Cool Medieval Music!

[Jung]

I stumbled on this yesterday, it's pretty cool. Some of my favorites:


http://youtube.com/watch?v=Da9FeNoFIm0
I found this one particularly interesting: reconstructed Byzantine music. I wonder what's up with the gruesome illustration...


http://youtube.com/watch?v=7UvesKl8_W8
Middle English (1225).


http://youtube.com/watch?v=J_zjgZJOFl4


http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZSgGZGt4r7Y


http://youtube.com/watch?v=l9UrvjIXfEk
Ottoman march. It's kind of interesting to compare it with the Byzantine music vs. the European stuff.

[Dooey Jo]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7UvesKl8_W8
Middle English (1225).

man i love this one


Of course, with basically all these songs, only the melody and lyrics have been preserved. The compositions may be similar to what the original performances sounded like, but it's also likely they are heavily influenced by contemporary ideas of what they "should" have sounded like. Like the above song, with its added second voice, providing some awesome harmonies, totally has that special "medieval" feeling, full of longing and contained sorrow. You can imagine people walking about, leading harsh lives of courtly love and dreading God's judgement. But that, of course, is our contemporary idea of what life was like back then, no doubt influenced by how we would feel living without internets, never washing, in a mudhole. None of that is actually preserved in the actual material; no harmonies or instruments, no rhythm. It would be trivial to turn it into a happy party tune with a different composition, and it wouldn't necessarily be less "medieval".

This also the case with Byzantine and Ottoman music, making comparisons between them difficult from a historical perspective. But it's very interesting to consider why certain scales and instruments are considered medieval, or eastern or oriental. My favourite example is "ancient Egyptian music". Everyone knows what that sounds like. Except it's just a huge orientalist lie.

[Jung]

Of course, with basically all these songs, only the melody and lyrics have been preserved. The compositions may be similar to what the original performances sounded like, but it's also likely they are heavily influenced by contemporary ideas of what they "should" have sounded like. Like the above song, with its added second voice, providing some awesome harmonies, totally has that special "medieval" feeling, full of longing and contained sorrow. You can imagine people walking about, leading harsh lives of courtly love and dreading God's judgement. But that, of course, is our contemporary idea of what life was like back then, no doubt influenced by how we would feel living without internets, never washing, in a mudhole.

I do wonder what's up with the pic they picked for the Byzantine music. I mean, is it a lament or protest song, or did they just kind of randomly throw in a picture of people getting tortured and killed? It sounds like it could be a lament, but it's hard to tell.

But it's very interesting to consider why certain scales and instruments are considered medieval, or eastern or oriental. My favourite example is "ancient Egyptian music". Everyone knows what that sounds like. Except it's just a huge orientalist lie.

Could you expand on this? A quick Google search suggests:

The ancient Egyptians did not notate their music before the Graeco-Roman period, so attempts to reconstruct pharaonic music remain speculative. Representational evidence can give a general idea of the sound of Egyptian music. Ritual temple music was largely a matter of the rattling of the sistrum, accompanied by voice, sometimes with harp and/or percussion. Party/festival scenes show ensembles of instruments (lyres, lutes, double and single reed flutes, clappers, drums) and the presence (or absence) of singers in a variety of situations.

But there's "ancient Egyptian music" videos on YouTube that sound like this.

[Dooey Jo]

I do wonder what's up with the pic they picked for the Byzantine music. I mean, is it a lament or protest song, or did they just kind of randomly throw in a picture of people getting tortured and killed? It sounds like it could be a lament, but it's hard to tell.

Could just be a picture they liked that seemed related, I guess. I doubt it has any relation to any material that the song might be based on. The picture for "Miri it is" is apparently an angel poking some dude with a key? And the dude is like "Dude ".

Could you expand on this? A quick Google search suggests/quote]
Yes, exactly, all we basically have to go on are depictions of instruments. But what I mean is, if you ask pretty much anyone about Egyptian music, they will probably be much more specific. Maybe they will even say it might sound something like this. But probably played something like this, or like this. According to pop culture, Egyptians have listened to that late 19th century Arabic-inspired tune or variations thereof for thousands of years, from the Pharaohs to the present. (Also: snake charmers)

[Jung]

Found this one yesterday, think it's pretty cool:


http://youtube.com/watch?v=gnorTj1CnVg