Instruments of the Middle Ages and Renaissance
The Early Music Consort of London, David Munrow





medieval.org
EMI (His Master's Voice) "Angel Series" SLS 988

1976

Virgin Classics 0946 3 85811 2 3   CD
2007









Instruments of the Middle Ages and Renaissance

The Records


These records are designed to illustrate the principal types of instrument in use in Europe before 1600. They have been carefully planned in conjunction with the book included in the box: both follow the same sequence so that book and records may be used together. Those wishing to listen to the records straight through may like to simply follow the pictures from the book; alternatively the listener may prefer to read the section on any particular instrument first, followed by the relevant musical illustration.

The illustrations themselves have been chosen to demonstrate as far as possible the function, range and special characteristics of each instrument. In the Middle Ages the accent is on solo pieces, sometimes with a suitable accompaniment; in the Renaissance the emphasis is more on the development of the complete soprano-to-bass consorts. Although many early wind instruments have no specific repertoire of their own, some unusual examples of specific instrumentation have been included, for instance the pieces by the Monk of Salzburg evidently intended for primitive horns and trumpets (S.2, B.1a, 2b and 2d), Johann Schein's Paduana for four crumhorns (S.3, B.4) two of the chansons from Attaingnant's 1533 collection which are marked as suitable for flutes or recorders (S.3, B.8 and 9) and Monteverdi's famous Toccata for trumpet band from Orfeo (S.4, B.1). Whilst some of the leading composers of the day have been included (Landini, Machaut, Dufay, Byrd, Dowland, Frescobaldi, Monteverdi, Praetorius) these records seemed an excellent opportunity to feature some of the lesser known composers as well. As far as possible the illustrations consist of complete pieces of music; in one or two cases, however, extracts or abridged versions have been used.

In order to keep within the time limits imposed by two gramophone records, a few of the more obscure instruments described in the book have regretfully had to be omitted. Others are included in ensembles rather than being given a solo to themselves (e.g. the courtaut, S.3, B.10, and the chitarrone, S.4, B.5). This is the case with all the non-melodic percussion instruments, since their main purpose is to provide some kind of rhythmic accompaniment; the listener will find the relevant illustrations to chapter 5 spread over all four sides of these records. A list of the percussion instruments illustrated is included in the side analysis.

In the details of the instruments and their makers given below, dates are provided only for original instruments. Where no such information is given, the instrument concerned is a modern replica or reconstruction. On the first two sides a number of folk instruments have been employed, as being the nearest equivalent to their mediaeval ancestors. Instruments which have been in continuous use since the Middle Ages such as the shawm, hurdy-gurdy and straight trumpet provide an invaluable link with the live sounds of the past which is missing even in the case of surviving original instruments.

David Munrow




Record 1
THE MIDDLE AGES

1   Woodwind   ·   2   Keyboard   ·   3   Brass   ·   4   Strings


5  Percussion (Mediaeval & Renaissance)


Record 2
RENAISSANCE

6   Woodwind   ·   7   Keyboard   ·   8   Brass   ·   9   Strings










Record 1


THE MIDDLE AGES


SIDE ONE

1   Woodwind

1. Shawm
   SALTARELLO   [1:49]      ANONYMOUS 14TH CENTURY ITALIAN

David Munrow   oriental shawm   (folk instrument from Hong Kong)
Alan Lumsden   mediaeval trumpet   (folk instrument from Marrakesh, Morocco)
David Corkhill   nakers   (reconstruction, David Corkhill, London)
Christopher Hogwood   tabor   (Biesemans, Brussels, Belgium)
James Tyler   tambourine   (folk instrument from Cairo, Egypt)

   (For the later European type of shawm with pirouette instead of disc see S.2 B.2 last item)


2. Reed pipe
   SHEPHERD'S TUNE   [0:56]      TRADITIONAL SYRIAN

David Munrow   reed pipe   (folk instrument from Southern Spain)


3. Bagpipes
   (a) cylindrical chanter
   SALTARELLO   [1:12]      ANONYMOUS 14TH CENTURY ITALIAN

David Munrow   bagpipes   (folk instrument from Sofia, Bulgaria)

   (b) conical chanter
   BALLADE ‘DAME SE VOUS M'ESTES’   [1:55]      GUILLAUME DE MACHAUT (c. 1300-1377)

David Munrow   bagpipes   (folk instrument from Madrid, Spain)


4. Bladder pipes
   PASTOURELLE ‘AU TANS D'AOST’   [1:04]      ANONYMOUS 13TH CENTURY FRENCH
   from the Chansonnier Cangé

David Munrow and James Tyler   bladder pipes   (adapted from traditional Bulgarian bagpipe chanters.
   No attempt has been made to 'tune' the naturally flat leading notes)

David Corkhill   tambourin   (reconstruction, David Corkhill, London)


5. Panpipes
   CHANSON Á REFRAIN ‘A PRISAI QU'EN CHANTANT PLOUR’   [1:09]      ANONYMOUS 13TH CENTURY FRENCH
   from the Chansonnier Cangé

John Turner   panpipes   (traditional Hungarian model, Bigej Josef, Budapest)


6. Transverse flute
   MINNESINGER MELODY ‘OWE DAZ NACH LIEBE GAT’   [1:30]      MASTER ALEXANDER (LATE 13TH CENTURY)

David Munrow   flute   (folk instrument from the Andes, Bolivia)

   (for the mediaeval flute in an ensemble see S.2. B.15.)


