Hot on the heels of me giving someone the quick version of "how to medieval music"**, this awesome video from Early Music Sources takes a dive into the troubadour repertoire, recounting a lot of the same process I walked someone through this morning!
**I make transcriptions of and coach people on the music of Hildegard von Bingen! Hit me up for all your neume-learning, medieval-interpretation things.
Etudes, written to develop a musician's technical abilities, have existed basically since there were instruments to be learned (including the singing voice). But this one is definitely out there!
Is imitation really "stealing" or is it "homage"? This video explores the theme of composers borrowing, stealing, copying, or rewriting pieces and then publishing them anew.
Check out this incredible resource on ornamentation! Primary and secondary sources, musical examples, and more!
Musicians in the Renaissance and Baroque periods spent considerable effort (and treatise pages) discussing what made performances interesting. What if performing things the way they suggested ... actually did the things they said it would?
Performance Practice isn’t just about Early Music! While watching Disney’s original “Fantasia” this weekend, the narration before the Nutcracker Suite mentioned that “hardly anyone plays this these days”. Some quick research revealed that the holiday tradition of ballet companies putting on a production of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker only dates back to the 1960s (and “Fantasia” was released in 1940). How many other things that have “always been done this way” have a surprisingly short definitions of “always”?
Is imitation the highest form of flattery? What about forgery? Early Music Sources takes on period composition with some GREAT stories of scandal and deliberate misattribution, as well as previews of some current composers worth exploring!
Why sing from an edition when you could sing from a source? What makes a good edition? Thanks to Early Music Sources for explaining why editions matter in this fantastic video!
P.S. One exception: if there were neumes, sing from neumes. Otherwise I'm all for using a good edition!
Years ago, it was this listing of Higher Ed Early Music Programs that helped me find the path I'm on now! Know someone who is looking for opportunities to study/perform Early Music in college or grad school? Have them check out this list!
Just in time for Christmas - Early Music Sources digs into the story behind Gaudete (and why I sang two different versions of the verse tune in concerts this December)!