RICHARD the LIONHEART: Ja nus hons pris (Mezzo soprano & Gothic harp duet)

Lionheart! With a nickname like that, it seems you would hardly need any other claim to fame, such is the power of that honorific title to evoke awe. But Richard I, king of England at the end of the 12th century, is a legendary character for others reasons as well. A particular event in his life gave rise to the idiom "king's ransom", still in use today over 800 years later. The same incident also motivated the poet-king (what an outrageous idea today!) to compose the song in this video. Returning from a crusade in year 1192, Richard was captured by his adversaries, kept prisoner and held for ransom until 1194. In captivity the king wrote Ja nus hons pris, in which he expresses his bitterness and disappointment in his situation and his friends and family, who he felt had abandoned him. In their defense, it must be said that the ransom sum truly was astronomical, and that in the end it was collected and paid in full. Ja nus hons pris has achieved the unlikely feat of remaining popular, probably for several reasons: the voice it gives to universal human feelings of resentment and abandonment; the plaintive melody, seeming familiar to us with its folk music charm; and the archetype of a hero-king it is attributed to.

Performed by Sanna Kola, mezzo soprano & Anneliina Rif, gothic harp.