viella

The complete French estampies of c. 1300: music, analysis, performance

Ian Pittaway Ars musice, Chansonnier du Roi, chant, church modes, citole, contrary motion, Doctrina de compondre dictates, drones, ecclesiastical chant, Edi beo thu heuene quene, Edi beo thu hevene quene, estampida, estampie, estanpie, fiddle, gittern, harp, heterophony, historically informed performance, istanpitta, Johannes de Grocheio, Manuscrit du Roi, medieval fiddle, medieval harp, modes, monophony, musica falsa, musica ficta, musica recta, musica vera, Notre Dame school, organum, parallel harmonies, parallel polyphony, polyphony, postlude, prelude, prime Estampie Royal, quarte Estampie Royal, quinte estampie Real, rhythmic modes, Roman de Horn, seconde Estampie Royal, septime estampie Real, Sexte estampie Real, stampen, stampita, stantipede, stantipedem, stantipedis, stantipes, tierce Estampie Roial, Uitime estampie Real, viella, vielle 2 Comments

Among the treasures of surviving medieval instrumental music are eight French royal estampies in the Manuscrit or Chansonnier du roi, c. 1300. This article includes:

• an outline of the manuscript, putting the estampies in context;
• a description of the estampie form from a contemporaneous French source, Ars musice by Johannes de Grocheio, c. 1300;
• a video of each of the eight royal estampies performed on either gittern, citole or medieval harp;
• the music for all the royal estampies in the original neume notation and in modern notation;
• music analysis and historically-informed performance suggestions, looking at a different aspect of performance for each estampie.

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How reliable is medieval music iconography? Part 2/3: 10 principles for interpreting iconography

Ian Pittaway cithara, citole, cittern, cobza, Elbląg 'gittern', Elbląg coboz, Elbląg koboz, Elbląg kobza, fiddle, fiddle tunings, gittern, guitar, harp, iconography, instrument straps, Jerome of Moravia, kithara, koboz, kobza, lute, medieval fiddle, medieval fiddle tunings, musical instrument straps, organ, organetto, organino, organistrum, Pierre de Limoges, portative organ, rota, rote, rothe, rotta, simfonie, simfony, sinfonie, straps, symfony, symphonia, symphonie, therobo, Tractatus de Musica, viella, vielle, vielle tunings 0 Comment

Our chief source of information for medieval musical instruments is iconography, meaning the art of manuscripts, paintings, and sculptures. That this art must be viewed critically is a commonplace understanding. Due to its highly stylised nature, some argue that all medieval iconography is suspect and of no value for gleaning real-world information. This series of articles argues that this conclusion is a mistake: if we come to iconography with an historically-informed approach, medieval art has much to teach us about historical musical instruments.

How do we judge medieval symbolism, artistic conventions and the limitations of the medium (manuscript, stone, paint) so as to gather information valuable to a luthier, a music historian and a modern player of medieval instruments? That is what this article sets out to describe, outlining 10 principles when viewing iconography for practical musical purposes.  

The first article introduced the topic by outlining the characteristics of medieval art. The third and final part puts the 10 principles of the present article into practice with the recreation of a gittern painted by Simone Martini in 1312-18.    

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Alliterative animals making medieval music in Saint Mary’s Church, Cogges (14th century)

Ian Pittaway alliterative literature, animals playing instruments, bagpipes, bells, Beowulf, Beverley Minster, cithara, citole, Doll thi ale, drum, duct flute, fiddle, flute, Foweles in the frith, Foweles in þe frith, harp, horn, hunting horn, iconography, kithara, medieval fiddle, medieval harp, minstrels, miracle plays, misericords, musical animals, mystery plays, Piers Plowman, pipe and tabor, psaltery, Puritans, recorder, septime estampie Real, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, St. Mary's Church Cogges, viella, vielle, vielle tunings, viola
Photographs © Ian Pittaway.

Alliteration was a foundational feature of medieval verse. Animals playing musical instruments are regularly seen in medieval art. The 14th century stone-carved musicians of Saint Mary’s Church, Cogges, Oxfordshire, delightfully bring these two elements together: there are nine instruments played by eight alliterative animals (one plays two), including a sheep playing a citole and a boar playing a bagpipe (above). 

This article begins with examples of alliteration in medieval poetry (Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Piers Plowman), songs (Foweles in þe frith, Doll thi ale), and the medieval mystery plays; followed by illustrations of animals playing music in medieval and renaissance art. That is the background for a brief history of Saint Mary’s Church, Cogges, and an explanation of its eight alliterative animals playing medieval music, with photographs of every carving and a video of each instrument being played.  

