Amours et Désirs - Songs of the trouvères

Trouvères is the name given to mediaeval singer-poets in the North of France whose colloquial lyricism was influenced by the "Trobadors" from Occitania in the south of France. The Trouvères composed songs in a number of different genres which are displayed on this comprehensive CD: dancing songs, Reverdies (spring songs) and a variety of "traditional romances" such as the "Chanson de toile" to be sung while sewing and the "Chanson de mal-mariée" which tells of young women forced into marriage with ugly men and as a consequence on the search for a younger lover.