Sleeve Notes

This mix of dance tunes and songs represents some of the sounds that may have been heard entertaining the Kings, courtiers and peasants of Medieval Europe.

In reproducing music from this period a lot is left to guess work. No actual instruments have survived to the present day, but there are many contemporary paintings and illustrations to indicate at least how they looked, if not how they sounded. The instruments used on this recording are modern reproductions based on these early illustrations.

The reed instruments, such as the Crumhorn and Shawm, produce a more strident sound than their modem descendants whilst the flutes and recorders sound quite similar to their modem counterparts though a little more soft and woody. Drums and percussion instruments play an important part In most of the dance music with perhaps the most notable being the nakers - a pair of small copper bowls with calf skin heads, worn around the waist. These drums are played with two short beaters and provide a strong rhythmic drive.

In some ways it may be said that this music Is closer to modem popular music than anything composed during the intervening centuries. It is often quite simple, repetitive and rhythmic, the musical interest coming from the unusual combination of sounds along with the performer’s individual interpretation and improvisation. Like modem pop music, these pieces would have been played by the people who wrote them, whether they be strolling minstrels or, as in the case of a couple of these pieces, King Henry VIII himself!

Our aim in recording these pieces was to capture the vitality and robust quality of the music. We have used the technique of multi-track recording, allowing us both to play a number of instruments on each piece and to sing more than one part on the songs.

All in all we hope to have achieved a modem approach to this diverse and exhilarating ancient music, we hope that you enjoy the results.