ABOUT AURORA'S MUSIC

urora’s music spans the centuries of the Middle Ages and early Renaissance. From the simplicity of 8th century plainchant to the complex harmonies of 14th century motets, this is a rich and varied body of music.

Aurora and its members are particularly fond of the following sources of music:
The Cantigas de Santa Maria (Songs to the Holy Mary) is an amazing collection of songs – some raucous, others contemplative – that were assembled in 13th century Spain by the learned King Alfonso X El Sabio (the wise). These songs are the focus of Aurora's new recording, Iberian Miracles.

Alfonso reigned in Spain, in the regions of Castille and Leon, from 1252 to 1284. The Iberian peninsula was a lively and diverse place in the 13th century. It had been dominated by Muslims for centuries and had a large and vital Jewish population – only recently had Christianity taken hold as the dominant religion there. Indeed, Alfonso considered himself the “King of the Three Religions.”

The presence of a diversity of cultural groups fed a rich and interesting musical world. The European Troubadour tradition, in which singers carried songs of courtly love throughout the countryside, was perhaps the most important influence on Alfonso and the composers of the Cantigas. Troubadours from France were welcomed in Alfonso’s court, and surely influenced him. But the Cantigas also carry certain influences of the Middle East and of Africa. The melodies are seductively beautiful, and the rhythms lively and unexpected.

Medieval Christians revered the Blessed Virgin Mary and relied on her for all kinds of intercessions. King Alfonso was no exception. He borrowed style and form from the Troubadors to profess his love and faithfulness to his beloved Mary. In the Cantigas de Santa Maria, Alfonso and his collaborators tell of the miracles performed by Mary every day, to help mothers, wives, nuns, farmers, spinners, and warriors deal with sickness and loss. These stories give us an amazingly rich look at life in 13th century Spain.

The 427 Cantigas come down to us in four manuscripts which survive in libraries in Florence and Madrid. The manuscripts include hundreds of illuminated miniatures – colorful illustrations showing the details described in the Cantigas. Not only do these tell us more about the lives of Castillian people, they also tell us much about the musical instruments of the time.

Along with the Cantigas de Santa Maria, we also look to other bodies of music from the Iberian Peninsula – from the abbey at Las Huelgas, from the monastery at Santiago de Compostela, and from the troubadour tradition.

The abbess Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) was a visionary of great importance in 12th century Germany. She produced many writings on her visions and on science, advised kings and popes based on her visions, and wrote more than a hundred songs. Her music is remarkable in its clarity and its transcendence. Hildegard was virtually unknown to the public 20 years ago, but thankfully her works have been rediscovered and become widely available.

The monastery at St. Martial de Limoges, in France, was a lively and exciting place in the 12th century. Music-making there was new and exciting, comparable to the invention of jazz in North America in the early 20th century. Singers there were experimenting with “organum,” or improvising harmonies to accompany ancient plainchant. Some of their improvisations were written down, and they reveal a rich and florid singing style that must have required great precision and much practice! We love to explore this music, not only for the tunes and harmonies themselves, but also for the inspiration they provide for our own musical inventions.

Notre Dame, in Paris, was another hotbed of musical activity in the Middle Ages. Musicians there in the 13th century experimented with new ideas such as rhythmic musical notation and multi-part singing. Their experiments produced a huge body of songs, some lively and rhythmic (these are conductus, or processional songs), some more chant-like.

English Medieval Carols of the 14th century are a favorite part of our repertoire. These carols, many for Christmas, are mostly composed in two or three parts, sometimes interweaving in complex ways. Some of the melodies are clearly based on folk tunes, and many of the songs are quite dance-like in their rhythms.