The troubadours and trobairitz online...

[fajrdrako]

I spent some time this evening exploring some 12th century music on YouTube. I had no idea it was there - I should have known!

1. Beatriz de Dia - "Ab joi et ab joven m´apais"
   
2. Beatriz de Dia - "A chantar m'er de so q'ieu no voldria" - "I must sing of what I do not want"
   
3. Beatriz de Dia - "Ab joi et ab joven m'apais"
   
4. Beatriz de Dia - "A chantar m'er de so q'ieu no voldria"
   
5. Bernart de Ventadorn: Quan vei la lauzeta mover
   
6. Bernart de Ventadorn: Ben m'an perdut. The complete lyrics are here, and here is a list of his complete works. In fact, there seem to be a lot of his songs on YouTube, in constrast to some other troubadours and trobairitz.
   
7. Blondel de Nesle: L'amour dont sui espris
   
8. Richard Plantagenet: "Ja nun hons pris" played on a replica medieval harp. Here's a more modern folksy version that tells the legend of the song: Owain Phyfe - Ja Nus Hons Pris
   
9. Arnaud de Mareuil: La grands beutats el fins ensenhaments.
   
10. Giraut de Bornelh: Reis Glorios. Also his Non puesc sofrir. And some information about Giraut, "Master of the Troubadours".
    
11. Here we have the translation of a Bernart de Ventadour song or poem - but I'm not sure which one.

This is too much fun, and it's getting late: more later.

I enjoyed browsing a book on the subject.

Then I came across this interesting tidbit on Wikipedia:There is one notable instance where clear attribution [of a song] is given to a woman, Bieiris de Romans (also given as Beatritz), but the subject of the poem is another woman, Na Maria. In the poem "Na Maria" Beatritz expresses her love for Maria in the traditional fin' amors style, both in terms of physical longing and courtly admiration. This poem, if not clearly marked as by a woman, would be assumed to be by a man. Some controversy surrounds the works of the Bieiris de Romans, as scholars have suggested that her canso expresses "lesbian desire."
Why is it so hard to believe that a woman would write a love song for another woman? The discussion of this song is described here.

Anybody know other good sites?