Alla Francesca Discography

Alla Francesca was founded in 1989, by members of Ensemble Gilles Binchois. The central members of Alla Francesca are Brigitte Lesne (voice, harp), Emmanuel Bonnardot (voice, fiddle) and Pierre Hamon (winds), and each of the three continues to perform with Ensemble Gilles Binchois as well as their own projects. Lesne directs the female vocal ensemble Discantus, Bonnardot directs the vocal ensemble Obsidienne, while Hamon works as a recorder soloist in a broad range of repertory. As of 2002, Alla Francesca is directed by Hamon alone.

Alla Francesca focuses on the music of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, and works closely with the Center for Medieval Music in Paris. To date, it has recorded exclusively for the Opus 111 label.

Quoting the group's liner note biography: Their repertoire ranges from the art of the troubadours at the end of the eleventh century to the sumptuous polyphonic works of the fifteenth. They perform by turns as soloists and accompanists, recreating all the diversity of this music and offering lively new readings of the different manuscript sources. In the framework of the Centre de Musique Médiévale de Paris, and through their teaching activities there, the members of the ensemble examine these sources in the light of research carried out by musicologists and themselves.

Contact information:
47 rue Bobillot
75013 Paris France
Tel.: 33 (0) 1 45 80 74 49
Fax: 33 (0) 1 45 81 15 14
Email: allafrancesca@wanadoo.fr


Recordings, listed chronologically by recording date:

Francesco Landini and Italian Ars Nova
Alla Francesca
Opus 111 60-9206
Ciconia: Motets, Virelais, Ballate, Madrigals
Alla Francesca & Alta
Opus 111 30-101
Llibre Vermell de Montserrat
w/ Cantigas de Santa Maria
Alla Francesca
Opus 111 30-131
Gautier de Coincy
Les Miracles de Nostre-Dame
Alla Francesca
Opus 111 30-146
Richard Coeur de Lion
Troubadours et trouvères
Alla Francesca
Opus 111 30-170
Beauté parfaite
L'Automne du Moyen Age - Chansons des XIVe et XVe siècles
Alla Francesca
Opus 111 30-173
Armes, Amours
Alla Francesca / Alta
Opus 111 30-221
D'amours loial servant
Chansons d'amour françaises et italiennes des XIVe et XVe siècles
Gérard Lesne / Alla Francesca
Virgin Veritas 45357
Le Roman de la Rose
Alla Francesca
Opus 111 30-303
Cantigas de Santa Maria
Alla Francesca
Opus 111 30-308
Sur la terre comme au ciel
Un jardin au Moyen-Âge
Discantus - Brigitte Lesne / Alla Francesca - Pierre Hamon
Jade 198 796
Istanpitta
Musiques de fête à la cour des Visconti en Italie à la fin du XIVe siècle
Pierre Hamon / Carlo Rizzo / Alla Francesca
Opus 111 30-325
Tristan et Yseut
Mélodies celtiques, France 13e siècle
Alla Francesca - Brigitte Lesne & Pierre Hamon
Zig-Zag Territoires 051002
Mediterranea
Alla francesca
Zig-Zag Territoires 090402
Thibaut de Champagne
Le Chansonnier du Roi
Alla Francesca - Brigitte Lesne
Aeon 1221
Trobar & Joglar
Alla Francesca
Agogique 017
Juifs et Trouvères
Chansons juives du XIIIè siècle en ancien français et hébreu
Alla Francesca
Buda Musique 860261
Variations amoureuses
French love Songs from the 13th Century
Alla Francesca - Brigitte Lesne
Paraty 220 190

Early solo recordings by the principal performers....

Lucente Stella
Moyen Age - XXe siècle
Pierre Hamon
Opus 111 30-122
Ave Eva
Chansons de femmes, XIIe et XIIIe siècles
Brigitte Lesne
Opus 111 30-134
Machaut: Ay mi!
Lais et virelais
Emmanuel Bonnardot
Opus 111 30-171

For discographies of Discantus and Obsidienne, see the respective recording links which indicate this information.

And another closely related release:

Le Chansonnier de Bayeux
French Songs from the Early Renaissance
Brigitte Lesne & Pierre Boragno
Paraty 221 290

To Early Music FAQ

Todd M. McComb