The famous Lamento di Tristano and La Rotta dance from the 14th Century Tuscan Manuscript in the British Library Add MS 29987. Based on the medieval tale of courtly love about Tristan and Isolde (Iseult) that has been changed and retold for hundreds of years. Wagner used it in the 19th Century for an opera and even James Franco had a go in the 21st century.

If it teaches that we are still fascinated by the same love stories, the manuscript teaches that people are still fallible; notice how in the third line the scribe runs out of space and has to cram a few more notes into the margin! He was clearly having a bad day as he also forgot to write in the secunda pars section of the Rotta even though the endings are there. This version, found in Timothy McGee's book, was reconstructed by Frederick Crane in the 1970s.

Performed by Daniel Shoskes on a 5 course gittern built by George Stevens.
#medieval #medievalmusic

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