ABSTRACT
The medieval experience of troubadour and trouvere song cannot be reproduced. But some sense of words and music working together can be acquired, and listening skills developed, with the help of modem performances. For those whose interests are chiefly literary, the listening experience brings a new awareness of the sonorous dimension of the texts. To what should one attempt to attune one's ears? Many of the features that will be described in this essay can become a part of even the most untutored listening adventure. How does the melody move? Are there repetitions? Can one catch the text rhymes? Do text rhymes and melody seem to create some pattern? Often a melody reaches swiftly upward to a peak during the last portion of the stanza. Learning to appreciate the significance of this moment is a rewarding experience.2 Nuances of tone and technique characteristic of different genres emerge upon attentive listening. And fundamental issues surrounding the songs are raised by solutions adopted by modem performers. Should one use instruments or not-what is the effect of their presence or absence? What conclusions about a song can be drawn from different performing styles? The performances available on the Compact Disc accompanying the present Anthology are intended to encourage exploration of the aural experience of songs. Further performances are listed in the Discography (but note that melodies or texts may be taken from different manuscripts and are therefore not necessarily identical to the songs in our Anthology). And new recordings appear regularly offering fresh realizations of sound and sense to the inquisitive neophyte as well as to the seasoned expert.
