Arnaut Daniel - Lo ferm voler qu’el cor m’intra

“Lo ferm voler qu’el cor m’intra“, considered to be one of the first known sestinas created by the troubadeur Arnaut Daniel. Arnaut Daniel de Riberac (today Arnaut Danièl) was an Occitan troubadour of the 12th century, praised by Dante as “il miglior fabbro“ (the best craftsman/creator, literally “the best smith“) and called “Grand Master of Love“ by Petrarch. In the 20th century he was lauded by Ezra Pound as the greatest poet to have ever lived in his work The Spirit of Romance (1910). Performed by Thomas Binkley. Thomas Binkley (1932-1995), lutenist and musicologist, began his professional career with the Studio der Fruehen Musik (Early Music Quartet) in Munich, Germany, one of the most influential ensembles ever in the performance of medieval music. His ensemble produced over 50 LP’s devoted to medieval and renaissance music with Electrola, DGG and Telefunken. He contributed articles and reviews to numerous professional journals and collections of essays on topics of performance practice. He held the Edison Award (Amsterdam), the Grand Prix du Disques (Paris), the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis (Baden Baden), and the Dickenson College Arts Award (Pennsylvania). From 1973 to 1977, Binkley taught and performed at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland and upon his return to the U.S., he was visiting professor at Stanford University (1977, 1979). He founded the Early Music Institute in 1979 and acted as director until January, 1995. He died on 28 April 1995 of cancer.