado-Wright

Triplum:
From a sad heart to compose joyfully, that, I think, is a thing contrary;
But he who composes out of joyous feelings,
I say should compose more joyfully.
And so it is that my songs are rude,
They come from a heart blacker than peat,
Grieving, distressed, weeping tears of blood.

Tenor:
Truly, I say, and in this ask to be judged,
That, when Love oppresses and tortures a heart, 
Because it can receive no comfort
From his lady, noble and of high bearing,
Then the suffering which Alexander wrought on Darius
Is not so great as that which falls on him,
Grieving, distressed, weeping tears of blood.

Motetus:
When a true lover loves lovingly
With such true heart that he can do no wrong,
And his lady has such a heart that he can in no way
Draw from it mercy, sweetness or grace,
His heart cannot be so debonair that its liquor would not run to his eye,
Grieving, distressed, weeping tears of blood.

---

Texas Early Music Project · Se je souspir parfondement

Se je souspir parfondement ☙ Virelai 36/30, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Gitanjali Mathur, soloist
Elaine Barber, harp & Bruce Colson, vielle

If I sigh deeply and tenderly weep in secret, it is, I swear, for you,
When your noble fair body, my lady I do not see.
Your sweet demeanor, simple and modest, your fair carriage, pretty and pleasing, 
Your fearless manner, these three have seized me so sweetly
That to you most lovingly and entirely I give and entrust my heart,
Which far from you has no joy nor pleasure.

If I sigh deeply and tenderly weep in secret, it is, I swear, for you,
When your noble fair body, my lady, I do not see.

Lady, you have put me in such a plight, I clearly see, that, in truth,
I use my senses, time and life for you and always believe in this fortune.
And if I am far from relief and hear very little of mercy
I do not swerve, for such a great honor I do not deserve at all.

If I sigh deeply and tenderly weep in secret, it is, I swear, for you,
When your noble fair body, my lady, I do not see.

---

Texas Early Music Project · Par maintes foys

Jehan Vaillant, fl. 1360–1390

Par maintes foys ☙ Virelai, Bibliothèque du château de Chantilly, MS 564, f. 60
Cayla Cardiff & Shari Alise Wilson, soloists
Elaine Barber, harp ~ Bruce Colson, vielle
Scott Horton, gittern ~ John Walters, vielle

How many times are the skies filled
With the sweet song of the nightingale!
But the cuckoo never joins in;
He prefers to sing enviously.
“Cuckoo, cuckoo” all his life.
He wants his song to bring discord.
So the nightingale cries out:
“I command that you shall be killed.
Slain, slain, killed, killed, fie upon you, fie upon you,
Cuckoo who wants to speak of love.”

“I beg you, my very sweet skylark,
Thus to sing your song:
Lire, lire, liron, as God tells you.”
It’s time for the nightingale’s little song:
“Killed, they’re killed, those who wage war with you.”

“Flock together, bring the goldfinch
And make him and the starling sing out.
Kill the cuckoo and silence him.”
He is taken, let him be killed.
In the lovely springtime
Praise the hawk, our friend, our friend;
And praise the god of love.

---

Speaking of bird songs, be sure to catch this weekend’s concert and Clément Janequin’s brilliant Le chant des oiseaux, during which you might think you’re in a Renaissance forest! 

We’ve almost reached our goal for our CariCATures fundraising campaign! Can you help us get across the finish line? We have just about $3000 left to meet our $15,000 goal. Thank you so much for your support of early music in Austin and beyond!

We will be back in approximately exactly two weeks with a lovely new Taco for you!

Stay safe, stay sane! 

Danny

Taco Tuesday #105: Tacos from Medieval Frenchmen

So, here we go, and it’s about time! The new concert season is upon us, there’s a hope for mostly cooler days and nights, and, if you noticed in my concert blog earlier this week, it’s time for all things pumpkin spice to make a re-entry into our atmosphere! Still looking for the pumpkin spice contact lens solution, though. I’ll let you know when I find it! 

Since our first concert of the season is coming up in 19 days and it’s all about Renaissance France, I thought we should get prepared for Renaissance France by listening to some pieces from Medieval France from a concert that didn’t happen–well, not as planned. It was originally scheduled for the end of March in 2020 and we all recall 2020, right? Since we couldn’t do live concerts, we created our first video concert; it was quite an experience. Everyone had to record their bits alone and then we had to edit all the individual tracks and video into a unified track. Such a learning experience, but we quickly got into the fun of it, and we were so glad to be able to make use of this method so that we could be in touch with our fans (and a lot of new fans) who were stuck at home! 

So today’s Taco will feature the TEMP men; in approximately exactly two weeks, we’ll feature the TEMP women from the same concert. 

