This week on Continnum Milton Scheuermann and Thais St. Julien present the two most important medieval song cycles — The LlibreVermell of Monserrat and the Cantigas de Amigo of Martin Codax.
The LlibreVermell (Red Book, so called because of its red velvet binding in the library of the monastery of Monserrat in Catalonia, Spain) is a collection of ten anonymous pilgrims' songs of the 14th Century.
The Cantigas de Amigo (Songs for a Loved One) is a collection of seven songs sung by a young girl longing for the return of her loved one gone away from Vigo, Galicia. It is the earliest known song cycle and is by the little known poet and composer Martin Codax, who lived in the middle of the 13th century.
The performances are by the American early music ensemble The Waverly Consort. The CD is called Traveler, Angel CDC 72435 55559 2 2.