I am quite partial to instrumental music rather than vocal music. Most of the time I prefer Classical music to modern popular music There are some types of modern music that I do appreciate, but I feel that I must tell you about this. It is a CD of medi-evil and renaissance music.
This is a type of music that I do quite enjoy, There are song tunes, Dance tunes and Devotional tunes, All that our ancestors would have been familiar with. The Popular Music of the time. You may never have heard of the Artists. The York Waits. These waits were formed in 1978 and perform music form the period 1450-1650. They perform music on original Instruments and travel to a number of shows each year. They have also appeared on Radio Three.
The original Waits were musicians employed by Towns to perform music on important public occasions. Their history goes back to at least 1363 and was only abolished by act of parliament in 1836. In their time they were important people.
Sometimes you can be watching a programme on the TV, It may be News or Current Affairs and the item is about some medieval document or building. You may be aware of the background music, how it has changed to a brassier and rawer type of music.
This is the sort of thing.
This is the original Popular Music, The music of the People and the Court.
The CD has a total playing time of 57'06".I have tried to identify what each type of tune is from the notes with the CD.
It is divided into five sections:- England and the Low Countries:- 1, Quene Note [dance tune] Two soprano shawm & slide trumpet [2'13"] 2, La Spagna [dance tune] Cornet, Alto Shawm, Tenor Shawm, Sackbut, Tabor [2'52"] 3, Mater ora filium [devotional music] Recorders [2'09"] 4, L'Hom arme [French popular song] Sackbut, two alto shawm, cornet & tabor [2'43"] 5, Danse de Cleves [basse dances] Recorder, lute & hurdy-gurdy [1'56"] 6, Le Souvenir [dance] Lute, recorder, Bass crumhorn [2'34"]
France:- 7, Tuba Gallicalis [French military?] Soprano & alto shawms, bousine, percussion [1'44"] 8, Noel Nouvelet [carol] Two Flemish bagpipes [2'23"] 9, Anix bon youre delabonestren [new year tune] Recorders [3'11"] 10, Nous voici gans la ville dit le bourguinon [carol] Two hurdy-gurdies [3'15"] 11, Allez a la fougere [song and dance tune] Two Flemish bagpipes, pipe & tabor, recorder & trumpet [2'25"]
Germany:- 12, In feuers hitz [song tune] Soprano shawm, two alto shawms, tenor shawm & tabor [2'19"] 13, Auf rief huebsches freulein [folk tune] Cornet, alto crumhorn, sackbut, recorder & English bagpipe [2'47"] 14, Der neue bauernschwanz [dance tune] Recorders [1'31"] 15, Die katzen pfote [song tune?] Recorders [1'50"] 16, Ein vrouleen edelvon naturen Soprano & alto shawms & sackbut [1'33"] 17, Das jaegerhorn Cornet, alto shawm & sackbut [1'33"]
Spain:- 22, Bassa con misurias Danza alta [dance tune] Flutes, tambourine & tabor [3'38"] 23, Todos los biennes del mundo Dindirin,Dindirin [court music] Three soprano shawms, tenor shawm, sackbut & percussion [2'342]
The Waits are: 1, Anthony Barton, who plays:- Cornet, Tenor Shawm, Slide Trumpet, Busine, Flemish Bagpipe, Percussion, Tenor Recorder, Tenor Crumhorn, Lute, Harp.
2, Tim Bayley, who plays:- Sackbut, Soprano Shawm, Hurdy-Gurdy, Alto & Tenor Flutes, Tenor Recorder, Alto Crumhorn, Trumpet.
3, James Merryweather, who plays:-Soprano, Alto and Tenor Shawms, English and Flemish Bagpipes, Tenor Crumhorn, Percussion.
4, Ian Richardson, who plays:- Soprano Shawm, Soprano and Alto Recorders, Tenor Flute, Alto Crumhorn, Hurdy-Gurdy, Percussion.
5, Roger Richardson, who plays:- Soprano and Alto Shawms, Sopranino, Soprano, Alto and Basset Recorders, Bass Flute, Bass Crumhorn, Percussion.
Just look at the range of instruments played. Here you have a five piece boy (?) band who do not write their own music, but who can play a wide range of instruments.
Compare that with a modern band. Three guitars and a drummer. Perhaps some keyboard or electronic sounds. All these are natural. I am not knocking modern music( not much), but I cannot see any modern band that can match the range of instruments and music from a 200 year period, with all its different styles. They perform music that could be played in the Halls of Kings and Bishops, and in the street for the commons. Music at this time could be played to accompany a Mass in church and at the local Fair, for entertainment and dancing. Musicians of this period probably were very versatile. They learned by ear and eye. Transposing music from one instrument to another was quite common. Not every town would have the same number of musicians with the same instruments.
We may not be familiar with the sounds produced by these instruments. we still have today the Recorder, Flute and Harp, though the Recorder is more normally associated with children.
Some of these instruments are the forerunners of modern instruments though that does not tell the full story, their tones and scales are slightly different to their modern counterparts.
The English and Flemish bagpipe have a totally different sound to the Scottish bagpipe that you may be familiar with.
The reed instruments have a slightly harsher sound that their descendants today.
The cornet, sackbut, slide trumpet and Busine are the ancestors of the modern Trumpet and Trombone. Valves were unknown at this time, so the tone is softer.
Percussion at this time was Side Drums, tabor and tambourines.
I am not good with the words that can be used to describe the tones and scales of these instruments. I find that they can seem clearer than some of the modern soungs. Some of the reed instruments are harsher as they use a full reed rather than a partial reed. But there is a jauntyness in this music.
I am not a musicologist, so will not give you a lecture on the development of the various instruments which is a fascinating study in itself. This is a period when new instruments were introduced into Europe from The East by returning Crusaders. Musicians experimented with these and finally produced the instruments that we are familiar with today.
What you have here on this disc is the Music of The People and Court, Music that our ancestors would have been familiar with and probably danced to and perhaps also sang along with. It was probably the only music that they heard and then only on some special occasion, so it would be important to them. Courtly music for dancing was very important to impress the Ladies with your prowess in dancing and Romantic Love Ideal. These are the more stately types of dances.
Copies may be found on Amazon.co.uk for £15.30 I got mine for £11.99 They may be slow to deliver while they try to get you a copy as they did for me. Label: Saydisc Catalogue Number: CDSDL364 Released: May 1997 Audio CD Number of Discs:1 ASIN: B0000247UT
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