Un Tres Doulx Regard : Asteria

Asteria : Un Tres Doulx Regard.
Late-medieval vocal and instrumental music.

The chansons on Asteria's third album are all gathered from one extraordinary manuscript, the celebrated Oxford 213 manuscript currently housed at the Bodleian Library in England. Aside from being the largest collection of 15th century chansons by known composers like Guillaume Dufay and Gilles Binchois, it contains a great number of anonymous works from the earliest period of the the 15th century. Asteria chose to focus on this exquisite body of little-known works for Un tres doulx regard, and many of these songs have never before been recorded before.

Just like the shy lover who is knocked off his feet by the merest glance from the object of his affections, the music of the first generation of Burgundian composers at the end of the ars nova is infused with the sweetness and explosive passion of new love. "Un tres doulx regard" - A most sweet glance - is the result of extensive archival research into this little-known period, dating roughly from 1390 to 1420, just before the meteoric rise (and subsequent fall) of Burgundian power and influence that would briefly propel Franco/Flemish art and music to the very apex of European fashion.

Songs:

1. Pour lamour de ma doulce amye (Guillaume Dufay)
2. Ce jour de lan voudray joye mener (Guillaume Dufay)
3. Dame donnour et de tous biens garnye (anon)
4. La doulce flour qui de moy honnouree (anon)
5. Tristre dolent plain de pensee - lute (anon)
6. Entre vos nouviaux maries (Johannes le Grant)
7. Puis que je suy amoureux (anon)
8. Puisque je nay plus de maystresse (Jacobus Vide)
9. Pour deleissier tristresse et joye avoir (anon)
10. Pleysir soulas desduit et joye (anon)
11. Se liesse est de ma partie (Johannes le Grant)
12. Pour tant se jay le barbe grise (anon)
13. Tant plus vos voy tant plus me sembles belle - lute (anon)
14. De plus en plus se renouvelle (Gilles Binchois)
15. Dones confort a vostre amy (anon)
16. Mon povre cuer na que tristresse (anon)
17. Veuillies hoster de che dangier (anon)
18. Layssies moy coy je vous en prye (Johannes le Grant)
19. Mon plus haut bien (anon)
20. Pour mesdisans ne pour leur faulx parler (anon)
21. Amours venes mon cuer reconforter - lute (anon)
22. Cuer triste et mas sans solace et sans joye (anon)

Listen to: the entire album.

License Late-medieval vocal and instrumental music by Asteria for your project.
Play the music of Asteria in your restaurant or store.

Release date: 7/5/2009
Asteria lives in New York USA

Tagged as: Classical, Medieval, Renaissance, Medieval Romance, Classical Singing, Composer: Gilles Binchois, Composer: Guillaume Dufay, Composer: Jacobus Vide, Composer: Johannes le Grant, Lute

Recommended albums:

Music of Fernando Sor by Daniel Estrem: colorful classical guitar
CD2 - Bach - The Six Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by Lara St John: Bach violin concertos
Pastourelle by Fortune's Wheel: a spirited rediscovery of the riches of medieval musical traditions
Broadwood Grand Pianoforte 1809 by Susan Adams: Marvelously played classical piano pieces
Kairos by Russ Hopkins: an introspective mix of acoustic guitar based songs
Mensa Sonora et Al by Simplicissimus Ensemble: 17th and 18th century classical music on period instruments
The Black Dragon by Canconier: Medieval music from the 12th to the 15th centuries
Quadretti di una esposizione - 18 Quadretti musicali per violoncello ed orchestra by Vito Paternoster: cellist extraordinaire
Shadow by Russ Hopkins: an introspective mix of acoustic guitar based songs
Preludes by Takashi Matsuishi Spark: flautists with finesse, intelligence and grooves
Ludwig Senfl by Farallon Recorder Quartet: renaissance recorder ensemble
I sing of a maiden that matchless is by English Ayres: traditional early English music
Luis Milan El Maestro by Jacob Heringman and Catherine King: renaissance songs
CD2-JS Bach-Six Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord by Ingrid Matthews and Byron Schenkman: baroque violin & harpsichord
Daydream by Robin Stine: jazzy, bluesy numbers that immediately sound like comfortable standards
Meditative Guitar by Jeff Wahl: acoustic new age and jazz guitar.
Sabbath Day's Journey by Lydia McCauley: intriguing piano compositions with dynamic accompaniment
The Depths of a Year by Ehren Starks: piano and cello/jazzy new age
The Airs of Wales by Cheryl Ann Fulton: World-class performer and teacher of Medieval, Baroque, Welsh triple, Celtic and Concert harps.
Hidden Sky by Jami Sieber: enchanting cello compositions

Downloads:

MP3: High quality MP3 variable-bit-rate files. Most people download these: they are audiophile files that play everywhere.
ALAC: Perfect quality Apple Lossless format files. If you use iTunes or an iPod, get these. They're an exact audio copy of the original CD, and include the CD artwork and artist info. This is the same format as High Definition audio provided by the iTunes store.
AAC: High quality Apple Audio Codec files. If you use iTunes or an iPod, these files sound great and include CD art and artist info. This is the standard format provided by the iTunes music store.
WAV: Perfect quality WAV files. This format works everywhere, and is an exact audio copy of the original CD. It sounds fantastic. Album art and artist info is unfortunately not possible with this format.
FLAC Perfect quality open source FLAC files. This is an open source audio format. It is an exact copy of the original CD, and includes CD artwork and artist info. Works great on Linux, VLC and many audio players based on open source.
OGG: High quality open source OGG files. This is an open source audio format. It is a compressed (smaller file size) version of the original CD, and includes CD artwork and artist info. Works great on Linux, VLC and many audio players based on open source.
128k: Medium quality 128K MP3 files. These are medium audio quality MP3 files that will work on every device. The audio quality is good enough for most uses. These files are intended for cases where you want to conserve disk space.