7. Six-holed pipe
   CHANSON PIEUSE ‘DOU TRES DOUZ NON’   [1:15]      THIBAUT OF NAVARRE (1201-1253)
   with improvised prelude and postlude for jew's harp

David Munrow   six-holed pipe   (folk instrument from the Andes, Peru)
James Tyler   jew's harp   (traditional Italian model, unknown make)

   (More extended mediaeval dances for both six-holed pipe and recorder can be heard on ‘The Art of the Recorder’, SLS 5022)


8. Double pipes
   VIRELAI ‘GRACIEUSETTE’   [1:15]      JEHAN DE LESCUREL (d. 1304)

David Munrow   double pipes   (folk instrument form the Andes, Bolivia)


9. Pipe and tabor
   DANSA ‘EN VOLGRA, S'ESSER POGES’   [1:08]      GUIRAUT D'ESPANHA DE TOLOZA (1240-1270)

David Munrow   pipe and tabor   (pipe, Jim Jones, St. Albans, Herts; tabor, unknown make,
supplied by the English Folk Song and Dance Society)


10. Recorder
    ENGLISH TE DEUM   [1:49]      ANONYMOUS SETTING c. 1300
    (solo plainsong version—bells alone
    3 part setting in ‘discant’ style—bells and recorders)

David Munrow   alto recorder   (Bärenreiter, Kassel, W. Germany)
Oliver Brookes   tenor recorder   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)
James Tyler   tenor recorder   (Bärenreiter, Kassel, W. Germany)
Gillian Reid   chime bells   (Mean and Stainbank, Whitechapel Bell Foundry, London)


11. Gemshorn
    CHANSONNETTE ‘QUANT JE VOY YVER RETORNER’   [1:29]      COLIN MUSET (EARLY 13TH CENTURY)

David Munrow   alto gemshorn   (Rainer Weber, Bayerbach, W. Germany)
James Tyler   lute   (Donald Warnock, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A.)


2   Keyboard

12. Portative organ
    MADRIGAL ‘AY SCHONSOLATO ED AMOROSO’   [1:38]      VINCENZO DA RIMINI (fl. c. 1350-1375)

Christopher Hogwood   portative organ   (Noel Mander, London)
Oliver Brookes   bass rebec   (reconstruction, Christopher Wright, London)

13. Positive organ
    ESTAMPIE from the Robertsbridge fragment   [2:17]      ENGLISH c. 1320
    (only two of the original four puncti or sections are played here, in the form AAB)

Christopher Hogwood   positive organ   (Noel Mander, London)

    (Other examples of mediaeval organ music, including another piece from the Robertsbridge fragment,
    can be heard on 'The Art of Courtly Love', SLS 863
)


14. Hurdy-gurdy
    CHANSON ‘JOLIVETÉ ET BONE AMOR’   [1:35]      JEHAN D'ESQUIRI (13TH CENTURY)

Christopher Hogwood   hurdy-gurdy   (traditional pattern, French, nineteenth century)


15. Clavichord
    ELLEND DU HAST   [2:08]      CONRAD PAUMANN (c. 1415-1473)

Christopher Hogwood   fretted clavichord   (Christopher Nobbs, Goudhurst, Kent,
copy of a sixteenth century instrument in the Museum of Musical Instruments, Brussels, Belgium)




SIDE TWO

3   Brass

1. Trumpet
   (a) clarion
   FANFARE ‘UNTARN SLAF TUT DEN SUMER WOL’   [1:00]      HERMANN, MONK OF SALZBURG (1365-1396)
   (The melody has been slightly adapted to fit the restricted range of the instrument)

Michael Laird   clarion   (traditional pattern, French, nineteenth century)

   (b) buisine
   FANFARE ‘AD MODUM TUBAE’   [1:14]      GUILLAUME DUFAY (c. 1400-1474)
   (adapted from the instrumental parts of Dufay's Gloria ad modum tubae.
   A complete performance of this piece can be heard on CSD 3751)

Michael Laird and Jaan Wilson   buisines   (traditional wooden trumpets from Sweden)


2. (a) Cowhorn
   BALLADE ‘DE MOI DOLEREUS VOS CHANT’   [0:36]      GILLEBERT DE BERNEVILLE (1255-1280)

Alan Lumsden   cowhorn   (reconstruction, Alan Lumsden, London)

   (b) Mediaeval cornett
   DAS NACHTHORN   [0:54]      HERMANN, MONK OF SALZBURG (1365-1396)
   (the lower part is omitted in this recording)

Michael Laird   mediaeval cornett   (traditional tuohitorvi from Finland)
David Corkhill   mediaeval triangle with rings   (reconstruction, David Corkhill, London)

   (c) Slide trumpet
   GEISSLERLIED ‘MARIA MUOTER REINÛ MAÎT’   [0:54]      ANONYMOUS GERMAN 1349

Alan Lumsden   slide trumpet   (reconstruction, Philip Bate, London)

   (d) Ensemble: mediaeval cornett, slide trumpet, alto shawm, tabor
   DER TRUMPET   [1:02]      HERMANN, MONK OF SALZBURG (1365-1396)

