Gautier d’Épinal Remembrance ENSEMBLE SYNTAGMA Direction: Alexandre Danilevski 1 Gautier d’Épinal Remembrance ENSEMBLE SYNTAGMA Direction: Alexandre Danilevski GAUTIEr d’ÉpinAL (1205/30-1272) JACQUES DE CYSOING (middle of 13th century) [1] Aÿmans fins et verais* (instrumental, estampie) 4:10 [10] Chanson (instrumental) 2:23 [2] Quand je voi l’erbe menue 4:45 GAUTIEr d’ÉpinAL ANONYME [11] Par son dolz comandemant 4:20 [3] Chanson (rondeau) (from the “Roman du Fauvel”) 2:54 [12] Commencement de douce saison bele (instrumental) 3:31 GAUTIEr d’ÉpinAL JEHANNOT DE L’EscurEL (d. 1304) [4] Desconfortez et de joie parti 5:11 [13] Estampie (instrumental) 4:00 [5] Puis qu’il m’estuet de ma dolour* 2:40 GAUTIEr d’ÉpinAL COLIN MUSET (13th century) [14] Amours et bone volontez 3:43 [6] Trop volontiers chanteroie 2:44 [15] Quand je voi l’erbe menue 4:45 GAUTIEr d’ÉpinAL GAUTIER DE COINCY (1177-1236) [7] Aÿmans fins et verais 5:36 [16] Chanson* 2:16 [8] Outrecuidiers et ma fole pensee 5:08 ANONYME [9] Estampie (from the “Roman du Fauvel”) 2:33 *The refrains of the items marked with an asterisk are taken from Gautier d’Épinal’s rondeau “Tout autresi”, played on the lute by Alexandre Danilevski 4 5 The musicians: The chansons of Gautier d’Épinal Melodien, Notation, Entstehung, Akira Tachikawa, countertenor (2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 14, 15) politisches Umfeld’ (4 vols., Peter Lang, Annemieke Cantor, mezzo-soprano (2, 4, 7, 8, 14, 15) Dictionaries and encyclopaedias 2007). According to Dr. Lug, Gautier Bernhard Stilz, recorders (1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 12, 13, 15, 16) often mention Gautier d’Épinal in was a cleric, the nephew of the Bishop Anna Danilevski, recorders, bowed fiddle (1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16) articles dealing with the music in of Metz. This Gautier died ca. 1232. Markus Wesche, medieval lute (1, 4, 8, 13, 16) Lotharingia. Several writers refer to an This identification makes Gautier a Benoît Stasiaczyck - Peng Xiaobo, percussion (1, 4, 8, 9, 13, 14, 16) obscure mediaeval figure to whom are contemporary of the so called Guerre Sophia Danilevski, tromba marina (1, 4, 8, 13, 16) attributed some 15 to 30 chansons. des Amis (“The Friends’ War”) which Pascale Van Coppenolle, organetto (7, 9) then gripped Metz, at the time the Alexandre Danilevski, medieval lutes, gittern, bowed fiddle (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16) The researches of the Marquis of fifth largest city in Europe north of Pange a century ago have identified the Alps, with a population of 30,000 With the participation of: him as the chevalier Gautier V d’Épinal inhabitants, a largely Francophone Emilia Danilevski, narrator (5) (“dominus Galterus/Walterus/Wautiers town belonging to the Holy Roman dictus miles de Espinal”), who was Empire, situated about 10 kilometers Instruments: born between 1205 and 1230, and from the Franco-German linguistic Recorders by Bob Marvin (USA, 1992) died in 1272. This Gautier belonged to demarcation line. Lute by Markus Wesche (Germany, 1999) a remarkable family that had ruled the Lutes, gittern, bowed fiddles by Alexandre Danilevski (Russia, 1989) town of Épinal from the eleventh to the In retrospect, the conflict was nothing Organetto by Georg Westenfelder (Luxemburg, 1977) fourteenth centuries. more than an attempt at redistribution of spheres of influence between Executive Producer: Anne de Jong, Recording Producer, Engineer: Jérôme Lejeune, Recording: However, Robert Lug proposes a the old patrician clan, the ‘amis’ of Philippe de Magnée, Belgium, Recording dates: June-July 2006, Recorded at: Chapelle St. completely different identification in the bishop (centered in the quarter Augustin, Bitche (France), A&R Challenge Records International: Anne de Jong, Booklet editing: his publication ‘Der Chansonnier de of Port-Sailli), and the ‘nouveaux Johan van Markesteijn, Product Coordination: Jolien Plat, Translations: Roman Turovsky-Savchuk, Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Das älteste riches’. Yet this episode also merits James Chater, Cover Illustration: © Museum of Epinal, Sleeve Design: Marcel van den Broek volkssprachige Liederbuch Europas. examination in the context of the pan- 6 7 European conflict that encompassed The strife which overtook the life of the In any case, the traits discernible in helping his muse in the management the struggles between Guelphs and inhabitants of Metz was so spectacular Gautier’s biography can be attributed of her domain, while reminding her Ghibellines, the Pope and the king of that (according to the hypothesis either to a chevalier, a cleric, or a (twice) that her beauty is relative and France, England and France (cf. the of Gröber and Batilli, shared by functionary. Even his chivalrous, is too dependent on the beholder’s envoi of Aymanz fins), pro- and anti- Professor Lug) the Bishop