Alkemie opens our 13th season with album release shows for “A Worthy Mirror.” This project represents a time-traveling dialogue with the 12th-century trobairitz—the feminine counterpart of the poet-composers known as troubadours. Together with guest artist Amanda Gookin of Forward Music Project, we commissioned 8 female and non-binary composers to respond to and converse with the 36 extant trobairitz texts (of which we only have music for one). This body of lyric poetry represents a large group of historically female and anonymous femme voices in the literary tradition. Witty, ironic, heartbreaking, and erotic—these texts present a mirror to reflect upon what feels foreign about the past and what feels familiar, what is the role of gender and self in relationships, and how do we make space for the multiplicities of identity, both in the 12th century and today.
With
Tracy Cowart (voice, harps)
Ben Matus (voice recorders, dulcian, bagpipes)
David McCormick (vielle)
Sian Ricketts (voice, recorders, douçaines)
Niccolo Seligmann (vielle, psaltery, scheitholt, viola da gamba, triangle)
Ellie Sutherland (voice)
and guest artist
Amanda Gookin, cello
The program will be performed live in Brooklyn on November 5, 2026 at the Urbane Arts Club at 7:00 p.m.; and in Manhattan on November 6, 2026 at All Saints Episcopal Church. Both concerts will be followed by receptions with the artists. Tickets are $15-$50. For tickets and more information, please visit alkemie.org/a-worthy-mirror-album.
This album will be released on the New Focus label on November 6, 2026. Pre-order the album here.
