Mignarda

Mignonne allons voir si la rose from Doulce mémoire by Mignarda The poetry for this mesmerizing air is by Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585), from his Ode à Cassandre. Our source for the music is Recueil de chansons en forme de voix de ville by Jehan Chardavoine (1576), where it appears as a single unharmonized melody line. Our unique version of the air was made early in our partnership (circa 2004) when we were assembling a program of French airs de cour for our first CD. At the time, we were living in a log cabin without electricity in a remote area of the Siskiyou Mountains. Tapping into our understanding of historical performance practice and our practical musical skills, an arrangement emerged from singing and playing what was in our hearts and fingers when it was otherwise too dark to see written music. It took one quiet candlelit evening to confirm that musicians of 400 years ago would have taken the same informed practical approach in harmonizing a melody as musicians of today.