With this programme, ‘Beles, Belles’, discover feminine musings on love in 13th-century songs and other chants! Part of ‘Medieval October’ at the Basilica Cathedral of Saint-Denis.
These poems in the langue d'oïl, known as ‘chansons de toile’ or ‘chansons d'histoire’, come to us from northern France and 13th-century manuscripts. They convey a unique voice: that of assertive female desire, expressed through song and embroidery.
In these works, a young noblewoman, often isolated, seeks to escape boredom and sorrow by devoting herself to domestic tasks — reading, weaving, embroidering. This intimate setting becomes the stage for a poetic narrative where time seems suspended, stretched out by the wait for the beloved, who is always absent. The omnipresent motif of feminine beauty is embodied in the word ‘Bele’ — Bele Yolanz, Bele Doette... — which resonates like an invocation of desire.
Halfway between epic and lyric poetry, these songs trace the twists and turns of love with rare delicacy. Their melodies, sometimes highly ornate, require a virtuosity from the singer that highlights the dramatic tension and obstacles of romantic love. Whether written by women or not, these female voices rise above the limitations imposed by their era, asserting a presence, a sensitivity, a freedom.
The musical interpretation of these pieces, performed by the Diabolus in Musica ensemble, sublimates this inner and outer beauty and gives substance to this right to desire, to this long-buried female voice.
>>> Bookings for this concert will open soon.
In these works, a young noblewoman, often isolated, seeks to escape boredom and sorrow by devoting herself to domestic tasks — reading, weaving, embroidering. This intimate setting becomes the stage for a poetic narrative where time seems suspended, stretched out by the wait for the beloved, who is always absent. The omnipresent motif of feminine beauty is embodied in the word ‘Bele’ — Bele Yolanz, Bele Doette... — which resonates like an invocation of desire.
Halfway between epic and lyric poetry, these songs trace the twists and turns of love with rare delicacy. Their melodies, sometimes highly ornate, require a virtuosity from the singer that highlights the dramatic tension and obstacles of romantic love. Whether written by women or not, these female voices rise above the limitations imposed by their era, asserting a presence, a sensitivity, a freedom.
The musical interpretation of these pieces, performed by the Diabolus in Musica ensemble, sublimates this inner and outer beauty and gives substance to this right to desire, to this long-buried female voice.
>>> Bookings for this concert will open soon.
