Early Music Ensemble Scandicus

Laudario di cortona
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Laudario di Cortona

13th century italian religious songs

Source: Biblioteca del Comune e dell'Accademia Etrusca di Cortona, MS 91

Laudario di Cortona 13th century in Europe was a time when fervent religiousness began to burst previous forms of laity participation in the Church's life. It resulted in a kind of activity, signs of which became mendicant orders, flagellants, various religious fraternities. Undoubtedly, people of the most significant influence on the Church during consecutive decades, were Saint Dominic and Saint Francis of Assisi. Their mission had the effect of growing religious consciousness of laity and the need for its expression. Saint Francis's Canticle of the Sun - precursor of Italian lauda - gave an impulse to create in towns singing fraternities - laudesi, which gathered in churches to sing and pray during special services. With time, more wealthy fraternities began to hire professional musicians, able to perform more and more technically complicated works. Dramatic forms were also introduced, what turned out to be a germ of a new musical form, shaped later - oratorio.

Fraternity Confraternita di Santa Maria delle Laude acted in Cortona, attached to Saint Francis church, and between 1260 - 1297, thanks to their activity, a codex was created, known under the name of Laudario di Cortona (Biblioteca del Comune e dell'Accademia Etrusca di Cortona, MS 91) containing 46 laude accompanied with musical notation. It is one of the oldest manuscripts comprising sacred songs in Italian, dating from times, when sacred poetry in national languages, represented by works of Jacopone da Todi (Franciscan poet and mystic), started to flourish.

This record contains a choice of songs taken out from this manuscript. Among them Marian, Christmas, Lent and Easter songs and also works dedicated to saints can be found. Two works, examples of gushing religious poetry of that time (one of them Troppo per del tempo with lyrics by Jacopone da Todi), are deliberations on Christ's love.

Premiere: 10th November 2008
Publisher: Multikulti Project

Album is available at concerts and in music stores.
Internet sale: Fripp Multikulti

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