A Bilingual Edition of the Love Songs of Bernart De Ventadorn in Occitan and English

This work contains the 43 Old Occitan texts of the extant works of 12th century troubador Bernart de Ventadorn, each with a poetic translation, a literal translation, and notes and commentary. It also includes musical transcriptions of the 18 melodies extant, including 5 with singable translations.

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Bernart praised love above all else in his music and poetry, and his passion ran deeply through his work. Apter (English, Central Michigan U.) captures this sincerity and enthusiasm while placing it firmly in its historical context, through multiple translations and commentary throughout the text. After a lengthy introduction in which she provides historical background both of Bernart and the trobador phenomenon, she translates each song in both poetical and literal forms to allow all of the meanings of Bernart's work to shine through, and she includes musical arrangements that would satisfy even a 12th-century trobador.