Ah, Sweet Lady: Passion in Medieval France

A Video Premiere for the Public
September 12, 2020

Montpellier Codex

The Montpellier Codex contains early polyphonic works in France and was likely compiled around 1300. While many of the texts deal with some truly tender variations on love themes as well as more jovial ones (“I love B but C loves me and I don’t know what to do, because B loves D who loves C...”), there are others about country kids visiting the big city (Paris) with Medieval versions of the still popular trope.

Texas Early Music Project · Pucelete bele et avenant/Je languis des maus/Domino

Pucelete bele et avenant/Je languis des maus/Domino ☙ Montpellier Codex, 
Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de médecine,
Triplum: Ryland Angel & Jeffrey Jones-Ragona
Motetus: Cristian Cantu & David Lopez
Tenor: Daniel Johnson & Tim O’Brien

[In order of performance:]
Motetus:
I languish with the pain of love:
I prefer that it kills me rather than any other malady;
Death is so sweet.
Swear to me, sweet beloved, that this sickness of love will not kill me.

Triplum:
A little maid, comely and fair, so pretty, graceful and pleasing,
The charming little one whom I desire so much,
Makes me happy, joyful, light-hearted and loving:
A nightingale singing in May is not so gay.
I will love with my entire heart
My little dark-haired sweetheart joyfully.
Fair sweetheart, you who have so long had my life in your power,
I cry out to you for mercy with a sigh.

Tenor:
Oh

---

Texas Early Music Project · Plus bele que flor/Quant revient/L’autrier joer/Flos [Filius Eius]

Plus bele que flor/Quant revient/L’autrier joer/Flos [Filius Eius] ☙ Montpellier Codex, Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de médecine
Quadruplum: Cristian Cantu
Triplum: Ryland Angel
Motetus: Daniel Johnson
Tenor: Tim O’Brien

[In order of performance:]
Motetus:
The other day, I went off along a detour.
I entered an orchard to gather some flowers.
I found a pleasant Lady, of fair mien.
She had a happy heart and sang out with great emotion:
“I have Love! What will I do with it?
It is the end, the end; whatever anyone says, I will love.”

Quadruplum:
More beautiful than a flower, in my view
Is the one to whom I devote myself.
As long as I exist, in truth,
No one will have the joy nor delight of my love
Except for this flower which is from Paradise:
She is mother to our Lord, who wants forever, friend,
To possess you and the two of us together.

Triplum:
When the return of leaf and flower
Signal the arrival of the summer season,
God, that is when I think of Love,
Who always has been courteous and sweet to me.
Much do I love her solace, for her good will softens my pain.
Much goodness and honor come to me from being in her service.

Tenor:
Flos [Filius Eius]

---

Guillaume de Machaut, c. 1300–1377

Speaking of the past (and we often are): When I was a sophomore at Texas Tech University, we studied Medieval music as part of our music history classes, and I was lucky enough to have a teacher (Dr. Paul Cutter) who was entranced by early music. After studying about chants and other beguiling repertoire, which was all very interesting and fun, we were introduced to the music of Guillaume de Machaut. He was not only a poet of high regard, but also a composer of both musical miniatures and larger works; for me, this introduction was yet another life-changing experience. The New York Pro Musica Antiqua had recently released their album, Ah Sweet Lady: The Romance of Medieval France, with works by Machaut and others, and it was a great way to introduce us to Machaut. I think that spending so much time with those records as well as singing music by Machaut in the very first Texas Tech University Collegium Musicum concert was when I became hooked on early music. At that time, I didn’t know how long that relationship would last. 

Texas Early Music Project · Quant je sui mis au retour

Quant je sui mis au retour ☙ Virelai 13, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, fonds français
Tim O’Brien, soloist
Elaine Barber, harp
John Walters, vielle

When I’ve been to see my lady,
I feel neither pain nor sorrow, upon my soul.
God! It’s only right that I should love her, Blamelessly, in true love.

Her beauty, her great sweetness of amorous heat,
Through memory, night and day,
Burns and ignites me.
God! It’s only right that I should love her,
Blamelessly, in true love.

And when her noble worth penetrates my loyal heart,
I wish to serve her without thought of folly or infamy.
God! It’s only right that I should love her,
Blamelessly, in true love.

---

We will be back in approximately exactly two weeks with a bright, shiny new Taco for you featuring the TEMP women from this very concert!

Don’t forget to get your tickets for Paris City Limits on September 28 and 29!

Also, we’re smack dab in the middle of our Fall Fundraising Campaign. Can you help us reach our goal of $15,000? With a gift of any size, you are helping TEMP remain a leader in preserving and advancing the art of Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and early Classical music through performance, recordings, and educational outreach. Plus, there’s more musical tacos in it for you! If you can, please make your gift today. And thank you!

Stay safe, stay sane! 

Danny