MUSLIVE Performance Workshop One 'Foundations' (February, 2024): 2. Song scores, texts, translations

This is the second of three items relating to the first MUSLIVE Performance Workshop, hosted in the Music Department at King’s College London, February 19-21^st, 2024, culminating in a recording session on February 22^nd, 2024. The theme of the workshop was ‘Foundations’.

Transcriptions of the songs were based on versions of the songs as they appeared in one of two early songbooks (chansonnier U and chansonnier M). Texts were provided with new translations by Emma Dillon, some of which were workshopped in May and June 2023 in the London Old French Reading Group hosted at UCL by Professor Jane Gilbert. The standard scores were created by Emma Dillon, using Sibelius software, with technical assistance from Jonathan Finn. Further on the editorial rationale will be forthcoming in publications by Emma Dillon. Creation of a collaborative score format was part of the methodology for this engagement and represents a prototype for a score developed for the project and which will be refined in future engagements. The idea was to create a non-traditional format, in part to encourage users to be less reliant upon reading from musical notation. It left space for singers and song teams to annotate aspects of the sonic dimensions of the text; it moved musical notation to the margins and also providing blank staves in which to make musical notes. This format was the design of Emma Dillon. The versions shared here are draft 1 and the Performance Workshop in February was the first time that the score format was trialled. Draft 1 versions are included here as work-in-progress but also to show the texts from which the performers were all singing by the end of the workshop.

The texts, translations and scores presented are only of the portions of the songs (ie specific stanzas) rehearsed and recorded by the singers for workshop 1. The numbering of items correlates to the numbering of the recordings (see item one of the three relating to the Performance Workshop).

1. Hugues III d'Oisy, En l'an que chevalier sont [RS 1952a] [stanzas 1, 2, 3 & 8]

2. Blondel de Nesle, A l'entrant d'esté que li tans commence [RS 620] [stanzas 1, 6 & E]

5. Conon de Béthune, Ahi! Amours, com dure departie [RS 1125] [stanzas 1, 2 & 4]

6. Gace Brulé, En dous tans tans et en bone eure [RS 1011] [stanzas 1, 2, 6 & E]

7. Gace Brulé, Quant flours et glais et verdure s'esloigne [RS 1779] [stanzas 1, 2 & 3]

8. Hughes III d'Oisy, ... Maugré touz sainz et maugré Dieu aussi [RS 1030] [all stanzas]

9. Conon de Béthune, L'autrier avint en cel autre païs [RS 1574] [stanzas 1, 2, 3 & 5]

10. Gui IV, Châtelain de Coucy, La douce voiz du louseignol sauvage [RS 40] [stanzas 1, 2, 3 & 5]