A musical-poetic genre first developed by Saint Francis of Assisi, the Lauda is one of the most remarkable expressions of Italian popular musical culture from the Middle Ages to the present day, and one of the oldest historically. + La Reverdie presents a rich, 2CD anthology of Italian monophonic Laude from the repertoire’s two principal sources: the Cortona (ca. 1270) and Florence (ca. 1320) manuscripts. + Many of the Florence pieces have never been recorded. + The accompanying booklet contains detailed introductory essays on the music’s reconstruction and wider cultural significance.