Michael Laird   mediaeval cornett   (traditional tuohitorvi from Finland)
Alan Lumsden   slide trumpet   (reconstruction, Philip Bate, London)
David Munrow   alto shawm   (Otto Steinkopf, Berlin, W. Germany)
David Corkhill   tabor   (Biesemans, Brussels, Belgium)


4   Strings

3. Harp
   (a) metal strung
   LAI ‘QUI PORROIT UN GUIERREDON’   [1:09]      ANONYMOUS 13TH CENTURY FRENCH
   from the Chansonnier Cangé

Gillian Reid   harp with ‘bray’ pins   (reconstruction, Alan Crumpler, Liverpool)

   (b) gut strung
   DANCE TUNE   [0:59]      ASCRIBED TO TASSIN 13TH CENTURY

Christopher Hogwood   harp   (copy by Keith Theobald, Tisbury, Wilts, of a traditional nineteenth century Irish harp)


4. Lyre
   GOLIARD MELODY ‘O ROMA NOBILIS’   [0:41]      ANONYMOUS 11TH CENTURY

Eleanor Sloan   lyre   (reconstruction, Christopher Wright, London)


5. Psaltery
   HYMN TO ST. MAGNUS ‘NOBILIS HUMILIS’   [0:57]      ORKNEY ISLES 12TH CENTURY

Gillian Reid   psaltery   (reconstruction, Alan Crumpler, Liverpool)


6. Dulcimer
   MADRIGAL ‘TANTO SOAVEMENTE’   [1:53]      JACOPO DA BOLOGNA (FIRST HALF OF THE 14TH CENTURY)

David Corkhill   dulcimer   (traditional instrument from Hong Kong)
Eleanor Sloan   treble rebec   (adapted from a folk instrument from Yugoslavia)


7. Lute
   MADRIGAL ‘DI NOVO É GIUNTO’   [2:10]      JACOPO DA BOLOGNA (FIRST HALF OF THE 14TH CENTURY)

James Tyler   lute   (fretted oud, Damascus, Syria, c. 1900)
Oliver Brookes   bass rebec   (reconstruction, Christopher Wright, London)


8. Mandora
   CHANSON ‘AMOURS QUE PORRA’   [1:17]      THIBAUT DE BLASON (13TH CENTURY)

James Tyler   mandora   (adapted from a gnbrî, Marrakesh, Morocco)


9. Long-necked lute
   ‘AQUEL QUE DE VOONTADE’   [1:12]      ASCRIBED TO ALFONSO NICKNAMED ‘EL SABIO’ (REIGNED 1252-1284)
   Cantigas de Santa Maria   CSM 249

James Tyler   long-necked lute   (traditional tanbura from Damascus, Syria)


10. Gittern
    VIRELAI ‘QUANT JE SUI MIS’   [0:56]      GUILLAUME DE MACHAUT (c. 1300-1377)

Mary Remnant   gittern   (reconstruction, Ian Harwood and John Isaacs, Ely, Cambs.)


11. Citole
    ENGLISH DANCE   [0:56]      ANONYMOUS 13TH CENTURY

James Tyler   citole   (adapted from a renaissance style cittern by James Tyler, London)

    (For the citole used as an accompanying instrument see S.2 B.12)


12. Rebec
    LA SEPTIME ESTAMPIE REAL   [1:13]      ANONYMOUS 13TH CENTURY FRENCH

Eleanor Sloan   treble rebec   (adapted from a folk instrument from Yugoslavia)
James Tyler   citole   (adapted from a renaissance style cittern by James Tyler, London)
Oliver Brookes   tromba marina   (reconstruction, Christopher Wright, London)
David Corkhill   nakers   (reconstruction, Paul Williamson after the design of Jeremy Montague)

    (For the treble rebec used as an accompanying instrument see S.2 B6.
    For the bass rebec used as an accompanying instrument see S.1 B.12 and S.2 B.7
)


13. Fiddle
    BALLATA ‘POI CHE DA TE MI CONVIEN’   [1:21]      FRANCESCO LANDINI (c. 1325-1397)

Eleanor Sloan   fiddle   (reconstruction, Robert Hadaway, Gayton, Norfolk)
Christopher Hogwood   harp   (copy by Keith Theobald, Tisbury, Wilts., of a traditional nineteenth century Irish harp)


14. Bowed lyre
    VIRELAI ‘COMMENT QU'A MOI’   [1:29]      GUILLAUME DE MACHAUT (c. 1300-1377)

Oliver Brookes   bowed lyre   (reconstruction of a large bowed lyre of the Welsh crwth type by Christopher Wright, London)


15. Tromba marina
    IMPROVISED FANFARE
    MOTET ‘QUANT IE LE VOI—BON VIN DOIT—CIS CHANS VEULT BOIRE’   [1:00]
    from the Roman de Fauvel (completed 1316)      ANONYMOUS EARLY 14TH CENTURY FRENCH

Oliver Brookes   tromba marina   (reconstruction, Christopher Wright, London)
James Tyler   lute   (Donald Warnock, Cambridge, Mass.)
David Munrow   flute   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)

    (For the tromba marina as a drone instrument see S.2 B.12) David Corkhill   tabor   (Biesemans, Brussels, Belgium)


5   Percussion   (Mediaeval and Renaissance)


Although there is no separate percussion section to correspond with chapter 5,
the following percussion instruments can be heard on these two records.

