Songs from the Mayflower with Ménestrel

Ménestrel is a Canadian early music duo mixing ancient repertoire with Canadian oral folk traditions. Their sound is grounded in historical practice, yet their sensibility is disarmingly modern, shaped by the emotional clarity and immediacy of folk and popular styles. This concert features folksongs collected by Helen Creighton, Canada’s “First Lady of Folklore,” who amassed over 4,000 songs from across the Canadian Maritimes. Hear music from traditions present in Canada in the 17th and early 18th centuries, including “The Sea Captain,” “Fear a Bhata,” “She’s like the Swallow” and the Quebec traditional song “À la Claire Fontaine”—a musical snapshot of the melodies and rhythms emblematic of Eastern Canada.