Join us in 13th-century France as we accompany our fictitious knight/narrator on his journeys throughout the countryside. He encounters fair maidens and lots of colorful characters planning fetes with plenty of food, drink, music, and dancing. One of our central characters, Guiot, is a working musician who hopes to be making lots of money …
Witness milestones in music history by touring precious books of handwritten music since the Middle Ages. This workshop balances exposure to the genres and styles of traditional plainchant of Western Europe with a survey of issues in Renaissance vocal polyphony through the lens of primary musical sources. The six synchronous sessions feature the study of …
What instruments were used in medieval music? Who played the instruments? What was their repertoire? These are questions we’ll endeavor to answer, plus we’ll play medieval instrumental music using vocal and instrumental sources and explore different ways to craft accompaniments for vocal and instrumental pieces. The class includes the Introduction to Medieval Modes on June …
The medieval modes are the theoretical foundation of music of the time, and a basic understanding of the modes and how they contribute to the structure of the music will give us the foundational tools for creating arrangements of the vocal and instrumental works in the rest of the classes.
The Cantigas de Santa Maria is a 13th century collection of over 400 Galician-Portuguese songs composed at the court of Alfonso X (“El Sabio”), king of Castile and Leon. Most of the songs recount miracles performed by the Virgin Mary; every 10th song is a hymn in her praise. We probably won’t get through all …
Peter Maund: Medieval Miracles and Songs of Praise—Cantigas de Santa Maria (2 of 3) Read More »