of Metz (the courtly and pragmatic Ars amatoria mood and desire at any given mo- Capet Ghibellines and the rebellion of most important European centre for can be interpreted in all sorts of ment. This refusal to idealize is a singu- the nobles against queen Blanche. calligraphy after the Vatican) imposed ways. And Le Concile d’amour de lar departure from courtoise tradition. Gautier seems to have been an anonymity on all literary texts being Remiremont (Lorraine, c. 1200) informs adherent of the pro-French party, commissioned at the Metz scriptoria in us: “Clerics are courteous and honest, Gautier’s arguments are well-informed, while, in his age, the feeling of order to preclude any possibility of ill and they do not know how to cheat or as if he lived at the end of a civilization belonging to “Romania” (Burgundy, will between neighbors or partners in say malicious things; they know the art rather than at its beginning. His Liège, Champagne and Picardy) was commerce. This censorship of nobles of love and are skilled in it.” poetry, like his music, is permeated by shared by the majority of the noble was eventually transformed into a the nostalgia of a modern man who families of Lotharingia. Here the laws lasting tradition. So much so that Contrary to the conventions of courtly knows that the Golden Age never were Germanic in spirit and character, Metz later earned the reputation of a literature of his time, the poetry of existed and never will. All his writings while the values and way of life were “stepmother of the Arts and all other Gautier gives us considerable insight possess a grave tone: even the joy more enticingly French. Thus Gautier Virtues” (Agrippa de Nettesheim). into his inner world. It is apparent that, and triumph of love (cf. Par son doulce congratulates Phillip of Flanders on following the custom of his time, he commandement) have a character the re-establishment of noble values in Gautier’s writings reveal the hand of paid tribute to love in the days of his of lamentation on human limitations. Lotharingia: “…the wise Count / who a seigneur rather than a cleric or a youth, as it was a common way to es- His writing is dense: the very structure maintained France / and invigorated functionary, while the absence of com- caping ennui, and that he had not had of his thought is incompatible with the her… / honored chivalry / and restored positions after 1232 is easily explained any need to resort to it anymore, once classic French syntax. Gautier imparts to strength / the generosity that had by the fragility of documentation in the he had met his Lady. Gautier reveals into French the Germanic phrase forms been previously vanquished” (Quand hands of time and by the eternal hu- himself as a pragmatist and a holder that could drag in their wake a whole je voie l’erbe). man passion for destruction. of critical eye: he commits himself to world of ideas, associations, sous-en- 8 9 tendus, parallelisms and generaliza- with Gautier represents a body of Homer or Shakespeare in spite of all clash in defending opposing theories; tions (cf. no. 5, “Si cum Equo…”). 1) work characterized by undeniable the objections. The prevailing creative performing musicians either pass over unity, cohesion, and uniqueness of process before Gautier was in all the question in silence or, like us, In his poetry the sentence does not style. If his writings contain quotations, probability collective, and his creative do not doubt the existence of many progress in simple units, in the perfect he also possesses a gift for creative personality results in epic, monumental possibilities. On this CD, Aymanz linear perspective. Thanks to the tonic recasting that proves that Gautier qualities. fins is presented in two versions, one accent, most fully present in the Fran- is also extraordinarily independent rhythmic, the other not. cophone authors in the east, words of prevailing trends in his music as His melodic imagination boldly tran- have a great autonomy; hence the pos- well as in his poetry. In this period it scends the framework of established Emilia Danilevski sibility of many divergent translations. was common to borrow fragments structures, allowing the free flow of Translation: Roman Turovsky-Savchuk or intonations: it was simply one of profusely ornamented melodies. He Whatever Gautier’s lot, whether the aspects of an old (and still living) breaks free of the limits of a single AKNOWLEDGEMENTS he was a seigneur from humble tradition: by way of example we may mode by fluctuating between several We would like to thank Professor Ruppes or a lowly cleric from Metz, cite the heritage of Aesop. modal gravitational poles; Robert Lug of the University of the essence of the man is found in if the text requires it, he renounces Frankfurt am Main and Professor his music. As with all the trouvères, Let us assume that our understanding symmetrical melodic structures.