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Welcome to Harmonia . . . I’m Angela Mariani.
This hour, we’re hitting all the right notes—as we explore the world of tuning systems from Pythagorean to the first temperaments of the Renaissance, which allowed musicians to go beyond the limitations of a single mode. The Renaissance was a time of musical discovery where musicians were experimenting with harmonic lines as well as instrumental tunings and temperaments, and we’ll hear works by Guillaume de Machaut, Claudio Monteverdi, Orlando Gibbons, and J.S. Bach. Plus, we’ll explore the monastic lifestyle with the Brabant Ensemble’s recording A Monk's Life, directed by Stephen Rice.
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MUSIC TRACK
Perotin
The Hilliard Ensemble
ECM Records 1989 / 00042283775121
Anonymous
TRACK 4: O maria virginei [Conductus, France, 13th Century] (4:50)
“O maria virginei” performed by the Hilliard Ensemble. We’ll hear more from the Hilliard Ensemble, in a bit.
To understand the tuning systems of the Renaissance, we need to start with the idea of temperament. Temperament refers to the adjustment of intervals between notes. In earlier times, musicians often used Pythagorean tuning, which is based on pure fifths.Throughout the next two pieces, we can hear the spacious and consonant harmonies created by perfect fifths, mixed with the dissonant and unstable harmonies created by wide dissonant thirds. Let’s hear the Hilliard Ensemble perform “Kyrie and Gloria” from the Machaut Notre Dame Mass using the medieval Pythagorean tuning style.
MUSIC TRACK
Messe de Notre Dame
The Hilliard Ensemble
Hyperion 1989
Guillaume de Machaut
T.1 Kyrie (05:46)
T.2 Gloria (04:11)
The Hilliard Ensemble performed “Kyrie and Gloria” from the Messe de Notre Dame by composer Guillaume de Machaut.
Around the 15th century a new temperament system emerged: meantone. Meantone tuning allowed musicians to create harmonious melodies by using pure major thirds. In this new temperament, the interval between the two notes of a major third was narrowed, making notes harmonically closer together by "sharpening" or "flattening.” The thirds were “sweeter,” or, more pure…but as a result, other intervals ended up sounding more unstable.
The music of the Renaissance and early Baroque used different types of this meantone temperament. Here’s harpsichordist Alina Rotaru performing Orlando Gibbons’ “Pavan and Galliard Lord Salisbury” in 1/4-comma meantone temperament.
MUSIC TRACK
Parthenia
Alina Rotaru
Sono Luminus 2016 / DSL-92208
Orlando Gibbons
T.18: Pavan (05:57)
Track 19: Galliard (02:18)
That was Alina Rotaru performing the “Pavan and Galliard Lord Salisbury” by Orlando Gibbons.
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You’re listening to Harmonia . . . I’m Angela Mariani.
MIDBREAK MUSIC TRACK
Parthenia
Alina Rotaru
Sono Luminus 2016 / DSL-92208
Orlando Gibbons
Track 17: Fantasia a 4 (excerpt of 05:58)
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Welcome back. We’ve been listening to pieces tuned in Pythagorean and Meantone temperaments.
Before a more or less universal pitch standard was adopted, tuning was relative to what country the musician was playing in and when. Singers had an advantage in that they could sing at any pitch within their range simply by adjusting their voice; but on the other hand, they had to be able to hear small differences in pitch, and replicate what they were hearing. Fixed instruments like the harpsichord had to be tuned to specific pitches. Let’s hear a piece that features both a vocalist and fixed instruments. Here’s the Taverner Consort and Players performing Claudio Monteverdi’s “L'Orfeo Prologue.”
MUSIC TRACK
L'Orfeo
Taverner Consort and Players
Avie Records / AV2278 / Naxos 2013
Claudio Monteverdi
Track 2: Prologo: Dal mio Permesso amato a voi ne vengo (La Musica) (06:12)
That was the Taverner Consort and Players performing Claudio Monteverdi’s “L'Orfeo Prologue” under the direction of Andrew Parrott.
In the early Baroque period, a new tuning system developed -- the well-tempered tuning system. It was more flexible and allowed musicians to move throughout the 12 different keys, highlighting the different timbres of each key.
Johann Sebastian Bach used this temperament to create his renowned collection The Well-Tempered Clavier in all major and minor keys. Bach takes advantage of all the notes within the scale and transitions between different keys to feature the different colors of contrasting keys. This is Mart Galling performing Bach’s “Prelude and Fugue No.1 in C Major.”
MUSIC TRACK
J.S. Bach: Keyboard Works, Vol. 15: Toccatas, BWV 910-916
Mart Galling [correction: Martin Galling]
VOX 2024 / VOX-NX-2586
TRACK 1: Prelude No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846 (02:20)
TRACK 2: Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846 (01:57)
That was Mart Galling performing “Prelude and Fugue No.1 in C Major” by J.S. Bach.
Let’s hear another piece from Book One of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier: The prelude and fugue in E Major. This “well tempered” method of tuning the instrument helps the player sidestep some of the spicier sonorities made possible (by) that key’s four sharps. Here is Matthew Dirst…
MUSIC TRACK
J. S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I
Matthew Dirst, harpsichord
Acis 2024 / APL: 54117
D.1 Tr. 17 Prelude No. 9 in E Major, BWV 854 (1:29)
D.1 Tr. 18 Fugue No. 9 in E Major, BWV 854 (1:31) really 1:53
Harpsichordist Matthew Dirst performed the prelude and fugue in E Major from Book 1 of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier.
[pause]
You’re listening to Harmonia . . . I’m Angela Mariani.
Let’s shift now to a different kind of “temperament” — one of a monastic sort. Our featured release this hour is the Brabant Ensemble’s A Monk's Life. The recording’s tracks are sectioned into “chapters” based on the stages of a monk’s life in post-reformation Germany. The chapters follow his journey, starting with “entering the monastic life” and eventually ending with “death and reception into heaven.” The recording, led by Stephen Rice, was released in November 2024 by Hyperion Records. Let’s listen to several pieces, each drawn from a different “chapter” of A Monk’s Life.
MUSIC TRACK
A Monk’s Life
The Brabant Ensemble
Hyperion Records 2024
TRACK 1: Lassus: Sponsa Dei: I. Sponsa Dei (3:30)
TRACK 13:Ammon: Sacrificate sacrificium iustitiae: I. (1:51)
TRACK 25:Reiner: Veni Creator Spiritus (2:26)
TRACK 28:Clemens non Papa: In te Domine speravi (5:47)
We heard “Sponsa Dei” by Orlandus Lassus, “Sacrificate sacrificium iustitiae” by Blasius Ammon, Jacob Reiner’s “Veni Creator Spiritus,” and we closed with “In te Domine speravi” by Jacobus Clemens non Papa. Stephen Rice led the Brabant Ensemble on our featured recording, A Monk's Life.
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Harmonia is a production of WFIU and part of the educational mission of Indiana University.
Support comes from Early Music America: a national organization that advocates and supports the historical performance of music of the past, the community of artists who create it, and the listeners whose lives are enriched by it. On the web at EarlyMusicAmerica-dot-org.
Additional resources come from the William and Gayle Cook Music Library at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
We welcome your thoughts about any part of this program, or about early music in general. Contact us at harmonia early music dot org. You can follow us on Facebook by searching for Harmonia Early Music.
The writer for this edition of Harmonia is Alice Frisch.
Thanks to our production team: LuAnn Johnson, Aaron Cain, Brock Hamman, and John Bailey. I’m Angela Mariani, inviting you to join us again for the next edition of Harmonia.
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