What do you think music sounded like more than 500 years ago?
Early music specialist Sarah Schilling helps answer this question on this episode of Classical Sprouts!
Sarah plays recorder, an instrument that was especially popular in Europe during the medieval, renaissance and baroque eras.
Sarah's recorder isn't quite like the one you'd play in a music class.
She even plays on different instruments according her repertoire's time period.
Renaissance recorders have a simple design with a rich low register, while baroque recorders are more ornate with a robust high register designed for soloistic playing.
Dances were also popular among all social classes during these eras, and musicians often played recorders and other instruments to accompany different types of dances.
Sarah played five dances for us, each with special steps and purposes.
First up is a bransle, which dancers often performed in a circle.
This bransle is from a Renaissance book on how to perform different dances.
You might recognize this melody, though!
In the 1800s, English composer George Ratcliffe Woodward put words to this tune - "Ding Dong Merrily on High."
Next, Sarah plays a basse dance, which gave musicians the freedom to improvise their parts rather than play strictly from a score.
"Basse" means "low," and describes the dancers' movements; their feet didn't leave the floor.
The courante is next; it's a fast, running dance in three.
This courante is from a book of more than 300 dances by German composer Michael Praetorius.
The last two dances Sarah plays, the slow, stately pavane and the quick, jumpy galliard, were normally paired together.
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Classical Sprouts is produced by Emily Duncan Wilson. Stefan Wiebe was this episode's recording engineer. Kacie Brown is the digital content manager.