Nakers
S.1 B.1, S.2 B.12

Tambourine
S.1 B.1

Tabor
S.1 B.1, S.1 B.9, S.2 B.2, last item, S.3 B.7

Chime bells
S.1 B.10

Kettledrums
S.4 B.1 first item

Xylophone
S.3 B.15

Side drum
S.3 B.1

Triangle
S.2 B.2 second item

Tambourin
S.1 B.4

Jew's harp
S.1 B.7








Record 2


THE RENAISSANCE


SIDE THREE

6   Woodwind

1. Shawm
   TWO COURANTES   [2:07]      SAMUEL VOELCKEL (LATE 16TH-EARLY 17tH CENTURY)
   from Newe teutsche weltliche Gesänglein 1613

David Munrow (multi-tracking all four parts)

soprano shawm, playing soprano and alto parts   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)
alto shawm   (Otto Steinkopf, Berlin, W. Germany)
tenor shawm   (Steinkopf/Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)

David Corkhill   side drum played without snare   (modern military instrument, unknown make)


2. Curtal
   CHANSON ‘CE QUI SOULOIT’   [1:39]      TIELMAN SUSATO (d. between 1561 AND 1564)
   based on a chanson by Pierre Sandrin (c-1510-1561)
   from Le Premier Livre des chansons 1554

David Munrow (double-tracking soprano and tenor parts)

soprano curtal   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)
tenor curtal   (Steinkopf/Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)

Andrew van der Beck   bass curtal   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)

   (For the tenor curtal as a continuo instrument see S.4 B.3)

   Courtaut
   A bass courtaut can be heard playing with a consort of recorders on S.3 B.10


3. Rackett
   CARO ORTOLANO   [1:26]      GIORGIO MAINERIO (SECOND HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY)
   from Il Primo Libro di Balli 1578

David Munrow   tenor rackett   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)
John Turner   bass rackett   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)
Alan Lumsden   quart-bass rackett   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)
Andrew van der Beck   great-bass rackett   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)

   (For the quart-bass rackett supporting a mixed ensemble see S.3 B.15)
   (A consort of racketts can also be heard on ‘Music by Praetorius’ CSD 3761)


4. Crumhorn
   PADOUANA   [2:04]      JOHANN SCHEIN (1586-1630)
   from the Banchetto Musicale 1617
   (Schein specifically prescribes crumhorns for this piece)

David Munrow   alto crumhorn   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)
Andrew van der Beck   alto crumhorn   (Gunter Körber, Berlin, W. Germany)
James Tyler   tenor crumhorn   (Gunter Körber, Berlin, W. Germany)
Oliver Brookes   bass crumhorn   (Gunter Körber, Berlin, W. Germany)

   (A consort of crumhorns can also be heard on ‘Two Renaisance Dance Bands’ HQS 1249)


5. Cornamuse
   BICINIUM ‘LE CUER DE VOUS’   [1:05]      ANTONIO GARDANE (c. 1500-1570)
   from Georg Rhaw's Bicinia gallica et latina 1545

David Munrow   soprano cornamuse   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)
Andrew van der Beck   alto cornamuse   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)


6. Kortholt
   BICINIUM ‘MON PETIT CUEUR’   [1:15]      GUILLAUME LE HEURTEUR (FIRST HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY)
   from Georg Rhaw's Bicinia gallica et latina 1545

Andrew van der Beck   tenor kortholt   (Steinkopf/Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)
David Munrow   bass kortholt   (Steinkopf/Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)


7. Rauschpfeife
   THREE BRANSLES DOUBLES   [1:29]      MICHAEL PRAETORIUS (1571-1621)
   from Terpsichore 1611

David Munrow   sopranino rauschpfeife   (Gunter Körber, Berlin, W. Germany)
James Tyler   soprano rauschpfeife   (Gunter Körber, Berlin, W. Germany)
Andrew van der Beck   sopranino rauschpfeife   (Gunter Körber, Berlin, W. Germany)
Oliver Brookes   alto rauschpfeife   (Rainer Weber, Bayerbach, W. Germany)
Alan Lumsden   tenor sackbut   (copy by Boosey & Hawkes of an instrument by Jörg Neuschel dated 1557)
David Corkhill   tabor   (Biesemans, Brussels, Belgium)


8. Flute
   CHANSON ‘AMOR ME POINGT’   [1:18]      CLAUDIN DE SERMISY (c. 1495-1562)
   from Pierre Attaingnant's second book of Chansons musicales 1533
   (This piece is marked by Attaingnant as being suitable for either recorders or flutes)

John Turner   alto flute   (John Cousen, Huddersfield, Yorks)
David Munrow   alto flute   (John Cousen, Huddersfield, Yorks)
Alan Lumsden   tenor flute   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)
James Tyler   bass flute   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)


9. Recorder (a) 8' Consort
   CHANSON ‘HELLAS ! AMOUR’   [2:12]      GUILLAUME LE HEURTEUR (FIRST HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY)
   from Pierre Attaingnant's second book of Chansons musicales 1533
   (This piece is marked by Attaingnant as being suitable for either recorders or flutes)

