Spanish manuscript from the 14th century containing a collection of pilgrim songs. Its name means "Red Book of Montserrat", so called because of the colour of its cover and the fact that it was found in the Benedictine monastery of Montserrat (Catalonia, Spain).
The words for the songs were written by the monks in Latin and Catalonian. Some of the songs were composed by them as well, and the rest were simply adaptations of the secular folk music of the time, with the original earthy lyrics changed into suitably religious ones. The resulting collection is varied in style: elements of plainchant, Ars Nova polyphony and energetic folk dances can be found.
There are several recordings of the Libre Vermell available on CD. The one directed by Jordi Savall (Virgin Veritas 61174) is perhaps the most acknowledged. It was recorded in 1978 and includes the following tracks:
- O Virgo splendens
- Stella splendens
- Laudemus virginem
- Los set goytsa
- Splendens ceptigera
- Polorum regina
- Cuncti simus concanentes
- Mariam matrem virginem
- Imperayritz de la ciutat joyosa
- Ad mortem festinamus
- O Virgo splendens