This short volume of music is meant as an introduction and it consists of ten arrangements for the classical guitar of medieval songs and religious pieces. Its time scope extents from the 11th to the 14th centuries and some major figures are introduced such as Adam de la Halle and Guillaume de Machaut. Troubadour and religious hymns are represented, as for instance one of the Cantigas to Virgin Mary from the extensive collection of cantigas by Alphonso the Wise, king of Castille and Leon. Another monarch present here for his renown as a trouvère, is Richard the Lionheart, king of England and duke of Normandy and Aquitaine. Two or three arrangements are harmonised in a quasi-medieval organum style as practiced in the Ars Antica period, but most pieces are harmonised according to later styles of Ars Nova or Renaissance, and an effort has been made to keep the general difficulty of the volume within the first five grades of the ABRSM standard. Tablature pages have been added for the benefit of those players who do not read music but have the technical ability to play it, although my suggestion as always is that if anyone is interested in reading music, he should avoid tablatures all together.

Blank pages have been added for placement or omission in order to have left and right hand pages arranged correctly if the music has to be printed on paper, but the volume has been designed as two books in one to be kept in the digital domain if so desired, and to be used on a tablet using a cheap score reading application such as Mobile Sheets etc. The Thematic Index has been added as a means of easy navigation within the volume and it is self-explanatory. MP3 file has been extracted from Sibelius, using the Note Performer play back engine.

Socrates Arvanitakis London 2024

CONTENT 1 Merciful Saviour - Crusader's Hymn 2 Hail Queen Of Heaven – 11th Century Hymn 3 Christ The Lord Has Risen - 12th Century Hymn 4 Chanson Troubadour - Blondel de Nesle 5 En Ceste Note Dirai - Chanson Troubadour 6 Cantiga de la Santa Maria - Alphonso El Sabio 7 Ja Nuns Hons Pri - Richard Coeur de Lion 8 Pettite Brunette, Tu Me Fais Mourir - Chanson Troubadour 9 Come With Me, My Giselle - Adam de la Halle 10 Virelai-Quant Je Suis Mis - Guillaume de Machaut