A Medieval Tapestry: Instrumental and Vocal Music from the 12th through 14th Centuries $2.23

About A Medieval Tapestry: Instrumental and Vocal Music from the 12th through 14th Centuries

This sampling of the vast and rich repertory of the monophonic song comes from the 12th through the early 14th centuries. Collected from manuscripts written in England, Castile, France, and the valley of the Rhine, these works are performed here instrumentally as well as vocally.

Robert Eisenstein, vielle, rebec, and recorder; Christopher Kendall, lute, harp, and mandora; Scott Reiss, recorder, hammered dulcimer, dumbek, psaltery, and bells; with Johana Arnold, soprano; Tina Chancey, vielle, rebec, and kamenj; and Nancy Almquist and Elizabeth Bulkley, sopranos.

Medieval music poses many problems for the modern performer. In most cases all that exists in the manuscript is the text and the melody, with no indication of rhythm or meter. Since it is likely that we will never know as much about the 12th-century way of performing a song as we do about later styles, modern musicians must put a great deal of themselves into the process of reconstruction. It is, in a way, one of the most appealing aspects of this repertory. What often results is several quite different versions of the same song, all equally vivid.