O Rosa Bella

Medlemmarna i trion Northerne Wynd spelar nu tillsammans för första gången men har under de senaste 20 åren medverkat i olika medeltidsensembler, t.ex Ensemble Ferrara och Sequentia. Med vilka de också gjort inspelningar och turnerat runt i Europa, Sydostasien, Japan, Korea, Kanada, Sydamerika, Färöarna och på Island.

Survival of English music from the 15th century is sparse because most of it was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries carried out by Henry VIII.

Although at the time the culture of the English court was French, English music had identity of its own. English composers were renowned and respected on the Continent and influenced the continental composers.

John Bedyngham (? - c 1460) is one of the most important English composers of the era. He is the probable composer of the famous O rosa bella, earlier credited to John Dunstaple (c 1390 - 1453).

Although most of Walter Frye’s (? - 1474) music survives in manuscripts from the continent, his music is stylistically closer to other English composers (like Dunstaple) than to the Burgundian school. His ballade So ys emprentid and rondeau Tout a par moy were copied and arranged to numerous manuscripts.

Also most of Robert Morton’s (c 1440 - after 1749) music survives in sources from the Continent. There is no evidence of him working as musician in England. All of Morton’s surviving music is in French. One of his eight survived rondeaux, Le souvenir de vous me tue, was exceedingly famous and appear in many manuscripts.