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The vihuela and viola da mano: siblings of the lute

Ian Pittaway Agricola Martin, Bermudo Juan, Cantigas de Santa María, cithara, Daza Esteban, fiddle, Francesco da Milano, Fuenllana Miguel de, Geige, Geigen, Josquin des Prez, kithara, lute, Milán Luis, Milano Francesco da, Mille regretz (A thousand regrets), Mudarra Alonso, Narváez Luys de, Pisador Diego, plectra, plectrums, Prez Josquin des, Valderrábano Enriquez de, viella, vielle, vihuela, vihuela da mano, viola, viola d’arco, viola da mano, viola de arco, Virdung Sebastian, viüela de pénola 2 Comments

All players of early music will be familiar with the lute, the plucked polyphonic instrument par excellence of the European renaissance. In 16th century Spain, prime position was given not to the lute but to the vihuela da mano, depicted in Spanish iconography as the instrument of Orpheus, Arion, Venus, and the angels of heaven. The vihuela drew upon the polyphonic compositions of Europe for its intabulations, as well as having had its own repertoire in 7 books printed between 1536 and 1576 by such Spanish composers as Luis Milán, Luys de Narváez, and Alonso Mudarra. In 16th century Italy, where the lute was dominant, the vihuela was called the viola da mano, and was suggested as an alternative to the lute in two prints of the music of Francesco Canova da Milano, musician to three successive popes.

This article traces the vihuela/viola da mano through its medieval origins; explains its relationship to the lute; illustrates the connection between the bowed vihuela/viola and the plucked vihuela/viola; describes the three surviving instruments; shows, through iconography, the difference in plucking style between the Spanish vihuela and the Italian viola da mano and lute; discusses the evidence for octave or unison stringing of courses; outlines the available music; and describes its use in mythological imagery.

We begin with a video performance of fantasia del quarto Tono by Luys de Narváez on vihuela/viola da mano. To illustrate the process of intabulation (turning a polyphonic song into a polyphonic piece for plucked strings) there are three videos of Josquin des Prez’s Mille regretz (A thousand regrets): for 4 voices; for solo vihuela; then for voice and lute. A fourth video shows a viola da mano playing a recercare by Francesco Spinacino and Rossina by Hans Judenkünig. We conclude with links to facsimiles of all 16th century vihuela tablature prints.

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On the medieval fiddle: a short introduction to the vielle

Ian Pittaway bourdon, bowed lyre, crwth, early instruments, early music, fiddle, fiddle tunings, Henry VIII, hurdy gurdy, Jerome of Moravia, jongleurs, lyre, Mary Rose, mediaeval, medieval, medieval fiddle, medieval fiddle tunings, minstrels, organistrum, organum, simfony, Tractatus de Musica, troubadours, trouvères, viella, vielle, vielle à roue, vielle tunings 2 Comments

WaltersMuseumW37f.20vA mention of the violin today is likely to conjure up images of a classical, orchestral, or jazz musician, whereas the word fiddle is more likely to suggest a traditional or folk musician, even though they’re essentially the same instrument, set up differently to suit different styles of playing. This class-based relegation of the term fiddle was not always so. Centuries before the creation of the violin there was the medieval fiddle, also known by its French name, the vielle. This brief introduction demonstrates that the playing style and sound of the medieval fiddle had more in common with the hurdy gurdy and the crwth (bowed lyre) than the modern violin. Includes illustrations and video examples.

This is one of two editions of this article, being a short introduction to the vielle, intended for the general reader. There is a longer version, The mysteries of the medieval fiddle: lifting the veil on the vielle, which has a detailed discussion of the different ways in which we can make sense of historical fiddle tunings and, in the light of that, a closely argued case for the relationship between the vielle and the crwth.  

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The mysteries of the medieval fiddle: lifting the veil on the vielle

Ian Pittaway Agricola Martin, Berkeley manuscript, bourdon, church modes, citole, crwth, fiddle, fiddle tunings, Guido of Arezzo, Guidonian hand, Henry VIII, hexachord, hurdy gurdy, Jerome of Moravia, Johannes Tinctoris, jongleurs, kithara, lira da braccio, lute, lyra da braccio, lyre, Mary Rose, medieval fiddle, medieval fiddle tunings, medieval modes, medieval scales, minstrels, modes, musica ficta, organistrum, organum, re-entrant tuning, rebec, simfony, Tractatus de Musica, troubadours, trouvères, viella, vielle, vielle à roue, vielle tunings 16 Comments

QueenMaryPsalter.Royal2BVIIf.174The vielle or medieval fiddle was the most popular instrument in its heyday for secular song accompaniment. It first appeared in western Europe in the 11th century and continued to be played until the middle of the 16th century, flourishing in the 12th and 13th centuries. There is a wealth of vielle iconography, which can tell us a great deal about the variety of its form and the context of its use. There is a medieval source for its tuning, Jerome of Moravia in the 13th century, who gives 3 tunings for 5 strings, leaving us with some puzzles as to what exactly they mean in practice, and whether they can be applied to fiddles with fewer than 5 strings. Our only renaissance tuning source is Johannes Tinctoris in the 15th century, which isn’t entirely clear in its meaning.

This page provides a detailed discussion of the different ways in which we can make sense of historical fiddle tunings and, in the light of that, a closely argued case for the relationship between the vielle and the crwth or bowed lyre, demonstrating that they were identical in style, having more in common with the hurdy gurdy family than modern bowed strings.

There are two editions of this article. This one includes detailed analysis. For a brief introduction, go to On the medieval fiddle: a short introduction to the vielle.

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