Medieval Christians and Pagans Mix

More music from the less mainstream end of our music collection....from the British bardic tradition of Robin Williamson, the traditional Yugoslavian and Bulgarian tunes from L'Ham de Foc, to Kemper Crabbs' setting of Praises in the Old Tongue, the oldest piece of writing in the English language (written by an Anglo-Saxon Monk named Caedmon in the late 7th century). Nu Alrest by Radio Tarifa has long been a favourite but here it's paired with Palästinalied by Ensemble Renaissance, a rendering of the original by Walther von der Vogelweide, a medieval German poet. Palästinalied was written in connection with the Fifth Crusade (1217-1221). Although it is a political-religious propaganda song describing a crusade into the Holy Land, it is atypical for a song of this kind in that it also recognises the claim of all Abrahamic religions to the Holy Land, although finally asserting that the Christian cause is the 'right one' in the last strophe.

We hope you like this mix!