

MEDIEVAL MUSIC & INSTRUMENTS

	Q HERALDRY HELM CREST SHIELD~CHARGES ORDINARIES MANTLE~SUPPORTS KIBLER
	Bagpipe Harp Kortholt Lizard Lute Crumhorn Drums Hurdy-Gurdy Pipe and Tabor Hirtenschalmei Zink BCE TOP

		MIDI FILES OF MEDIEVAL MUSIC
		Medieval Banquet Three Ravens Village Music of Bulgaria Medieval Dance Gervaise: Bransle Strayaway Child Die Katzen Adtesus Medieval Dance 2 Renaissance Faire Carolans Draught The Fairy Woods Something in the Cave	Guiraut de Borneill 900s French Kalenda maya 1100s French Chanson D'amour 1200s French Adam de la Halle 1240 lute 1200s Polish war song of knights Isorhythmic motet early 1300s Salterello 1300s jumping dance Tandernaken c.1486 Senfl-German Attdnusui, 1500s French Monteverdi Claudio 6 flute pieces of the Renaissance Vivaldi Cminor concerto recorder Cantata JS Bach BWV 106 2 flutes
		John Dowland (1563 – 1626) English composer, singer, and lutenist

		Tell Me True Love Were Every Thought	Up Merry Mates Galliard to Lachrimae

	MIDI FILES: To listen, Left click on song title and choose "open" or your media player might automatically come up and begin playing. To download, Right click on song title, choose "save target as", and save to your designated folder. Instrument selection and playback sound quality are generated by and depend on your computer settings and speakers. Names of songs, composers, and dates, if available, are the name of each MIDI file. MEDIEVAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS PHOTOS AND WAVE FILES: replicas of medieval instruments demonstrated by Musica Antiqua, a performing ensemble at Iowa State University. See photos of reconstructed instruments and listen to wave files of actual sounds of these instruments. SEE THE OLDEST MUSICAL INSTRUMENT FOUND - 67,000 BCE: way older than medieval ... in the Alps, of course. HEAR THE OLDEST SONG FOUND - WRITTEN IN 138 BCE: yes, a song composed and written in a sophisticated scoring language, chiseled into a stone ... and endured. HERALDRY LINKS includes numerous links to medieval and Renaissance MIDI music collections.

	Medieval Music Medieval music was an integral part of everyday life for the people of that time period. Music of the Middle Ages was especially popular during times of celebration and festivities. Music was often played during holidays and special parties. During weddings and birthdays, the music was especially uplifting. For weddings and on Valentine's Day, lovers' music was played that was sure to evoke a romantic atmosphere. This type of music was called "chivaree." The musicians would play buoyant and cheery music with crescendos. Many a different Medieval music instrument was played, including, recorders, horns, trumpets, whistles, bells, and drums. On Mayday, dancers would dance to specially-prepared, high-pitched music. It was believed that by doing so, the hibernating spirits would be awakened and forewarned that spring had arrived. People during the Middle Ages also ate to the sound of traditional music during and between meal courses. They would also at times play from a specially-built platform or stage at the end of the Great Hall. It was believed in those days that medieval music was not only delightful to the ears, but it also helped in the digestion of food, hence the reason for music at mealtimes. Troubadours Troubadour is the generic term for poets and minstrels who flourished in southern France and in Northern Italy from the 11th through the 13th centuries. Called trouveres in northern France and meistersingers in Germany, these artists elevated storytelling as an art, and often entertained huge crowds at fairs, weddings and other medieval celebrations. During this time, works from medieval monks had become tired. The public wasn't as interested in hymns, chronicles and treatises penned in medieval Latin. These new stories were sang, while music was played on strange, new musical instruments. Verses became quite complex in style and ranged in topics from satire, love, and politics, to debates, laments and spinning songs. French lords wanted to hear tales of bravery about their own countrymen, and ladies were being swept away with epic love poems, as they practiced the rituals of Courtly Love. Professional singers who performed work penned by a troubadour were called jongleurs, and they might be accompanied by ioculators (jesters) and ystriones (actors). Minstrels were found in every social class, with wealthy or noble troubadours traveling like royalty from town to town.


	MEDIEVAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

	Bagpipe Harp Kortholt Lizard Lute Crumhorn Drums Hurdy-Gurdy Pipe and Tabor Hirtenschalmei Zink BCE TOP
		Bagpipe The origins of the bagpipe can be traced back to the most ancient civilizations. The bagpipe probably originated as a rustic instrument in many cultures because a herdsman had the necessary materials at hand: a goat or sheep skin and a reed pipe. Through Celtic migration it was introduced to Persia and India, and subsequently to Greece and Rome. In fact, a Roman historian of the first century wrote that the Emperor Nero knew how to play the pipe with his mouth and the bag thrust under his arm. During the Middle Ages the bagpipe was heard and appreciated by all levels of society. CLICK HERE Listen to bagpipe wav file

	Bagpipe Harp Kortholt Lizard Lute Crumhorn Drums Hurdy-Gurdy Pipe and Tabor Hirtenschalmei Zink BCE TOP
		Harp The harp is one of the most ancient types of stringed instruments. It was important in pre-Christian cultures and still survives today in many forms all over the world. Harps use open strings exclusively, thus the range of each is determined by the number of strings. In the Middle Ages strings were made from twisted animal gut (usually from sheep), although horse hair and even silk were used as well. Since tuning was diatonic, only one mode could be used at a time. Due to the lack of a notation system, little is known about how the harp was used, how it accompanied troubadour melodies and what kind of preludial and interludial material might have been performed. Players relied on memory and improvisation. The harp had an important role in legend and folklore. It was credited with supernatural powers which could destroy the feynde's myght. CLICK HERE Listen to harp wav file

	Bagpipe Harp Kortholt Lizard Lute Crumhorn Drums Hurdy-Gurdy Pipe and Tabor Hirtenschalmei Zink BCE TOP
		Kortholt Deriving its name from kurz Holz (short wood), this instrument was the one where the reed-cap principle was applied to the cylindrical double bore to give a soft low buzzy sound. Praetorius admitted to being puzzled by the disparity in pitch between the kortholt he had seen and the equivalent size of another instrument. This was because the kortholt was a double-bore instrument. Because of this doubling back of the pipe inside the instrument, the fingering system is unusual. Similar to the krumhorn, it cannot overblow to produce an upper register. CLICK HERE Listen to korthort wav file

	Bagpipe Harp Kortholt Lizard Lute Crumhorn Drums Hurdy-Gurdy Pipe and Tabor Hirtenschalmei Zink BCE TOP
		Lizard The tenor of the zink family (also known as lysard or lysarden) has the peculiar curved shape of a flattened letter s. Besides giving the instrument its name, this shape helps the player cover the finger holes on this longer zink. The holes for each hand happen to be in the portion of the curves which are closest to the player. The lizard's tone is pleasing, yet rather foggy. It blends well with voices and plays on one of the inner voices of an ensemble. A Lyserden is listed in the waits' band of Exeter in 1575 and a lysarden appears in the inventory made in 1602 of the instruments at Hengrave Hall, Suffolk, that belonged to Thomas Kytson. Refer to the serpent page to see the bass of the cornett family. CLICK HERE Listen to lizard wav file

	Bagpipe Harp Kortholt Lizard Lute Crumhorn Drums Hurdy-Gurdy Pipe and Tabor Hirtenschalmei Zink BCE TOP
		Lute The 4 course lute is depicted in European art since 800CE. In medieval times, the lute was often played as an accompaniment-strumming instrument. Below is a painting of the six-course lute (six doubled strings), in 1533. During the Renaissance the lute held the highest respect of all musical instruments. The repertoire for this courtly instrument is vast. Delicacy, expressiveness and nuance of performance were made possible when the use of a plectrum to pluck the strings was replaced by use of the fingers. The lute was an ideal accompaniment for voice and other soft instruments, and the most eloquent of all solo instruments. In paintings and other art works the lute is often associated with Apollo, angels, or Orpheus, and it is often mentioned at climactic points in tragedies. CLICK HERE Listen to lute wav file

