Remede De Fortune (1994)

"An eloquent, haunting recording. Passion and refinement combine here in convincing balance. Mauchaut's advice not to trust Fortune still rings painfully true." (The Boston Phoenix) The most influential 'dit amoureux' or courtly love poem in Medieval Europe, the "Remede de Fortune" of Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377) secured its creator's position as the premiere poet musician of 14th century France. Written around 1340 for the extravagant court of Jean of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia, the 4300 lines of the "Remedy of Fortune" codify with extreme refinement the complaints of chivalric love expressed in the previous century's famous "Roman de la Rose". A little less than a fourth of the Remede text is presented with notated music, but it is exceptional as the only long work of its kind integrating both said and sung poetry. It also features remarkably naturalistic scenes of courtly life. It was probably commissioned in 1350 by the future King Jean le Bon as a memorial to his wife Bonne. (bron: New Albion)