TROBAR A L'ENTORN DELS PIRINEUS
From Provence to Castile with Guiraut Riquier, the last troubadour
The crusade against the Albigensians (1209-1229) had a profound and lasting impact on Occitan cultural life. The ensuing decadence forced poets and musicians to exile themselves to other courts more receptive to their art, as did troubadour Guiraut Riquier (1250-1292). Seeking the support of a lord more sensitive to poetry, in 1269 he left the court of Viscount Aymeric VI of Narbonne, crossed the Pyrenees and joined the court of Alfonso X, known as the Wise, in Castile. This court, where French, Occitan, Islamic and Jewish cultures coexisted, became a refuge for a number of troubadours who had fallen victim to the fallout from the Crusades.
Riquier moved there just as the Cantigas de Santa Maria were being compiled, a collection of 420 songs in Gallego-Portuguese that constitute Alfonso X's most important contribution to poetry.
These melodies recounting miracles due to the Virgin Mary's intervention have striking links with Riquier's Marian songs, but also with the troubadours' repertoire in general: indeed, troubadour melodies can be found in the cantigas, and vice versa. It's because of these cultural links on both sides of the Pyrenees that we decided to mix cantigas and Riquier songs.
Guiraut Riquier considered himself one of the last Occitan troubadours. He is the dominant figure of the 11th-century generation, due to the large number of works that have come down to us (with more melodies than any other troubadour) and the great diversity of genres and stylistic approaches. Riquier treated lyrical themes with great originality and formal virtuosity: he moved away from courtly love, the troubadours' favorite subject, and often tackled moral, philosophical or religious subjects in his poetry. His entire musical output is compiled in La Vallière's chansonnier provençal, and each piece is dated and arranged chronologically. The rigor of the transmission is unique to this period, and recalls the manuscripts of Guillaume de Machaut that he himself supervised a century later. Thanks to the precise chronology of his works, we can weave a narrative thread along the different stages of the poet-musician's life.
Riquier moved there just as the Cantigas de Santa Maria were being compiled, a collection of 420 songs in Gallego-Portuguese that constitute Alfonso X's most important contribution to poetry.
These melodies recounting miracles due to the Virgin Mary's intervention have striking links with Riquier's Marian songs, but also with the troubadours' repertoire in general: indeed, troubadour melodies can be found in the cantigas, and vice versa. It's because of these cultural links on both sides of the Pyrenees that we decided to mix cantigas and Riquier songs.
Guiraut Riquier considered himself one of the last Occitan troubadours. He is the dominant figure of the 11th-century generation, due to the large number of works that have come down to us (with more melodies than any other troubadour) and the great diversity of genres and stylistic approaches. Riquier treated lyrical themes with great originality and formal virtuosity: he moved away from courtly love, the troubadours' favorite subject, and often tackled moral, philosophical or religious subjects in his poetry. His entire musical output is compiled in La Vallière's chansonnier provençal, and each piece is dated and arranged chronologically. The rigor of the transmission is unique to this period, and recalls the manuscripts of Guillaume de Machaut that he himself supervised a century later. Thanks to the precise chronology of his works, we can weave a narrative thread along the different stages of the poet-musician's life.