	Bagpipe Harp Kortholt Lizard Lute Crumhorn Drums Hurdy-Gurdy Pipe and Tabor Hirtenschalmei Zink BCE TOP
		Crumhorn Beginning with the fifteenth century a new type of double reed instrument was developed. The player's lips did not touch the reed because the reed was enclosed inside a protective cap with a slot at one end. Strongly blowing through this slot causes the reed to vibrate as it does in the bagpipe chanter. The name of the Crumhorn comes from the German krumhorn (also krummhorn, krumphorn), meaning curved horn (or the older English crump, meaning curve, surviving in modern English in crumpled and crumpet, a curved cake). The name first occurs in 1489 as an organ stop. The crumhorn, used in the 14th to17th centuries in Europe, is wooden, with a cylindrical bore. The crumhorn is the earliest and most common instrument of the reed cap family which also includes the kortholt, cornamuse, and hirtenschalmei. The crumhorn is thought to have developed from the earlier bladder pipe CLICK HERE Listen to crumhorn wav file

	Bagpipe Harp Kortholt Lizard Lute Crumhorn Drums Hurdy-Gurdy Pipe and Tabor Hirtenschalmei Zink BCE TOP
		Drums & Percussion Drums Drums (tambour, Trommel, tamburo, tambor, drome, dromme, drume), along with other percussion instruments were probably among the earliest instruments. There is evidence that the first membrane drums consisted of naturally hollow tree trunks covered at one or both ends with the skins of water animals, fish, or reptiles. Later, skins of hunted game and cattle were used. Drum bodies could be of wood, metal, earthenware, or bone. The head or heads could be fastened by glue, nails, or laced or lapped to the body of the drum. Sometimes there would be the hoop tensioned by rope. A gut snare could be added to the top or bottom head for a different effect. Numerous representations of drums in a variety of shapes and sizes appear in the art of Egypt, Southern Africa, Assyria, India, Sumaria, China, and Persia. The art of the Greeks and Romans show membrane drums. Small kettle drums (known as nakers, nakeres, nacara, nacaires) and tabors of Arabic or Saracenic origin came to Europe with the 13th century crusades Also the Rommelpost Drum (image), Tambourine, & Finger Cymbals CLICK HERE Listen to drums wav file

	Bagpipe Harp Kortholt Lizard Lute Crumhorn Drums Hurdy-Gurdy Pipe and Tabor Hirtenschalmei Zink BCE TOP
		Hurdy-Gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is the first stringed instrument to which the keyboard principle was applied. The French name, Viella a Roue (wheel fiddle), describes the method by which sound is produced. The bowing action of the fiddle is replaced by a wheel cranked by a handle. The outer rim of the wooden wheel is coated with resin. When the crank is spun, the wheel turns and the gut strings vibrate. There is evidence of the hurdy-gurdy in Europe in the twelfth century. By the end of this century, the instruments was highly regarded. Before 1300 the instrument was often long enough to require two performers, one to crank, and one to push the keys. Single player instruments developed in the thirteenth century when the hurdy-gurdy became the ideal instrument for dance music. CLICK HERE Listen to hurdy-gurdy wav file

