Welcome! You couldn't resist our music, could
you? I'd like you introduce you to our group, the Rebourne Foure:
Sol on the crumhorn, Addame on recorder, Eric on cittern, and
Craige on tabor. We would be glad to tell you about music and
dance.
Music, as has been true through all time, is
a very important part of our culture here in the Renaissance.
Whether rich and part of the royal family or a street musician
or peddler, life would not be the same without music. People are
not considered proper and educated if they have not thoroughly
studied music. In our time, many different types of more primitive
instrumentation; some you may find quite interesting. Technological
advances in the quality, complexity, and methods of production
of the instruments have been made as we have been using them.
Traveling or Street Musicians (JPG 83k)
Here in the Renaissance we have three major
types of musicians. One, the most common, is the street musician.
Street musicians are very common and can be found on virtually
every corner. Compare a street musician to your saxophone player
you see in the parking garage asking for money. Our street musicians
play melodic instruments such as the lute or occasionally the
violin (in upperscale villages) because they must sound "cheerful"
while playing all alone. Street musicians play little tunes that
they think up on the spur of the moment.
The next type of musician is the classical composer. Like in your
time, being a composer seems to be a thankless job because most
people don't appreciate your work until after you have died! Being
a composer during our time is also a hard job because to actually
hear the music you have created, an entire orchestra- an extremely
difficult task, must be assembled . Being a composer is not a
very stable job, for he may sit for nearly an entire year composing
a single arrangement and receive no pay if there isn't an orchestra
willing to buy the music. Emphasize the word his . There
are no her composers. A female composer would be
like having a female doctor. Heaven forbid! The female mind is
not made for that type of thing!
The third and final type of musician, which is by far the best
job, is to be one of the king or queen's royal musicians. Jobs
in this field include the Royal Orchestra which employs 100-plus
musicians and the queen's royal trumpeters. Being a royal musician
means a steady job, with steady pay, food, and and an opportunity
to become famous. The queen's Royal Orchestra plays classical
music, mainly that of the strings, with an occasional brass overture
for special occasions.
If you would like to visit some composers who are in town at the moment, Violini De Gamba at the music shoppe can take you to their rooms.
You may also like to talk with publisher Ottaviano Petrucci who is staying at the Music Shoppe. He can give you more details about the music movement during our time.
There are many types
of instruments used during the Renaissance, many still used in
your time with minor variations. However, some of our instruments
are quite unique to the Renaissance. But why should I do all the
talking. Talk to a member of our group about the instrument they
play:
If you would like to know more about other instruments, I am sure some that Stringulina Lutino at the Music Shoppe of DuFay & Ockeghem, Ltd. would be most happy to show off their selection of musical instruments.
Now that you have seen and heard some of our
many instruments, perhaps you would like to hear how we sound
in consort:
There are many different types of dances here and about. While at court, the dances are more constrained and regimented, here in town and country, we prefer a lively dance. We even dance at funerals, preferring to think of our dearly departed as on a journey to a better place. There is a funeral going on here in town today. If you like you can look in on the dance going on:
We suggest you look at the following outside Virtual Renaissance
for a comprehensive lesson on dance:
SCA Dance Cheat Sheets
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/dance/top.html
A collection of cheat-sheets for Renaissance dancing, including
sources of printed music.
Music and Dance of the Renaissance
http://www.bcpl.lib.md.us/~cbladey/guy/html/music.html
Jacobean music and dance explained including steps and accompanying music to two popular dances of the period as well as other midis for period music arranged by composer.
We can play you a lively tune to get your heels
kicking!
Credits:
Original sound files courtesy ofYasuhiko
Higaki's website Renaissance
Consort http://www.hike.te.chiba-u.ac.jp/cons1/
and Jim Hill at website Lark
in the Morning - see credits page
Original picture files courtesy of Jim Hill at website Lark
in the Morning - see credits page
References:
Academic American Encyclopedia, Grolier Incorporated,
Danbury, Connecticut, 1994.
Baines, Anthony. European & American Musical Instruments.
Viking Press, New York, 1966.
Buchner, Dr. Alexander (translated by Iris Urwin). Musical Instruments Through the Ages. Batchworth Press Limited, London, England, 1961.
"Early Music FAQ". http://www.best.com/~mccomb/music/Early/faq/rmeFAQ.html
(20 May 1996)
Haas, Karl. Inside Music: How to understand, listen to,
and enjoy good music. Doubleday, New York, 1984. ISBN:
0-385-18536-7
Hill, Jim. "Lark in the Morning". http://www.larkinam.com/ (20 June 1996)
Hindley, Geoffrey (ed.). The Larousse Encyclopedia of Music. Excalibur Books, New York, 1982.
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