Trouvères - J.W. Nelleke (flute, percussion)

Instrumentation: Flute + Piccolo (1 player),  Tenor drum + Glockenspiel (or bells, or tuned glasses) + Tambourin (1 player)

This short piece is a playful ode to Raïmbout de Vaquieras, one of the great mediaeval troubadours. His estampie 'Kalenda Maya' is one of the most exciting and catchy musical pieces I know. The composition makes references to mediaeval forms, sounds and modi, without being an imitation.

- The first movement is, like Raïmbauts masterpiece, an estampie: an exciting and fast dance with jumps.

- The second and third movement refer to the story that Raïmbaut improvised his estampie on the spot, after a melody he had just heard from a travelling musician. Similarly the melancholic melody of the second movement (a planh is a lament for a fallen hero) develops  itself into an estampie in the third movement and so we come full circle. A rotrouenge indicates a song with a refrain, i.e. in which something  returns.

The piece is an excellent opener for a concert; the first movement can be played while the musicians enter the stage. It was performed  this way by Philippa Davies and Simon Limbrick at the premiere on 16 May 2004. The work is also dedicated to them.

Duration 6:30

Publisher: Nutscale Music NM-2011