Betrayed by the French government and church, Joan of Arc was executed by the English against whom she had led troops, but was almost immediately exonerated as a martyr and saint.  This week on Harmonia we explore music from her lifetime and review a new release of music by Francois D'Agincour performed by Rebecca Pechefsky.

Joan of Arc's life spanned from ca. 1413-1431.  She lead the French army to several victories before she was executed at the age of 19.  Popular music of the early 15th century in Northeastern France included polyphonic folk tunes, lively saltarelli and French motets.  Examples of all three can be found on the following CDs: "Polyphonics," by the vocal ensemble Zorgina, "The World of Early Music: From the Middle Ages to the Dawn of Enlightenment" featuring the Unicorn Ensemble, and  "Lancaster and Valois: French and English Music, 1350-1420" by Gothic Voices.

Also, the tune"L'homme armé," whose lyrics of warning may refer to St. Michael the Archangel, one of Joan's inspirational voices, is speculated to have been written by Antoine Busnoys.  He likely wrote this piece while in Poitiers, where Joan of Arc was questioned by theologians before leading an army to the aid of Orléans.  Capella Alamire performs his motet on the Titanic release entitled "Motets by Busnoys, Josquin and Gombert."

Joan's nickname was "Jehanne la Pucelle."  Pucelle is a French word with the literal meaning of "virgin," but often this word is used to describe a virgin who will soon cease to be pure.  After Joan's martyrdom, a more appropriate title may have been "vierge," meaning "constant virgin," a term used when speaking of the Virgin Mary.  The Clerk's Group performs Jehan Ockeghem's motet entitled "Permanente vierge" on their CD release entitled "Missa Au travail suis, Ockeghem."

King Henry V invaded Normandy in the early 15th century, instigating the war in which Joan would become heroine and martyr.  Henry also composed music, which appears in The Old Hall Manuscript, compiled around the time of Joan's birth.  The Hilliard Ensemble released a recording of the manuscript entitled, appropriately, "The Old Hall Manuscript."

As a punctuation to this week's program, we review a new CD released on the Quill Classics label.  Harpsichordist Rebecca Pechefsky performs works by composer Francois D'Agincourt.  While D'Agincourt lived at the turn of the 18th century, he was from Rouen, France, not too far from Orléans, where Joan of Arc bravely lead the English troops.