David Munrow   tenor recorder   (John Cousen, Huddersfield, Yorks)
John Turner   bass recorder   (John Cousen, Huddersfield, Yorks)
Alan Lumsden   quart-bass recorder   (John Cousen, Huddersfield, Yorks)
Andrew van der Beck   great-bass recorder   (John Cousen, Huddersfield, Yorks)

   (The ‘great’ consort of recorders can also be heard on ‘The Art of the Recorder’ SLS 5022)

10. Recorder (b) 4' Consort
    THE FAIRIE ROUND   [1:17]      ANTHONY HOLBORNE (d. 1602)
    from Pavans, Gaillards, Almains and other short aeirs 1599

John Turner   soprano recorder   (Bärenreiter, Kassel, W. Germany)
Alan Lumsden   soprano recorder   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)
Andrew van der Beck   alto recorder   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)
James Taylor   tenor recorder   (Bärenreiter, Kassel, W. Germany)
Oliver Brooks   bass recorder   (John Cousen, Huddersfield, Yorks)
David Munrow   bass courtaut   (reconstruction after Mersenne by David Owen, Nantwich, Cheshire)


7   Keyboard

11. Renaissance organ
    ENTRADA REAL   [2:13]      PEDRO DE SOTO (LATE 16TH CENTURY)

Paul Bernard playing the organ of the church of Santa Maria, Daroca, Spain, built in 1562.

    (For the smaller positive organ as a continuo instrument see S.4 B.2, 3 and 5)

12. Regal
    (a) PRELUDE ‘ASCENSUS SIMPLEX‘   [0:21]      CONRAD PAUMANN (c. 1415-1473)
    from the Fundamentum organisandi 1452
    (b) MIN HERTZ HAT SICH SER GEFRÖWET   [1:07]      ANONYMOUS 15TH CENTURY GERMAN
    from the Buxheim Orgelbuch (compiled c. 1470)

Christopher Hogwood   regal   (instrument by the German maker Haase, dated 1684)


13. Harpsichord
    TOCCATA   [1:53]      GIOVANNI SALVATORE (fl. c. 1600)
    from the Naples MS

Christopher Hogwood   harpsichord   (seventeenth century Italian single manual instrument, unknown Florentine make)


14. Virginals
    VARIATIONS ON THE ROMANESCA   [2:28]      ANONYMOUS 16TH CENTURY
    from the Dublin Virginal Book c. 1570

Christopher Hogwood   virginals   (Copy by Derek Adlam, Goudhurst, Kent, of a virginals dated 1611 by Andreas Ruckers now in the Vleeshuis Museum, Antwerp. The Arpichordum stop, based on the description by Praetorius in his Syntagma Musicum Vol II, 1619, can be heard in the last two variations)


15. Xylophone
    BALLO FRANCESE   [0:57]      GIORGIO MAINERIO (SECOND HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY)
    from Il Primo Libro di Balli 1578

David Corkhill   xylophone   (small diatonic instrument without resonators, maker and date unknown)
Polly Waterfield   tenor viol   (Dolmetsch, Haslemere, Surrey)
Jane Ryan   bass viol   (Dietrich Kessler, London)
Trevor Jones   bass viol   (Anonymous German, maker and date unknown)
Oliver Brookes   violone   (Wolfgang Nebel, Celle, W. Germany)
Nigel North   lute   (Martin Bowers, Ingatestone, Essex)
Andrew van der Beck   quart-bass rackett   (Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)



SIDE FOUR

8   Brass

1. Trumpet
   (a) unmuted
   TOCCATA   [0:37]      CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI (1567-1643)
   from Orfeo 1607 played in the written key of C major (with additional part for two kettledrums)

Michael Laird   natural trumpet   (copy by Laird after various originals)
Malcolm Smith   natural trumpet   (copy by Laird after various originals)
Roger Brenner   tenor sackbut   (Peerless, Birmingham)
Alan Lumsden   tenor sackbut   (copy by Boosey & Hawkes, London, of an instrument by Jörg Neuschel dated 1557)
Martin Nicholls   bass sackbut   (Besson, London)
David Corkhill   kettledrums   (Butler, Haymarket, London)

   (b) muted
   TOCCATA   [0:37]      CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI (1567-1643)
   from Orfeo, 1607, played with mutes and sounding a tone higher in D major

Michael Laird   natural trumpet   (copy by Laird after various originals)
Malcolm Smith   natural trumpet   (copy by Laird after various originals)
Roger Brenner   tenor sackbut   (Peerless, Birmingham)
Alan Lumsden   tenor sackbut   (copy by Boosey & Hawkes, London, of an instrument by Jörg Neuschel dated 1557)
Martin Nicholls   bass sackbut   (Besson, London)


2. Sackbut
   (a) solo
   ADAGIO and ALLEGRO   [1:26]      HEINRICH BIBER (1644-1704)
   from the Sonata for trombone, two violins and continuo

Alan Lumsden   tenor sackbut   (copy by Boosey & Hawkes, London, of an instrument by Jörg Neuschel dated 1557)
Christopher Hogwood   organ   (positive organ, Noel Mander, London)

   (b) consort
   ‘LOBT GOTT IHR CHRISTEN ALLE GLEICH’   [1:24]      MICHAEL PRAETORIUS (1571-1621)
   from Musae Sionae IV

