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Sing My Story

Troubadour Songs in Old Provençal and English Translation

Booking and details

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Tickets $45

Duration 80 minutes, no intermission

The troubadours flourished in 12th- and 13th-century southern France, composing both melodies and poetry in Old Provençal, and establishing the forms and conventions of lyric love songs in the vernacular languages of Europe. In these concerts, the Folger Consort performs songs in their original language as well as rhyming English translations by Robert Kehew, along with the romantic storytelling of medieval lais and lively instrumental dances featuring medieval fiddles, plucked strings, winds, percussion, and vocalists Drew Minter and Emily Noël.

Who’s Who

Robert Eisenstein
Robert Eisenstein

Artistic Director

Robert Eisenstein

Christopher Kendall
Christopher Kendall

Artistic Director

Christopher Kendall

Dan Meyers
Dan Meyers

Multi-Instrumentalist

Dan Meyers

Emily Noël

Vocalist

Emily Noël

Listen: Folger Consort’s Songs of Troubadours & Trouvères

 

Lark in the Morning edited by Robert Kehew
English translations performed by Folger Consort
cover image of Lark in the Morning

Lark in the Morning (University of Chicago Press, 2005) is the first comprehensive anthology of troubadour lyrics in translation that respects the verse form of the originals. The translations honor the meter, word play, punning, and sound effects in the troubadours’ works while celebrating the often playful, bawdy, and biting nature of the material. Robert Kehew augments his own verse translations with those of two seminal 20th-century poets—Ezra Pound and W. D. Snodgrass—to provide a collection that captures both the poetic pyrotechnics of the original verse and the astonishing variety of troubadour voices. This bilingual edition contains an introduction to the three major periods of the troubadours—their beginning, rise, and decline.

Pre-Concert Discussion – Friday, February 3
Headshot of Folger Consort's Artistic co-Directors

Join Christopher Kendall and Robert Eisenstein, co-Artistic Directors of the Folger Consort, for a lively discussion with guest artists from 7:00pm-7:30pm before the Friday, February 3 performance of Sing My Story.

Free entry with concert ticket.

This event has passed.