Representation
North America
Jon Aaron
Managing Director
Aaron Concert Artists
331 West 57th St. #344
New York 10019
Phone: 212-665-0313
E-mail: jon@aaronconcert.com
Europe
Valérie Lafont
Cinquièmes Cordes
42, rue des Vinaigriers
F-75010 Paris
Phone: +33 (0)1 40 35 71 56
E-mail: valerie@cinquiemescordes.com
Programs
Voices from the Island Sanctuary:
Ecclesiastical Singers in Paris (1180-1230)
Ave, gloriosa virginum regina
Philippe le Chancelier (d. 1236)
At the intersection of courtly secular and ecclesiastical song, this Latin lai in praise of Maria is a quintessential 12th-century musical and poetical structure: constant repetition of themes set within an ever-varying form. This lai melody is found in later medieval sources with French texts and was obviously widely popular throughout the period in both secular and sacred contexts. Philippe -- the illegitimate son of an archdeacon and a noblewoman, born and educated within the close of Notre-Dame – was a brilliant church politician, writer, poet and administrator. He was a legend in his time, fought for justice for the students of Paris, and left behind at least 70 magnificent Latin songs.
Text
Hail, glorious queen of virgins, noble vine, elixir of life, resin of mercy! Hail, abundant pool of grace, clean us of our filthy flesh in the basin of purification. Morning star, radiant in brightness…through you the Divine Law illuminates with its teaching. O rose blooming with loveliness, without a thorn of sin, with inward love incline your ear to us and save us from destruction…
Program Archive
Lost Songs of a Rhineland Harper
Upcoming Concerts
19 June 2010
Montalbâne Festival, Germany
Fragments for the End of Time
24 September 2010
Cité de la Musique, Paris
The Rheingold Curse
News
Early Music America Annual Award
Early Music America, the national service organization for the field of early music, has announced the winners of its 2010 awards recognizing outstanding accomplishments in early music. Benjamin Bagby will receive the Howard Mayer Brown Award for lifetime achievement in the field of early music. The awards will be presented at the EMA Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony at the Berkeley Early Music Festival on 11 June 2010.
Visions of Paradise
In September 2009 a new film about the life of Hildegard von Bingen, directed by Margarethe von Trotta and starring Barbara Sukowa, was released in Germany. More
Interview with Benjamin Bagby
WNYC, New York Public Radio, aired an interview with the ‘Beowulf’ performer, B. Bagby. Listen to the show
Beowulf on DVD
Benjamin Bagby’s legendary performance of the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf (part I) recorded live in Helsingborg, Sweden.
Visit the Beowulf website