Ai Vist Lo Lop - Medieval Occitan Song

Arrangement by Farya Faraji, vocals by Ila Rodriguez, Aurora Aguilar and Farya Faraji. This is a reworking of a version I had initially uploaded in 2021; the reworking introduced more historically accurate performance practices based on more thorough research. This is a historically informed rendition of an old medieval song from Occitania, today’s southern France where the Occitan language was historically predominant. It’s widely believed that this song’s origin and its melody may have roots in liturgical music that was repurposed in a comedic and parodic manner to fit the reality of the pastoral commoners. The arrangement is historically informed and uses the known features of Medieval European music, namely the fact that the song is primarily monophonic in nature, driven by a constant drone on the tonic provided by the hurdy-gurdy, and the harmony used is accurate to the time period, taking the form of transposition to consecutive parallel fifths throughout the melody, as well as a drone harmony consisting solely of the perfect fifth. Both these forms of harmony are very much alien to today’s Western triadic and tonal harmony, but were the norm from the 800’s to the 1300’s, when harmony began to take on a more polyphonic shape that would soon crystallise into today’s tonal harmony of Western music. The instrumentation consists of a hurdy-gurdy, a flute, lute, and cittern, with drums serving as percussions. Lyrics in Medieval Occitan: Ai vist lo lop, lo rainard, la lèbreAi vist lo lop, lo rainard dançarTotei tres fasián lo torn de l’aubreAi vist lo lop, lo rainard, la lèbreTotei tres fasián lo torn de l’aubreFasián lo torn dau boisson í trimam tota l’annadaPer se ganhar quauquei sòusRèn que dins una mesadaAi vist lo lop, lo rainal, la lèbreNos i fotèm tot pel cuolAi vist lo lèbre, lo rainal, lo lop. English translation: I saw the wolf, the fox, the hare,I saw the wolf, the fox three were circling round the treeI saw the wolf, the fox, the hare,All three were circling round the tree,They were circling round the sprouting we slave away all the year roundSo we can earn a few coinsAnd just in a month’s timeI saw the wolf, the fox, the hare,We shove it all in our asses,I saw the hare, the fox, the wolf.