François Villon's Ballade des pendus: new song & music video

When in 1463 François Villon wrote the Ballade des pendus from his prison cell, he launched a poignant appeal to his fellow human beings. Speaking on behalf of those found guilty by the courts – imprisoned or put to death, he implores his neighbors to have heart and not to condemn them a second time through their contempt and ignorance. With this song, Anika Kildegaard and I relay this call, which is still highly relevant more than five centuries later.

The video also evokes a work dear to Villon: the Danse macabre from the Holy Innocents’ Cemetery in Paris, which reminds us that we are all equal in the face of death, regardless of our education, pecuniary wealth, or skin color.

The song belongs to Jean-François Charles's Missa brevis Abbaye de Thélème.

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