Op.14 'Echoes From the Middle Ages' is a short, 5-movement work I wrote for a High School choir in Wiesbaden, West Germany (US Military Community) for use in their 'Renaissance Festival' in Spring 1987.
I searched some volumes of Medieval poetry in the USAF library at Lindsey Air Station but could not find texts matching exactly what I wanted to portray - so I wrote my own text. The sentiments expressed in each movement are accurate depictions of various facets of Medieval European life. (The 'carpe diem' sentiment in movement 4 is definitely NOT something I personally believe, but it is accurate for 14th-century France in the decades following the outbreak of the Black Death.)
The HS choir performed movements 3 and 4, only. The poor conductor just could not 'feel' the 5/4 rhythm in movement 4, although the student singers did.
Files are accessible below.
Echoes from the Middle Ages - Cantata (Op.14)