Reis Glorios: The Morning After, Courtly Love and the Walk of Shame

Album: Music of the Middle Ages, Vol. 1: Troubadour and Trouvere Songs
Track: "Reis Glorios" (Track #1)
Composer: Giraut de Bornelh
Instruments: 1 voice, 1 viol
Musical Form: Troubadour song
Year: ~1200

In Troubadour Shmoubadour, I explained my feelings about bastardized versions of medieval troubadour music and how they were ruining our culture... or something like that. In Music of the Middle Ages, Vol. 1, the performers duck my wrath with their stripped-down renditions of ancient chansons. In this volume, they truly capture the romantic aesthetic inherent in the music and poetry of troubadours, accompanying the vocalist with a single stringed instrument (a viol) that may or may not have resembled the instruments used by the troubadours of the time. Troubadour music is mostly about courtly love; that is, rich people comitting adultery. Despite the popular myth of the troubadour strapping an instrument to his back and traveling from town to town, troubadours were themselves mostly rich people, working in the courts of kings and lords. The myth is a more accurate description of the "jongleurs", who were essentially poor one-man cover bands and were often the subject of scorn and ridicule in troubadour poetry.

The author of "Reis Glorios", Giraut de Bornelh, actually began his life poor, but developed a reputation as the "Master of Troubadours" and was especially renowned for his ability to craft beautiful melodies to surround his poetry. Only four melodies survive, including that for "Reis Glorios." This song describes the coming of morning for a pair of adulterers who have just spent the night together. Presumably one or the other is preparing to take the walk of shame to their respective dwelling and isn't really looking forward to it. Although I can't really blame them, I'm glad that their infidelity was captured in song, as this really is a beautiful piece worthy of a listen. Troubadour music is all monophonic and tends to be very repetitive if you don't understand what they're singing about, but this one stands well on its own.

External Links: YouTube