Mentioned by Dante amongst 'the most illustrious poets of his time, Thibaut de Champagne (1201-1253), also called 'Thibaut the Songwriter', was one of France's greatest...

Mentioned by Dante amongst 'the most illustrious poets of his time, Thibaut de Champagne (1201-1253), also called 'Thibaut the Songwriter', was one of France's greatest trouvères (or 'musician-poet' in langue d'oïl). He left us some sixty songs, cultivating highly varied musical genres: songs of love and of the crusades, pastourelles, hymns to the Virgin, jeux-partis... Count of Champagne and King of Navarre, grandson of Marie de France and great-grandson of Eleanor of Aquitaine, he was chosen by the Holy See and numerous barons to lead a new crusade in 1239. A seal from 1226 portrays him on horseback, brandishing his sword. This disc proposes an anthology of his compositions, all coming from the very famous songbook copied at the end of the 13th century: the 'King's manuscript'. As a counterpoint to the songs and in harmony with them, it also presents motets and instrumental dances representative of the musical repertoires of the period.