Marc Mauillon (France): voice
Vivabiancaluna Biffi ( Italy): vielle
Angélique Mauillon (France): gothic harp
Pierre Hamon (France): flutes, tambours, cornamuses, direction

Programme:

Guillaume De Machaut (1300 - 1377):

Le Remede de Fortune:
Qui n’aroit autre deport:
Lai

Tel rit au main qui au soir pleure:
Complainte

Joye, plaisance, et douce nourriture:
Chant Royal

En amer a douce vie:
Balladelle

Dame, de qui toute ma joye vient:
Ballade

Dame, a vous sans retollir:
Chanson Balladée

Dame, mon cuer en vous remaint:
Rondelet
 

About the Programme:
Initially, the Lady discovers an anonymous Lai in her honor; the poet reads it to her, but from fear of revealing his love for her, he does not dare reveal that he is the author of the poem and he flees without a word. Hopeless, he takes refuge in a vast garden. There, he composes a long and sublime Lament, in which he blames Fortune. As in “The Consolation of Philosophy” by Boethius, by which Machaut is inspired in this part of Remède, Hope (Philosophy in Boethius) then comes to him and comforts him as he contemplates Fortune. His discourse is marked by two lyrical pieces, one chanson (or chant) royale, and one balladelle.
Having regained confidence, the poet goes to rejoin the woman he loves, and on the way composes a ballad “Dame de qui toute ma joie vient” [the lady whence comes all my joy]. The Lady, in joyous company, invites him to dance and then to sing: he begins to sing a chanson balladée (virelai). After attending mass and participating in other joyous activities, the poet finally declares his love, to which the Lady responds favorably. But at the close of the meal and of new diversions, the moment of separation comes: the lovers exchange rings. While leaving, the poet sings the rondelet “Dame mon cœur en vous remaint” [Lady, my heart stays with you].
Such is the synopsis of the famous “Remède de Fortune”, a long poem of more than 4000 lines, with lyrical insertions (songs), which appear for the first time in Machaut’s oldest manuscript and have come down to us.
This manuscript, wonderfully illuminated (BN fr 1586 or manuscript C), is probably one of the most beautifully conserved medieval manuscripts at the National Library (Bibliothèque nationale, or BN) of Paris; it was executed, under the direction and control of Machaut himself, a little before 1350. In that era, after having lived among the bigwigs of the world and traveled throughout Eastern Europe from northern Italy through Lithuania, riding horseback at the side of the King of Bohemia, John of Luxembourg, for whom he was secretary, he (Machaut) retired (from his work) as canon of Reims in order to devote himself to writing, composition, conservation and the dissemination of his works. In the latter two endeavors he is an absolute innovator, and his masterpiece would continue to be disseminated throughout Europe well after his death.
“Le Remède de Fortune” is probably the most significant French love poem of the 14th century. It had considerable influence in all of Europe as a poetic model of courtly love, but also as a musical model, wherein Machaut had fixed the forms. These lyrical pieces, with an exceptional poetic and musical quality, perfectly reflect and promote both the thread of the plot and the states of the soul of the poet in his amorous and artistic initiation; there is in fact a double rite-of-passage, amorous, yet (especially?) artistic, which Machaut announces in the first lines of Remède: “Cil qui veult aucun art aprendre” (He who would learn no art). Effectively, though at the end of the speech, the Lover-Poet narrator has passed through the stage of unproductive idleness – which characterizes him before the meeting of his Lady – into the stage of artistic maturity; although he has learned from Hope the Remedy of Fortune (patience and contentment) and that apparently an optimistic future awaits him, he still has, in fact, no certainty about the reality of the amorous sentiments of his Lady, as he hears the last words of Remède: “Or doint Dieus qu’en bon gré le prengne, Et qu’en li servant ne mesprengne.”
Interpreting this masterpiece of the 14th century, does it have meaning in the 21st century? Furthermore, has it ever been interpreted? First of all, one must try to realize quite what an illuminated manuscript was, such as the manuscript that Machaut himself supervised and that has served as a basis for our work: it was in a way a sort of multi-media work. The Book was a treasure that was admired for what it was, with its magnificent illuminations. One could read it in a number of ways, in the private space of a room or for public readings, or by reading extracts. The lyrical pieces included therein could likewise have been sung separately. New books being rare, a court’s acquisition of such a work of art was always a noteworthy event and remained the object of discussion and “cultural” commentary for weeks. It was revisited over and over again; such a work of art was never received in one single manner: a Lai, for example, could be read or sung, as Machaut wrote. In his other tale with lyrical inserts, Le Voir Dit, certain subtleties and poetic behaviors only appear upon seeing the Book. There is, therefore, no perfect and global interpretation possible for Le Remède, and we can only propose here a certain interpretation – above all a musical one, and of necessity only a part of the work – that we have chosen to present through the seven lyrical pieces set to music contained therein, in their order, and with no other musical interludes.
Yet perhaps for the first time since the 14th century, we will sing the lyrical forms in their completeness, not out of fanaticism, but because we believe in the essential artistic interest of this course of action, which allows each form to be given its just dimension and place within Machaut’s masterpiece, without cutting off from their meaning or music any of its words and rhymes, which continually and subtly revive the music of its notes.
The performance (approximately 1 hour 40 minutes) will therefore follow the order and the nature of the musical pieces, going from the most complex and consistent monodic works, which are the Lai and the Lament, ever-so-sublime representatives of the “vielle forge”, toward the more joyous polyphonic forms, to the invigorating counterpoint characteristic of this new manner of composition which Machaut named the “nouvelle forge”.
Alongside the prologue and some introductory lines, we have chosen to serve as articulations between the songs several rubrics and legends of the illuminations of Manuscript C which perfectly illustrate the thread of the plot.

