Love to My Liking

Berkeley Festival and Exhibition

French composer and poet Guillaume de Machaut was one of the leading minds of the Middle Ages. His Messe de Nostre Dame is one of the first multi-movement, large-scale notated compositions to exist in the Western canon and has been called the “genesis of modern music” (Los Angeles Times). This program features Machaut’s magnum opus as well as the secular songs of minstrels and bards from the Middle Ages to create an evening of artistry, revelry, and dance. The Festival continues its decades-long association with Chanticleer, one of SFEMS’ original fiscal affiliates! We are also excited to welcome back Alkemie, which wowed audiences during their 2022–23 SFEMS concert debut.

Love To My Liking

album release concert

LOVE TO MY LIKING is a very special album release concert, in which Alkemie performs 13th-century songs, dances, and motets, some of which have never before been recorded. Like the troubadours in the South, the trouvères of Northern France wrote some of the most captivating vocal music of the 13th century. Their songs of public and private adoration wove together allusions both sacred and secular—creating mystical and spicy meditations on love and longing, punctuated by repeating refrains that recur across songs and texts. 

Love To My Liking

album release concert

LOVE TO MY LIKING is a very special album release concert, in which Alkemie performs 13th-century songs, dances, and motets, some of which have never before been recorded. Like the troubadours in the South, the trouvères of Northern France wrote some of the most captivating vocal music of the 13th century. Their songs of public and private adoration wove together allusions both sacred and secular—creating mystical and spicy meditations on love and longing, punctuated by repeating refrains that recur across songs and texts.