Michael Laird   soprano sackbut   (Finke, Herford, W. Germany)
Roger Brenner   alto sackbut   (Peerless, Birmingham)
Alan Lumsden   tenor sackbut   (copy by Boosey & Hawkes, London, of an instrument by Jörg Neuschel dated 1557)
Martin Nicholls   bass sackbut   (Besson, London)

   (For a sackbut in a mixed ensemble see 8.3 B.7)
   (Mixed consorts of cornetts and sackbuts can be heard on ‘Two Renaissance Dance Bands’ HQS 1249
   and ‘Music of Praetorius’ CSD 3761
)


3. Cornett
   CANZONA for ‘DUE CANTI’   [3:00]      GIROLAMO FRESCOBALDI (1583-1643)
   from the Canzoni da sonare, 1634

Michael Laird   cornett   (Christopher Monk, Hindhead, Surrey)
IaanWilson   cornett   (Christopher Monk, Hindhead, Surrey)
David Munrow   tenor curtal   (Steinkopf/Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)
Christopher Hogwood   organ   (positive organ, Noel Mander, London)


4. Alto and tenor cornett
   BICINIUM ‘AMOUR organ   [1:13]      PIERRE DE MANCHICOURT (c. 1510-1564)
   from Georg Rhaw's Bicinia gallica et latina, 1545

Michael Laird   alto cornett   (Steinkopf/Moeck, Celle, W. Germany)
Alan Lumsden   tenor cornett   (Christopher Monk, Hindhead, Surrey)


5. Serpent
   CANZONA QUARTA for ‘BASSO SOLO’   [2:15]      GIROLAMO FRESCOBALDI (1583-1643)
   from the Canzoni da sonare, 1643 (described in Il primo libro of 1628 as ‘Canzona settima detta la Superba’)
   (For the purpose of this recording a shortened version has been made
   omitting a section in the middle of the canzona)

Alan Lumsden   serpent   (marked Forveille (c. 1820) but almost certainly of an earlier date with keys added by Forveille)
Robert Spencer   chitarrone   (Hans Jordan, Markneukirchen, W. Germany)
Oliver Brookes   violone   (Wolfgang Nebel, Celle, W. Germany)
Christopher Hogwood   organ   (positive organ, Noel Mander, London)


9   Strings

6. Lute
   ORLANDO SLEEPETH   [1:36]      JOHN DOWLAND (1562-1626)

James Tyler   lute   (Donald Warnock, Cambridge, Mass.)

   (For the lute in various ensembles see S.3 B.15, S.4 B.12 and 16)


7. Theorbo
   A FANCY—PRAELUDE, OR VOLUNTARY   [1:39]      THOMAS MACE (1613-1709?)
   from Musick's Monument 1676

James Tyler   theorbo   (Christopher Dodderidge, based on an early 17th century Italian instrument by Matteo Sellas)

   Chitarrone
   (For the chitarrone used as a continuo instrument see S.4 B.5)


8. Mandora
   BALLO ANGLESE   [1:00]      GIORGIO MAINERIO (SECOND HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY)
   from Il Primo Libro di Balli, 1578

James Tyler   mandora   (17th century Italian instrument, unknown maker)
Polly Waterfield   violin   (German 18th century)
Trevor Jones   bass viol   (Dietrich Kessler, London)
Nigel North   bass viol   (German, date and maker unknown)
Oliver Brookes   violone   (Wolfgang Nebel, Celle, W. Germany)


9. Cittern
   GALLIARDE FOR CITTERN AND BASS   [2:12]      ANTHONY HOLBORNE (d. 1602)
   from The Cittharn Schoole, 1597

James Tyler   cittern   (Richard Margulies, New York)
Oliver Brookes   violone   (Dietrich Kessler, London)


10. Ceterone
    TOCCATA PRIMA   [1:36]      ALESSANDRO PICCININI (EARLY 17TH CENTURY)
    from Intavolatura di Lauto, et di Chitarrone, 1623

James Tyler   ceterone   (Robert Hadaway, Gayton, Norfolk, based on an instrument by Gironimo Campi c. 1600)


11. Bandora
    GALLIARD   [0:45]      JOHN DOWLAND (1562-1626)
    from the Braye bandora M.S., c. 1600

Robert Spencer   bandora   (Donald Gill, Fleet, Hants.)


12. Orpharion
    DUET ‘LE ROSSIGNOL’   [1:28]     from Jane Pickering's Lute Book, 1616

James Tyler   orpharion   (Robert Hadaway, Gayton, Norfolk)
Robert Spencer   lute   (Wendelio Venere, Padua, Italy, 1584)


13. Vihuela
    FANTASIA XI   [2:42]      LUIS DE MILÁN (c. 1500-1562)
    from El Maestro, 1536

James Tyler   vihuela   (probably Spanish, date and maker unknown)

    (The vihuela can be heard accompanying songs by Milan and Mudarra on
    ‘Music for Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain‘ CSD 3738
)


14. Guitar
    PAVANA (VARIATIONS ON THE ROMANESCA)   [1:26]      ANONYMOUS 16TH CENTURY
    from the Braye Lute Book, 1536

Robert Spencer   guitar   (Anonymous c. 1620-50 probably Italian)


15. Viol
    (a) consort
    FANTASY IN FOUR PARTS   [1:56]      WILLIAM BYRD (1543-1623)
    (superius part reconstructed by Thurston Dart)

