Sixteenth-century French ministrelsy was an oral tradition. Its practitioners’ stock in trade, carefully guarded by secrecy, consisted of tunes which could be used for dancing, playing divisions, stringing together to form dance suites, or for singing to various texts – sometimes sung and danced at the same time. Security was sometimes breached and collections of dance tunes and ‘instrumentals’ were published, notably by Attaingnant, Phalese and Le Roy – the sources of most of the tunes heard on this recording. The tunes were, however, just the raw material, open to free treatment such as they receive here. Song texts were printed as broadsheets or in anthologies with horticultural titles such as Le Plaisant Jardin des belles chansons – hence the title of this album – together with the name of the tune to which they were to be sung. ‘Minstrel’ elements could also be introduced into polyphonic chansons by improvising divisions or by using instruments instead of voices for some lines. Other songs (by Willaert and Le Jeune) come from a large collection of French chansons published in Paris in 1572.
These are the floral genuses from which The King’s Noyse have picked their variegated musical bouquet, presented with all the artifice of a high-class florist. The solo instrumental pieces are from tablatures published by Le Roy, the rest are based on what is known of contemporary practices, and all are performed with great skill. Ellen Hargis has a sweet, clear voice and characterizes her songs well; distinct enunciation of French sometimes eludes her but the printed texts enable the eye to grasp what the ear may fail to hear. Warmly recommended.JD