From the Outer Spheres to the Inner Senses: Finding Voices in Medieval Song

This collaborative event – part lecture, part concert – by medieval literary scholar Sarah Kay and early music ensemble Concordian Dawn, under director Christopher Preston Thompson, draws on the experimental book Medieval Song from Aristotle to Opera (Kay) and its companion website of recordings (dir. Thompson). Together they find the sounds of medieval song in the least expected places: stars, the dawn light, the touch of a hand, beasts’ breath, and wild imaginings. The songs on their program range from the earliest alba to Machaut but their voices sound from the outer spheres to the inner senses.