Ensemble Leones

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Ensemble Leones – Straight from the Heart

May 12, 2026
Petronela Șerban
Photos: (c) Alamire Foundation; P. Serban

April wrapped up with the concert Straight from the Heart, featuring music from their seventh album of the same name. 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 brought to bear: deciphering texts and scores as well as applying the historically informed performance practice that had to be developed for this discovery. We had the pleasure of enjoying an introductory lecture by musicologist David Burn, which gave us deeper insight into this fifteenth-century illuminated manuscript, featuring chansons by both anonymous masters and by Hayne van Ghizeghem, Du Fay, and Ockeghem.

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, the achievements in knowledge and performance practice. This edition offers a musical journey that pays tribute to five generations of composers who created the phenomenon of polyphonic music in the Middle Ages and 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 parchment manuscript distinguished by its exceptional thinness and quality, with meticulous attention given to notation, music, and text. The manuscript has a unique heart shape and is bound in a beautiful velvet binding. Particularly noteworthy are the two 15th-century miniatures by the Master of the View of Saint-Godeliève, a painter who belonged to the Flemish Primitives.

Of the 43 compositions, 30 have French texts. 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 these compositions during his stay at the papal court around 1460.

Upon closer examination, the Italian songs, unlike the French ones, appear to stem from an unwritten or partially written tradition, from which the many versions of Ben lo sa Dio and Perla mya cara emerged.

Polyphony Day on Sunday, February 22 offered the opportunity to highlight the Alamire Foundation's research and valorization projects. From the House of Polyphony, Klara Radio dedicated seven hours of airtime to polyphonic music from the Middle Ages and Renaissance: four ensembles and two soloists performed live.

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 has a gift, thanks to its expertise in early music and the passion of its members, for creating a special atmosphere in which the listener feels transported into the world of the pieces, with all their intimacy and closeness. That is a rare privilege, since this music with emotional texts was originally not intended for an audience, but solely as a declaration of love, in a monological or dialogical context. No wonder that Ensemble Leones has built such a strong reputation over time. The musicians are experts for whom masterful interpretation flows from understanding the spirit, not just the letter, of the sources, combined with meticulous research. They are skilled in musical styles and have internalized and made their own the historically informed performance practice. Forgotten late medieval and early modern pieces that receive their premiere through Leones are given new life and welcomed with open arms.

Ensemble Leones presents interpretative art that offers aesthetic innovation in both studio recordings and live performances. They perform each piece with a different instrumental ensemble on stage, seeking the best acoustic and aesthetic presentation for the listener.