Nuns, Polyphony, and a Liégeois Cantor: New Light on the Las Huelgas ‘Solmization Song’ Alamire Foundation
This article discusses the famous ‘solfeggio song’ from the Las Huelgas Codex, a piece whose lyrics consist of solmization syllables followed by an incomplete poetic text traditionally qualified as obscure. The recent discovery of two new concordances for the piece provides a radical change of perspective concerning its origins and meaning. The song was composed in Rocamadour by a cantor named John of Liège. It was a musical gift dedicated to ...