medieval minstrels
Trouvere are medieval musicians Paul Leigh and Gill Page
We have been playing music together for over twenty years, and our particular love is for the music of the earlier middle ages - from before the Norman conquest through to the time of the crusades. We enjoy rediscovering, recreating and re-interpreting the magnificent music of these times, based on thorough historical research alongside our musical experience and understanding. We are also the directors of Medieval Music in the Dales - the UK's only festival of medieval music.
The rich interweaving of strings is perhaps our signature sound, played on the gittern and harp. But we have an amazing array of instruments, and also love to combine flutes and harp, bagpipe and hurdy-gurdy, whistles and drums... We regularly work with singer Richard de Winter.
We like to give a medieval context to our performances and to that end we often perform in authentic clothes of the period - another of Gill’s enthusiasms!
Trouvere are based in North Yorkshire, UK.
As we delve into 2026, we are continuing to work on our 'Ludus Danielis' project. If you don't know about this medieval source already, you have certainly been missing out! This church play, likely from the late twelfth century and telling two of the Old Testament stories about the prophet Daniel, is stuffed full of wonderful tunes to accompany the stories of The Writing on the Wall and Daniel In The Lions' Den. We have enjoyed playing many of these tunes for some years now, and are now working on our own edition of the music for concert performance, and for recording as a new album over the course of the coming year. We are delighted to be working on this project with some outstanding musicians - Richard de Winter (of course!), his brother David de Winter, singer Martin Lamb and the awesomely talented Stef Conner and Juliet Primrose. Recently, we got all the singers together and had an amazing time recording choral pieces. We aim to have the CD out at the end of the year.
You can support us on this and other projects through our Buy Me a Coffee page.
The other main focus of our work over the coming year is our Music of the Conquest project. What with the Bayeux Tapestry returning to England in 2026, we are inspired to put together a programme of music of the Saxons and Normans. People often think there's not too much surviving from this early, but we have uncovered a rich seam of gorgeous tunes. If you are interested in booking Trouvere for this or any other of our programmes, get in touch!
The easiest way to listen to our music is on streaming services, but you can also buy downloads on Bandcamp or CDs from our Etsy Shop. Here are all the links!
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CALENDAR
All the events listed here are public events, although these days many are ticketed and you might need to contact the relevant organisation in advance. It would be great to see you!
Public events for 2026
7th-10th April - Medieval Music, Alnwick Castle
9th-10th May - Music of the Conquest, Chepstow Castle
5th-6th June - Wandering Minstrels at Rochdale Medieval Fayre, Rochdale Town Hall Quarter
14th June - Medieval Music, Richmond MayFest Open Garden
21st-23rd July - Twenty Instruments in Twenty Minutes, Alnwick Castle
8th-11th August - Twenty Instruments in Twenty Minutes, Alnwick Castle
15th-16th August - Twenty Instruments in Twenty Minutes, Murton Park History Festival
30th August (to be confirmed) Music of the Abbey, Easby Abbey, Richmond
5th September - Medieval Music, Furness Abbey Medieval Fair
11th-13th September - Medieval Music in the Dales
21st September - Twenty Instruments in Forty Minutes for Swale WI, Richmond Town Hall
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