Catherine Mackintosh   treble viol   (Dietrich Kessler, London)
James Tyler   tenor viol   (German, date and maker unknown)
Jane Ryan   bass viol   (Nicholas Bertrand, Paris, 1704)
Oliver Brookes   bass viol   (Dietrich Kessler, London)

    (b) Lyra viol
    DUET ‘FORGET ME NOT’   [1:15]      THOMAS FORD (c. 1580-1648)
    (superius part reconstructed by Thurston Dart)

Oliver Brookes   bass viol   (Dietrich Kessler, London) James Tyler   tenor viol   (German, date and maker unknown)
Jane Ryan   bass viol   (Nicholas Bertrand, Paris, 1704)

    (One side of ‘Two Renaissance Dance Bands’ HQS 1249 is devoted to music for
    the typical ‘broken consort’ of viols, recorder, lute, bandora and cittern,
    many of the pieces being taken from Thomas Morley's First Book of Consort Lessons, 1599
)

    Violone
    (For the violone in various ensembles see S.3 B.15, S.4 B. and 8)


16. Violin
    LA VOLTA   [1:27]      ANONYMOUS 16TH CENTURY

Eleanor Sloan   violin   (Bavarian, 18th century)
Oliver Brookes   viol   (Dietrich Kessler, London)
James Tyler   lute   (Donald Warnock, Cambridge, Mass.)

    (For the violin in an ensemble see S.4 B.8)
    (Mixed ensembles of violins, viols and violone can be heard on
    ‘Two Renaissance Dance Bands&rquo; HQS 1249 and ‘Music of Praetorius’ CSD 3761
)



    Recording Producer: JOHN WILLAN
    Recording Engineer: STUART ELTHAM
    ℗ 1976 EMI Records Ltd.



For further listening

Many of the instruments heard on these records can be heard in mixed vocal and instrumental pieces on the other recordings by The Early Music Consort of London directed by David
Munrow:

The Art of Courtly Love — SLS 863
Volume I:  Guillaume de Machaut and his Age
Volume II: Late 14th Century Avant Garde
Volume III: The Court of Burgundy
with James Bowman, Charles Brett, Martyn Hill and Geoffrey Shaw

The Art of the Recorder — SLS 5022
Recorder music from the i3th century to the present day
with the David Munrow Recorder Consort
Norma Burrowes, James Bowman, Martyn Hill, Robert Lloyd

Dufay: Mass "Se la face ay pale" — CSD 3751

Purcell: Birthday Odes for Queen Mary
Come ye Sons of Art (1694) & Love's goddess sure (1692) — ASD 3166

with Norma Burrowes, James Bowman, Charles Brett, Robert Lloyd

Praetorius: Dances from Terpsichore (1652)
Motets from Musae Sioniae — CSD 3761

with Boys of the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St. Alban

Two Renaissance Dance Bands
Dances by Susato, Byrd, Dowland, Nicholson, Morley — HQS 1249

with the Morley Consort

Music for Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain — CSD 3738
with James Bowman, Martyn Hill, Geoffrey Shaw

Henry VIII and His Six Wives — CSDA 9001
Music arranged, composed and directed by David Munrow for the Anglo EMI film

Telemann: Suite in A minor
Sammartini: Concerto in F major
Handel: Concerto in B flat major — ASD 3028

David Munrow, recorder
The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields directed by Neville Marriner







Recording: London, Abbey Road Studios,
March, April, September 1973 & February 1974
Producer: John Willan
Balance engineer:: Stuart Eltham
Introduction: Mark Audus, Adélaïde de Place
Übersetzung: Gudrun Meier
Cover: Musicians from the Beatae Elisabeth Psalter, 13th century (detail).
The Art Archive / Archaeological Museum Cividale Friuli / Dagli Orti
Design: Sacha Davison Lunt

℗ 1976 The copyright in this sound
recording is owned by EMI Records Ltd.
Digital remastering ℗ 2007 EMI Records Ltd/Virgin Classics
© 2007 EMI Records Ltd/Virgin Classics
ADD



INSTRUMENTS OF THE MIDDLE AGES AND RENAISSANCE

When he died in May 1976 at the age of thirty-three, David Munrow left a recorded legacy that, in its breadth, depth and importance, rivalled and even surpassed that of many more senior figures. It ranged from the twelfth century to the high baroque, encompassing instrumental and vocal works, and including in later years the masterpieces of renaissance vocal polyphony. Yet instrumental music was always central to Munrow, a virtuosic player as well as director of the Early Music Consort of London, and a compulsive collector of musical instruments from around the globe.

One of his final and most ambitious projects was this recorded survey of musical instruments of the medieval and renaissance eras, originally accompanied by a lavishly illustrated 90-page book researched with all his typical thoroughness. The ordering of the recording follows that of the book. In each period, the instruments are organised according to type: woodwind, keyboard, brass and strings. Within these sections are further subdivisions: for instance, in the woodwind category reed instruments (open reeds such as the shawm and 'capped' reeds like the crumhorn, as well as bagpipes) are followed by flutes (including pipes and recorder), whilst plucked strings like the harp, lute and guitar
are treated before bowed strings like the rebec, viol and violin. Alongside these more familiar instruments are some less well-known ones, most notably the tromba marina (CD1: 30) which, despite its misleading name, is a long, wooden, triangular-bodied, bowed instrument with just one or two strings. Its distinctive sound is the result of it playing only harmonics (with the player touching the string very lightly with fingers of the left hand), together with a specially designed vibrating bridge which produces a pronounced raffling sound.

