Glossa: GCDP32103

Poissance d'amours

Mystics, monks and minstrels in 13th-century Brabant

Recorded at the Dominican Church of Leuven (Belgium), in January 2008

Björn Schmelzer and Graindelavoix's third recording for Glossa features the flourishing economic and cultural environs of 13th-century Brabant: covering the areas of Brussels, Antwerp and the present day Belgian provinces of Vlaams and Walloon Brabant as well as Noord-Brabant in The Netherlands.
An integral part of this new project - uniting three broad groups active in Brabant, mystics, monks and minstrels - is where it was recorded: the Dominican Church in Leuven, where Schmelzer considers much of this music may have been performed. Constructed following the model of the Sainte Chapelle in Paris, the church retains an acoustic unchanged by the passing of time and provides a fascinating musical account of an important region in the 13th century, hitherto neglected on record.