The month of April was concluded with the concert Straight from the Heart, featuring music from their seventh, eponymous cd. It was performed with great dedication by Ensemble Leones, in collaboration with the Alamire Foundation, as a result of their research into the Chansonnier cordiforme.
For this challenging project, all skills were deployed: deciphering text and scores and the historically informed performance practice that had to be applied to this discovery. We were able to enjoy the introductory lecture by musicologist David Burn, which gave us more insight into this fifteenth-century illuminated manuscript, with chansons by both anonymous masters and by Hayne van Ghizeghem, Du Fay and Ockeghem.
[caption id="attachment_55571" align="alignleft" width="512"]
© Alamire Foundation, Chansonnier Cordiforme, facsimile by Vicent Garcia Editores (Valencia, 2007) of Paris, National Library of France, Manuscripts Department, Rothschild 2973 (979 a)[/caption]
The concert as part of the Voices of Passion festival 2026
Leuven has a rich tradition in the field of polyphony. In collaboration with the Alamire Foundation, 30CC brings specialized ensembles to the stage to showcase, both literally and figuratively, achievements in knowledge and performance practice. This edition offers a musical journey that is a tribute to five generations of composers who created the phenomenon of polyphonic music in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, recognizing the Low Countries and Leuven as the cradle of the genre.
We were delighted to receive the following statement from Marc Lewon, artistic director:
"I had a wonderful experience presenting our programme in the Abbey Park. I've never been there before and very much enjoyed the atmosphere in this special place. I felt a density and a bond to the knowledgable audience in this place that is rare, indeed.
Regarding our instruments: we were playing reconstructions of instruments from the end of the 15th century: the viola d'arco which emerged in the 1480s together with late medieval fiddles and a lira da braccia, typical of Humanist Italy in the 15th century — this one we used for two of the Italian monodies to replicate a style that was typical of the parlar cantando repertoire. Furthermore, I played a plectrum lute, as it was used in that time, both for individual lines in polyphony as well as intabulating 2 lower voices to accompany a discantus and for some discantus diminutions.
The instruments were all reconstructions, though one of our members (Elizabeth Rumsey) also owns an original from the mid-16th century (for which the music we played, however, was too early so that we did not use it here)."
About the book
The Chansonnier Cordiforme is an illuminated manuscript on parchment that stands out for its exceptional thinness and quality, with great attention paid to the notation, music and text. The manuscript has a unique heart shape and is bound in a beautiful velvet binding. Particularly notable are the two 15th-century miniatures by the Master of the View of Sint-Goedele, a painter who belonged to the Flemish Primitives.
Of the 43 compositions, 30 have a French text. The earliest works — twelve songs with poorly transcribed Italian text and one in Spanish, which the copyist apparently mistook for Italian — appear at the beginning of the manuscript and posed more problems. Jean de Montchenu, a controversial bishop with excellent musical taste, presumably collected the compositions during his stay at the papal court around 1460.
Upon closer examination, the Italian songs, in contrast to the French ones, appear to derive from an unwritten or partially written tradition, from which the many versions of Ben lo sa Dio and Perla mya cara emerged.
The Day of Polyphony on Sunday, February 22nd provided an opportunity to highlight the Alamire Foundation's research and development projects. From the House of Polyphony, Klara Radio dedicated seven hours of airtime to polyphonic music from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: four ensembles and two soloists performed live.
Ensemble Leones
Artistic director Marc Lewon (lute and viola d'arco), Els Janssens (voice), Cyril Escoffier (voice), Raitis Grigalis (voice), Baptiste Romain (viola and lira da braccia), Elizabeth Rumsey (viola d'arco).
Ensemble Leones knows how to create a special atmosphere thanks to its expertise in early music and the passion of its members, in which the listener feels drawn into the world of the pieces, with all their intimacy and familiarity. This is a rare privilege, since this music with emotional text was originally not intended for an audience, but exclusively as a declaration of love, in a monological or dialogical context. It is no wonder that Ensemble Leones has built such a good reputation over time. The musicians are experts for whom masterful interpretation stems from understanding the spirit, and not only the letter, of the sources, coupled with meticulous research. They are proficient in musical styles and have internalized and made their own historically informed performance practice. Forgotten late medieval and early modern pieces that are premiered by Leones are given new life in this way and are welcomed with open arms.
Ensemble Leones brings interpretive art that offers aesthetic innovation in both studio recordings and live performances. They perform each piece in a different instrumentation on stage, seeking the best acoustic and aesthetic rendering for the listener.
Programme
- Ma bouche rit – Johannes Ockeghem (c. 1420-1497)
- Fortune, par ta cruaulté (instrumental) – Vincenet (? - c. 1480)
- Adieu vous dy – Anoniem
- Chiara fontana – Anoniem
- O pelegrina, o luce – Anoniem
- Ma bouche plaint (instrumental) – Anoniem
- Hélas, n'aray je jamais mieulx – Anoniem
- Terriblement suis fortunée – Anoniem
- Ben lo sa dio – Anoniem
- Dona gentile – Guillaume Du Fay (1397-1474)
- Comme ung homme desconforté – Anoniem
- De tous biens plaine – Hayne van Ghizeghem (c. 1445-c. 1493)
- Perla mya cara – Anoniem
- L'autre jour, par ung matin – Anoniem