2023 Renaissance Festival Awards Nominee
Best New Album Release
Les Estampies Royales by Larry Dearing is a collection of seven surviving dances from "The King's Manuscript", composed anonymously at the end of the 13th century for the French court of Philip IV. This collection also includes a reconstruction of the fragmented Prime, or "first" Estampie.
Surprisingly complex, these dances wrap the listener in a spell of musical swirls, shifts, and progressions as a series of unique verses and set endings unfold. When taken together, these estampies blend into a virtual suite of similar forms and themes. I've attempted to present this collection in a fairly simple manner in keeping with late 13th century stylings - or at least as best as can be determined.