Medieval - Renaissance Music

Hello all!

The last year I've been very interested in Medieval and Renaissance music. It's a period of music that in my opinion has not received much exposure (at least here in Greece), but is very beautiful and interesting. Even though the medieval and the renaissance period were times where people lived in great difficulty, I personally fail to see that reflected in their music; at least not in the level it should be.

As I've said only recently have I started listening to this music, but so far Hildegard von Bingen (1098 - 1179) is my favourite medieval composer and among my favourite composers in general (I urge you to google her name. She was a very interesting figure of the medieval period). I also like among others Giovanni Palestrina (1525 - 1596), Michael Praetorius (1571 - 1621), Thomas Tallis (1505 - 1585) and Erasmus Widmann (1572 - 1634) from the Renaissance period.

Ordo Virtutum is among my favourite works of Hildegard. I tried to find a good interpretation in youtube.com, but I didn't find anything satisfactory. I'll post anyway a video of the closing of this morality play (the earliest one by more than a century according to Wikipedia. Composed c. 1151)

Hildegard von Bingen - Ordo Virtutum

Spem in Alium by Thomas Tallis is another piece I love. It's truly magnificent!

Thomas Tallis - Spem in Alium

And lastly a video of a renaissance consort performing.

Two dances from Il Ballarino (1581)

I'd be very interested to hear what you think of early music before the baroque period and possibly hear any music examples you might have found on the Internet.

Alexandros

One of my life's great joys is hearing and performing early music like this. As a singer, I've made Renaissance liturgical music and Gregorian Chant among my specialties. I still couldn't compose a convincing piece of music in a Medieval or Renaissance style, though - that takes a special understanding I don't possess.

Thanks especially for the link to the Tallis. I've wanted to hear Spem in alium since I first heard of it many years ago, and now I have. What else could I possibly say? Magnificent doesn't begin to cover it.

I also like singing that kind of music. I've been doing some of the melodies of the "Red book of Montserrat" (I am not very advanced in singing). I especially like "Stella Splendens in Monte". By the way, the Red Book of Montserrat (Llibre Vermell de Montserrat) was a collection of popular medieval melodies the monks of the monastery of Montserrat compiled changing the lyrics so that the pilgrims could sing them during their stay at the monastery. I couldn't find a good interpretation in youtube.com, but here's one anyway:

Stella Splendens in Monte

Alexandros

Originally Posted by Alexander

Even though the medieval and the renaissance period were times where people lived in great difficulty, I personally fail to see that reflected in their music; at least not in the level it should be.

I have my own personal theory about that.
I think that most of the music we refer to as Renaissance and Medieval music is just the 'noble' kind of music. The kind of music that the church and nobles liked to listen to.

I would bet that the music the commons played was much more graphic and descriptive of their horrible ways of living.

Yes, that idea crossed my mind as well the other day, when I was watching some videos with renaissance music and all the dancers were dressed in fine clothes, something that most people wouldn't be able to afford then. Perhaps the following music is more representative of the music common people played and heard. Sounds a lot like music that could be heard in street festivals or taverns.

Medieval Music

Alexandros

Yep, that probably hits it on the head, Alexandros. There was invariably a huge gulf between what was heard in the cathedrals and courts, and what the people routinely played and listened to.

I find myself wondering how much of "the people's music" from those days has been lost because no one bothered to write it down. The vast majority, probably. Some medieval and renaissance music comes down to us now as traditional tunes, but in many cases they only barely resemble their original form; rather like the children's game "telephone," the memory of a traditional tune is often distorted by the faulty memories of successive generations.

Yes, I guess most of it is lost, but I do believe musicologists are still discovering "new" music in old and forgotten manuscripts scattered in the libraries of Europe.

Here is the third mode melody of Thomas Tallis for Archbishop Parker's psalter. In my opinion the most beautiful melody ever written (at least the most beautiful I've ever heard). Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis (my most favourite piece) is based on this this psalm chant tune.

Third Mode Melody

Alexandros

That Tallis tune never fails to give me gooseflesh. What amazes me about it is its fearless simplicity and straightforwardness, which in my view lends it much of its beauty.

Yes, I guess most of it is lost, but I do believe musicologists are still discovering "new" music in old and forgotten manuscripts scattered in the libraries of Europe.

That's something I've always wanted to do - go digging around in European libraries for unknown music and publishing it. They don't let just anybody in such places to do that, though, and I suppose that's for the best.

That Tallis tune never fails to give me gooseflesh. What amazes me about it is its fearless simplicity and straightforwardness, which in my view lends it much of its beauty.

Yes, I agree. I also think that its beauty owes much to the mode it is written in which is the phrygian. That F and D natural change completely the harmonic texture.

That's something I've always wanted to do - go digging around in European libraries for unknown music and publishing it. They don't let just anybody in such places to do that, though, and I suppose that's for the best.

Indeed. While I was studying musicology (which wasn't for too long) our teacher of old music notation told us that even for him wasn't easy to be given permission to examine old manuscripts at the Vatican library. They all are an invaluable treasure of human culture and civilization and they have very strict rules concerning who can examine them and who can't (he had told us what he was going through in order to be given permission, but I don't remember).

Alexandros

If only they could make facsimiles available, maybe even online. But it would take an army of archivists several lifetimes to accomplish that task at the Vatican. Still, if you think about it, most of that stuff never sees the light of day, and will disintegrate to dust eventually without ever being of any use to anyone. Seems pointless.