	Bagpipe Harp Kortholt Lizard Lute Crumhorn Drums Hurdy-Gurdy Pipe and Tabor Hirtenschalmei Zink BCE TOP
		Pipe and Tabor The pipe is a simple instrument with a fipple like a willow whistle or recorder but usually having only three melody holes (index finger, middle finger, and thumb). The bore is narrow to facilitate overblowing. There is a ridge around the bottom of the instrument to aid in supporting the pipe. This allows the player to handle a the instrument with one hand, leaving the other hand free to strike the tabor. The drum is held with a strap or thong around the arm which fingers the pipe. Thus one performer accompanies himself, making an ideal combination for dance music of a rustic nature, or to supply background music for jugglers or performing animals. The pipe and tabor (also whittle and dubb, or un flagol' un tabourin) player also entertained the audience during scene changes of Shakespeare plays. CLICK HERE Listen to pipe and tabor wav file

	Bagpipe Harp Kortholt Lizard Lute Crumhorn Drums Hurdy-Gurdy Pipe and Tabor Hirtenschalmei Zink BCE TOP
		Hirtenschalmei The name hirtenschalmei (shepherd's shawm) comes from the fact that this instrument, often mentioned in medieval French literature and poetry, was frequently depicted in art as being played by rustic types. The tone is produced by a capped double reed. The tone quality is rich and buzzy, one distinctly different from the krummhorm. The main bore is cylindrical and ends in a large flared bell. During salvage operations in 1980 on Henry VIII's ship, The Mary Rose, the only surviving example of a hirtenschalmei was uncovered. It had been preserved by the covering of silt in the hold of the ship since it was sunk in the English Channel in 1545. CLICK HERE Listen to 3 hirtenschalmeis wav file

	Bagpipe Harp Kortholt Lizard Lute Crumhorn Drums Hurdy-Gurdy Pipe and Tabor Hirtenschalmei Zink BCE TOP
		*Zink* The most versatile Renaissance wind instrument was the cornett or zink. Between 1500 and 1650 the zink was used indoors and out, in serious music, dance music, town bands, rural households, at church, and court. Its uniqueness is due to its hybrid construction: a very small acorn cup mouthpiece (played on the side of the mouth where the lips are thinner) is attached to a hollowed out piece of curved wood or ivory. Six finger holes and a thumb hole are drilled in the body of the zink and it is fingered in much the same manner as a recorder. A competent performer can make the zink sound as loud as a trumpet or softly enough to blend with recorders. No other instrument came so close to the sound of the human voice. Roger North even stated that one might mistake it for a choice eunuch. CLICK HERE Listen to zink wav file

	Bagpipe Harp Kortholt Lizard Lute Crumhorn Drums Hurdy-Gurdy Pipe and Tabor Hirtenschalmei Zink BCE TOP

	Earliest Musical Instrument and Written Music Oldest musical instrument found yet is a FLUTE carved out of a juvenile cave bear bone discovered in the northwest Alpine region of Slovenia; this flute has four holes that play four notes of a diatonic scale, the pentatonic, with dates from 67,000 BCE. German archaeologists have found mammoth ivory and vulture and swan bone flutes (right image) dating back to 37,000 BCE in the Swabian Alb, Germany area. Chinese archaeologists have their oldest musical instrument, a flute, dating from 6900 to 7000 BCE. In the Sumerian city of Ur, earliest flutes have been found that date between 25 and 2600 BCE. The harp, a complicated musical device, dates to 5,000 years ago based on statues found in Crete, as well as the double flute. Earliest Written Music found yet The Delphic Hymns, 138 BC., is the earliest surviving example of notated music in the world, written for the kithara and chiseled into stone. The kithara (Greek: κιθάρα) was a professional version of the two-stringed lyre. As opposed to the simpler lyre, which was a folk-instrument, the cithara was primarily used by professional musicians, called citharedes. CLICK HERE to listen to a MIDI file of the score transcribed from the Delphi stone.

	Bagpipe Harp Kortholt Lizard Lute Crumhorn Drums Hurdy-Gurdy Pipe and Tabor Hirtenschalmei Zink BCE TOP
	Q HERALDRY HELM CREST SHIELD~CHARGES ORDINARIES MANTLE~SUPPORTS KIBLER