Bio Angélique Mauillon:
After studying classical harp, Angélique Mauillon chose to specialize in the interpretation of ancient music. She is under the instruction of Eugène Ferré (Lyon) and of Mara Galassi (Milan).
She plays medieval harp with the Mala Punica, Alla Francesca, and La Doulce Sere ensembles, and the Renaissance harp with both the Doulce Mémoire and Les Jardins de Courtoisie ensembles.
Additionally, she has participated in numerous productions of Baroque music with the triple harp, playing with such ensembles as Elyma, La Fenice, Le Concert d'Astrée, Les Paladins, Sesquialtera and Il Seminario Musicale.
She teaches harpe ancienne [old harp] at CNR in Tours.
 

BIO Marc Mauillon:
Born in 1980, Mauillon graduated from the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Paris. Very soon he became interested in Early Music and began singing with numerous ensembles such as la Petite Bande, les Arts Florissants, Doulce Mémoire, and Alla Francesca. He has been a guest of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and has sung Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Orchestre National de France. In 2004 he made his debut as Papageno, then in 2005 performed in the roles of Roger in Le Balcon by Peter Eötvös, Spoletta in Tosca, and Bernardino in Benvenutto Cellini (with the Orchestre National de France conducted by John Nelson). He also sang Dido and Aeneas with William Christie. He sings Machaut, Monteverdi, Lully, Mozart, Schubert, Mahler, Poulenc, Aperghis, Scelci . He recorded on disc his first recital devoted to the first lai by Machaut, L'amoureus tourment, together with Pierre Hamon and Vivabiancaluna Biffi (for the Eloquentia label) and was awarded the Diapason d'or and the R10 Classica Répertoire.
 

Bio Vivabiancaluna Biffi
After traditional studies of violoncello, Biffi turned toward Early Music. Graduating from the Scola Cantorum Basiliensis (Basel, Switzerland) in singing and early instruments (vielle, bowed viol, Renaissance viola da gamba), since 1998 she has devoted herself to intense concert activity with the principal European ensembles of medieval music (Lucidarium, Alla Francesca, Ensemble Gilles Binchois, Les Flamboyants, Hesperion XXI, etc.). She regularly teaches at the Fondation Royaumont and has been invited to give master classes by Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Lyon and the Scola Cantorum Basiliensis.
 

 BIO PierreHamon: At first self-taught, Hamon later specialized with Walter Van Hauwe in playing the recorder before becoming a pupil of Hariprasad Chaurasia for the bansuri flute. He has been co-director since its foundation of the Alla Francesca ensemble, with whom he has recorded some fifteen CD’s, and he has collaborated regularly with Jordi Savall since 1995. His repertoire stretches from the 12th to the 21st century and his entertains a keen interest in traditional folk music as well. He is a professor at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Lyon and is regularly invited to give classes by the major institutes of Early Music such as the Scola Cantorum Basiliensis.