Alfonso X the Wise, king of Castile and León (1221–1284), went down in history as a great patron of learning and art. It is under his reign that the more than 400 songs jointly referred to as Cantigas de Santa Maria were written. They offer an extraordinary glimpse of the medieval cult of Mary, as reflected in music and poetry. The songs have been preserved with music notation in several richly decorated and illustrated codices, one of which contains numerous scenes from tales which are narrated in the cantigas. Another manuscript shows musicians playing various instruments whose reconstructed versions can be heard on our CD. The singers are accompanied here by a medieval fiddle, oud, Romanesque harp, citole, symphonia, recorders, as well as percussion instruments. Some of the compositions on this album have been in the ensemble’s repertoire for years, while others have been specially selected and prepared for this recording, in order to represent the multiplicity of musical and literary forms among the cantigas. Music Ensemble ‘Scandicus’ specialises in medieval, mostly vocal music. Its repertoire comprises both sacred and secular songs from such various collections as the Laudario di Cortona, Cantigas de Santa Maria, and Llibre Vermell. The instruments include medieval fiddle, recorders, Romanesque harp, citole, lute, symphonia, as well as percussion: riq and bendir. The ensemble gives concerts in Poland and abroad. It has taken part in such events as the ‘Salve Regina’ International Sacred Music Festival in Wigry, th the 4 International Martin Agricola Festival in Świebodzin, and the th 4 International Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki Early Music Festival in Bytom.