Whilst some instruments are heard solo (like the reed pipe), others are accompanied (bladder pipes) or heard in ensemble - the latter increasingly the case in the many renaissance works designed for consort performance. Different examples of certain instruments are also heard: bagpipes with a cylindrical chanter (i.e. a straight-bored pipe) and a conical one (opening out into a bell, like a trumpet or horn), and a metal-strung harp contrasted with a gut-strung one. The two juxtaposed performances of the Toccata from Monteverdi's Orfeo (CD2: 16) provide a vivid illustration of how the long trumpet mutes of the time were inserted so far up the instrument's bell that they raised its pitch by a whole tone.

As well as playing many original instruments or modern copies, Munrow and his musicians do not hesitate to make use of folk instruments from around the world in cases where he felt that these were the closest sounding equivalent of obsolete instruments. Thus the medieval buisine (a metallic ceremonial trumpet up to six feet in length) is represented by a pair of traditional long birch-bark trumpets of the sort still used by Swedish shepherds. To illustrate the dulcimer, an Italian madrigal by Jacopo da Bologna is performed on a traditional dulcimer from Hong Kong together with a rebec adapted from a Yugoslav folk instrument.

Musicological purists have tended to look rather sniffily on such liberties, and 'expert opinion' now usually favours a purely vocal approach in many of the medieval works Munrow treats here instrumentally. Yet what we know about the actual performance of this music and these instruments in their own time remains tantalisingly little (very few examples of purely instrumental music survive from the middle ages), and Munrow was never one to allow the actual performance of music to be inhibited by scholarly caution. His bold approach in this ground-breaking survey, featuring a combination of innate flair and consummate musicianship previously rare in performances of this repertoire, justifies itself by its continued ability to excite and communicate: such qualities never go out of fashion. Who else would dare come up with the startling combination (CD1: 7) of six-holed Peruvian folk pipe and Jew's harp for a monophonic French chanson? As Munrow himself pointed out, the crucial missing 'instrument' here - the human voice - is the one against which the tonal qualities of all the others were judged, and to which many of them aspired. In that respect alone, Munrow's selection of music - as wide and varied as the types of instrument demonstrated - seems still a wholly appropriate and inspired one.



INSTRUMENTS DU MOYEN-ÂGE ET DE LA RENAISSANCE

Un vaste mouvement de création musicale et poétique s'est développé dès le Moyen Age dans les diverses cours européennes. Poètes-musiciens et chroniqueurs ont souligné le rôle de la musique dans la société de l'époque. Elle fait partie de la vie quotidienne et accompagne toutes les activités, de la cour à la ville, et il n'est pas de manuscrit, d'enluminure, de fresque, de tapisserie, de chapiteaux et de vitrail d'église ou de cathédrale qui ne porte témoignage de l'importance de cet art. Lais, virelais, pastourelles, ballades, rondeaux se multiplient, tandis que les instruments s'affirment de plus en plus comme les égaux de la voix. Les chansons se transforment en danses, et cornemuses, trompettes, flûtes, chalemies, chalumeaux, rebecs, cornets, tambourins, luths et serpents rythment les hautes et les basses danses, ces dernières réservées aux « honnestes gens » disait Furetière. Troubadours au sud, trouvères au nord, Minnesänger en Allemagne célèbrent avec tendresse l'amour, mais l'un des derniers trouvères, Guillaume de Machaut, à la fois poète et musicien, place la musique sacrée et la musique profane sur le même plan, alors que dans les monastères, le chant devient le soutien incontournable des offices, et que le théâtre liturgique se déploie sur le parvis des cathédrales.

La Renaissance va s'imposer comme l'une des périodes les plus riches dans le domaine du développement artistique et musical. Particulièrement florissante, la musique vocale s'exprime en France par la chanson légère et spirituelle ou par la chanson mesurée à l'antique, en Italie par le madrigal dramatique, dans l'Allemagne protestante par le choral, mais l'art instrumental reste aussi particulièrement vivant, stimulé par le mouvement de sécularisation de la musique et par le développement de l'imprimerie : en France par exemple, Pierre Attaignant, célèbre pour
ses danceries, s'illustrera comme compositeur, luthiste et imprimeur. Des recueils pour flûte, luth, orgue, épinette voient le jour, nous laissant souvent de précieuses indications sur la pratique instrumentale. En Angleterre, John Dowland s'épanche sur le luth et Byrd, musicien de la cour, dirige des consorts of violes, en Espagne Luis Milán fait de la vihuela l'un de ses instruments favoris, en Italie où on pratique volontiers le chitarrone ou le violon, instrument de la danse, Frescobaldi écrit des canzone qui anticipent sur la sonate à trois. Les cours princières se transforment en académie, et à Mantoue, à la cour des princes de Gonzague, Claudio Monteverdi jette avec son Orfeo les fondements de l'opéra et n'utilisera pas moins de quarante-deux instruments lors de la création de cet ouvrage en 1607.