Medieval Music Days 2026 - The Codex Buranus and the Minnesänger

MEDIEVAL MUSIC DAYS Oct 16 & 17 : The Codex Buranus and the Minnesänger

The “Carmina Burana” was made famous by Carol Orff’s 1930’s masterpiece setting 24 poems from an extraordinary early 13th-century collection. Today scholars know it as the Codex Buranus, a rather unique medieval manuscript of over 200 works mostly in Latin, but many of which also have sections in vernacular languages, mostly Middle High German. This includes several religious plays and shorter sacred works, while the majority are on a variety of secular themes, including politics, morality, satire, love (both courtly and erotic) and the occasional drinking song. The works were clearly all meant to be performed, but musical notation is included for only about one quarter of them. Most of the repertoire is monophonic, but several works for two and three voices are included, and it is likely that some of the pieces without extant musical notation were also sung polyphonically. 

The exact origins of the Codex remain unclear, but it was likely produced in South Tyrol (today in Western Austria/North-Eastern Italy). As to the authors/composers, most remain anonymous; although much has been made in the public imagination of so-called goliards, vagabond students or de-frocked clerics, this theory has mostly been debunked by a huge corpus of research in recent decades which has emphasized the great significance and complexity of the Codex. We dedicate the 2026 edition of our Medieval Music Days in part to this fascinating and rich manuscript. As the Codex Buranus contains some of the earliest notation for German-language poetry, our other theme this year will be the repertoire of the minnesänger. This group of poet-composers were the German-speaking corollary of the troubadours of 12th-13th-century Occitania. Though the minnesänger were greatly influenced by the troubadours’ courtly love poetry, the German repertoire had its own trajectory and distinctive poetic and musical style which continued to evolve into the early Renaissance. This important repertoire has been largely absent from the music scene in Québec, and we are excited to finally introduce some of it to our audiences and workshop participants this year.

An immersive weekend in the fascinating musical world of long ago! Concerts and workshops, led by passionate and renowned musicians, gifted in transmitting the breadth of their expertise with generosity and enthusiasm. An experience for music-lovers and musicians and singers of all levels, for those who wish to participate actively or simply to listen and discover the beauty and lively spirit of medieval music.

Friday October 16, 7:30 PM -- Concert with ensemble Reverdies Montréal: (Rebecca Bain, voice & vielle; Femke Bergsma, flutes & vielle; Isabelle Douailly-Backman, vielles & rebec; Bruno Cognyl-Fournier, lute, gittern; Len Torrie, voice & citole; Leah Weitzner, voice & vielle)

Saturday October 17 - 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM -- Workshop for singers and instrumentalists of all levels on the music of the Codex Buranus.

Saturday October 17 - 5:30 PM -- Concert of music from the Codex Buranus with McGill's Schola Cantorum (Alice Boissinot Guastavino, Len Crino, Noah Gabriel, Michael Christopher)

Saturday October 17 - 7:00 PM -- Banquet, featuring medieval recipes. Places are limited, please book early. (The meal will contain gluten, nuts and certain spices. Please contact us to request a vegetarian option.) The banquet will be followed by a Medieval jam session and dancing.

Sunday October 18 - 2-4:30 pm - venue tbd -- Masterclass for student and professional musicians. Public auditors will be welcome (tickets $10, sold at the door). More info on masterclass here.