MUSIQUE A LA COUR DE CHYPRE 1192-1489
MUSIC AT THE COURT OF CYPRUS 1192-1489
HUELGAS ENSEMBLE
Alpha, 1978, DB 264
When Guy de Lusignan lost his throne in Jerusalem he had the idea of buying the island of Cyprus from the Templar Knights in 1192. Another version says that it was Richard Coeur de Lion who gave Cyprus to Lusignan after he took it from the Byzantines. From that time the Lusignan family managed to keep Cyprus for itself until it was sold to Venice in 1489. The court was French in its language, habits and culture with influences from France (Ars Subtilior).
Some of the songs are in Latin for the religious ones and in French as it was spoken there during the15th century. They all come from a manuscript ''MS Torino'' in Turin which was written in Cyprus around 1412 and brought to France by Anne de Lusignan.
There are two Greek songs from the collection of Pieris Zarmas. The lyrics in Greek are provided in a Flemish transcription (for example toe mpaloe = tou ballou). Alpha being a Belgian label the presentation text is in French and Flemish (only the French part is scanned).
The Huelgas Ensemble was founded by Paul Van Nevel in 1971 and had ten performers for this album. There are singers and rebec, recorder, shawm, sacbut players. This ensemble is well known throughout the world for the quality of its work.
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