Alla Francesca
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.
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
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
