C’est la fins” and “Prendés i garde"

Among the trouvères, Guillaume d’Amiens flourished in the late 13th century. Attested from a single tax record in 1301 and survived by just a dozen works, Guillaume was also a painter and may have been involved in producing illuminated manuscripts. Trouvères were typically from the higher social classes, espousing the ideals of “courtly love” and nascent chivalric impulses that would define so much of European culture in the following centuries. Courtesy of research by bass Peter Walker, we will enjoy two songs by Guillaume this evening. Both “C’est la fins” and “Prendés i garde” are contained in the same manuscript called the Chansonnier du Vatican and transmitted simply as single-line melodies. Short motives abound, and the vocal range is quite small (a 5th), contributing a spontaneity and earnest simplicity that all serve the poet’s purpose. These two songs would have accompanied some festive dance, hence their repetitive design. It remains an open question—and probably one that had as many answers as performances in D’Amiens’ day—regarding instrumentation, number of voices, use of canonic imitation, and so forth. Modern performances must offer their own solutions.

(c) Jason Stell