CRUS OCELLE MEUM VELLE, 11th century love song from Northern Italy ∾ Murmur Mori (medieval music)

A melody and profane lyrics from 1000 years ago, contained in a single manuscript from Northern Italy composed between Lodi and Novara. The musical notation above the Middle Latin text of manuscript is semidiastematic and the pitch of the note F is indicated. Ours is the first complete recording of this song. Under green foliage filtering the light of the morning sun, or perhaps within the walls of a cold and calm 11th century scriptorium, an anonymous hand wrote the carmen amatorium “Crus ocelle meum velle”, a love lyric that is almost hermetic in its language rich in allusions and esotericism: a sweet succession of melancholic and marvelous images blooming heavily in their innocent desperation, those who listen to the verses are invited to love before losing youth’s bloom and rotting, and the betrayed faith is compared to a brutally cut oak which, even if replanted, is no longer going to generate new leaves. Lyrics and Music: BAV, , second half of the 11th century,