Dufay – Se la face ay pale

This is the second in a series of four concerts celebrating the remarkable life & work of David Munrow – one of the great pioneers of ‘early music’. Munrow (who died exactly 50 years ago) was an inspiration to thousands. His regular radio slot 'Pied Piper' had countless listeners enthralled, as he deftly opened up a world of lesser-known repertoire to a wider public.

Amongst Munrow’s many achievements was his ground-breaking 1973 recording of Dufay's Missa Se la face ay pale, bringing vividly to life the opulent world of the House of Savoy in the 1450s. Believed to have been written for the nuptials of Anne de Lusignan to Louis, Prince of Piedmont, in 1534, the popular love ballade Se la face ay pale forms the basis of Dufay’s impressive eponymous mass.

Fiori Musicali performs this astonishing and rarely heard piece in the atmospheric, isolated church at Wolfhampcote – a place time has forgotten.

Performers:
Pérotin Beata viscera
Dufay Ballade Se la face ay pale
Dufay Kyrie & Gloria from Missa Se la face ay pale
Dufay Par le regard
Dufay Credo from Missa Se la face ay pale
Dufay Belle veillies moy retenir
Dufay Sanctus & Agnus Dei from Missa Se la face ay pale

Performers:
Fiori Musicali Consort Choir
Fiori Musicali Chamber Ensemble
Heidi Fardell recorders
Adrian Woodward cornetto, recorder, bagpipes
Arngeir Hauksson lute, gittern, hurdy gurdy, percussion
Sue Addison sagbutt, slide trumpet
Penelope Rapson director