Neidhart: A Minnesinger and His "Vale of Tears" - Songs and Interludes
11/3/2011, 13 Tracks, 1:04:27
Featuring
Baptiste Romain
Marc Lewon
Els Janssens
Neidhart (von Reuental)
Anonymous
Walther von der Vogelweide
Adam de la Halle
Did you know?
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Recording & Production
This album is the first recording of the Frankfurt Neidhart-Fragment in its current state, featuring all its melodies and lyrics as found in the original source.
Composition History
The Frankfurt Neidhart-Fragment, dated to around 1300, represents the earliest transmission of Neidhart melodies and is arguably the earliest source for music of German Minnesang in general.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Neidhart's songs parodied classical Minnesang (courtly love songs), leading modern scholarship to coin the term 'Gegensang' (Anti-Minnesang) for his genre.
Cultural Impact
Neidhart's songs were so popular that his style was transmitted in numerous manuscripts for 200 years, with 'A Neidhart' becoming a generic term for his style.
Composer Biography
Neidhart, a popular Minnesinger (poet-musician) of the late Middle Ages, was sometimes wrongly referred to as 'von Reuental' (from the Vale of Tears) due to a 19th-century misunderstanding.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Neidhart often set his poems in a rustic, peasant milieu instead of courtly realms, using this device to create multiple layers of meaning and subtly criticize the privileged classes.
Compositional Technique
Neidhart classified his songs as 'summer' or 'winter' songs, using a nature introduction (Natureingang) to establish an emotional backdrop for the lyrics, with winter symbolizing melancholy and summer introducing lighter, often dance-related subjects.
