Anyone interested in or playing Medieval music?

This era has always had a fascination for me and I am just exploring transcribing and playing (for example) some gregorian chant/plainsong and some secular melodies onto the theremin.

I have a couple PDF scores I could share but not sure how to on this form. (If anyone is interested)

Hi sparrow,

There is a problem trying to play medieval music on the theremin.

In a nutshell, the theremin requires vibrato, and medieval music does not use vibrato. In fact, European classical music prior to the 1820’s, did not use vibrato at all unless it was specifically indicated by the composer. This was usually done with a wiggly line over the vibrato passage, and it was a device used by musicians to heighten emotion. By the late 1800’s musicians, particularly vocalists, were using it all the time. 

The theremin has the dubious distinction of being one of a very few musical instruments that cannot be played without vibrato (that old theremin nemesis, the musical saw, may be another). 

Unlike most other instrumentalists, the precision thereminist MUST execute vibrato in order to play the instrument with an appearance of accuracy. Vibrato gives us a certain leeway in finding pitch and allows us to mask the countless pitch corrections (what Bob Moog called “trimming”) we are constantly making when we play. Try playing without vibrato and you will quickly realize it is impossible to remain in tune without it. 

With precision theremin playing, vibrato is an integral and essential part of technique, hiding many of the inevitable inaccuracies, while warming and "humanizing" the voice of the instrument at the same time.

Please note: the need for vibrato when playing the theremin does not apply to aleatoric, FX, or experimental music.

Oh, I don't know. This talented fellow often brings his vibrato in later quite often after establishing the note. And on the short notes doesn't use vibrato at all and his tuning is pretty good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjnaciNT-wQ

and even more so here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-9GGx9p2yo

From some of the posts I have read on this forum I am probably courting danger and thunderous thrashing for expressing such an opinion but I am not so sure one MUST use vibrato when playing.

Hi sparrow,

Greg Blanc is a theremin prodigy. I have corresponded with him for a few years and he is, believe it or not, currently in Montreal working on a project at McGill University.

…. I think he may be an alien baby! 🛸👶😀

The pieces you linked above are beautifully done, but they are not medieval and Greg uses vibrato extensively on both of them.

I recorded the following composition about 15 years ago using two or three different theremins, and it is the only thing I have ever done on the theremin that does not use vibrato. It’s called “WHITE VOICES”. I was trying to emulate that pure “boy soprano” sound.

http://www.peterpringle.com/music/white.mp3

Hi sparrow,Greg Blanc is a theremin prodigy. I have corresponded with him for a few years and he is, believe it or not, currently in Montreal working on a project at McGill University.…. I think he may be an alien baby! 🛸👶😀

-Ya he is awesome and humble too. And encouraging! I have chatted with him a bit on facebook. 

The pieces you linked above are beautifully done, but they are not medieval.
-yup, they are not medieval. The point was to show him using notes without immediate vibrato.

and Greg uses vibrato extensively on both of them.
-yes but not exclusively

I recorded the following composition about 15 years ago using two or three different theremins, and it is the only thing I have ever done on the theremin that does not use vibrato. It’s called “WHITE VOICES”. I was trying to emulate that pure “boy soprano” sound.http://www.peterpringle.com/music/white.mp3

-It is nice. Ya a little off pitch at times but I'm ok with it.

Another factor to consider is that medieval melodies "tend" to have a limited compass, often maybe only an octave and a half.
In theory one might "tune" the entire range of their theremin down to 2 octaves. Though this would mean much larger movements and less speed, one could play with a bit less pitch errors. I have experimented with this with some success.

And, ultimately, since I have a theremini, I can always dial up the pitch correction for more consistent results.
Sure, I am not a "pure" thereminist then, but I am too old and my body is too broken to care much.

Hi Sparrow,

The off-pitchiness was deliberately left there because I wanted the melody to sound like it was being sung by a boy soprano - not a superstar boy soprano - an ordinary kid with a voice.

A “pure” thereminist? I’m not sure I know what that is.

As General Charles de Gaulle once said: “Old age is like being on a ship that is stuck on a reef. All you can do is wait for the next wave.”  LOL

Hi Sparrow,

Best medieval music group "Early Music Quartet" a.k.a. "Studio Frue Musik" - Bernard de Ventadorn/Matrim Codax and Carmina Burana albums are fantastic.

No one know what medieval music performance was like as Edison had not been born early enough.

Hildegard von Bingen is a lot more interesting than plainchant.

You basically have your imagination and the older folk traditions as done by Musica Reservata, and Binkley's group.

You do not need to use vibrato to play the theremin, but TREMOLO  . . . let's don't go there.

I started out doing medieval electronics, I am a purist!

https://www.soundclick.com/bands3/default.cfm?bandID=646320

As for the theremin I have "Ecce Gratum"  C.B.143 done in a planetarium with Art Harrison in a very non traditional arrangement:

https://youtu.be/wtDwqGQtsvg

(there are no traditional arrangements)

That was a long time ago. Back then I still over-did vibrato as I was still a novice.

I did some "electrograss" and that styling is more likely to be adaptable to medieval works:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22rupert+Chappelle%22+electrograss

But as to what I do now, I would recommend the Mel9 for your theremin. You can add vibrato when you like, but I advise to first hit the note and hold it, then express.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22rupert+Chappelle%22+%22national+electrophonic%22

Not only can you play with or without vibrato, but you can play staccato as well. Avoid pizzicato - that ruined me for a year. 

A group doing medieval and renaissance music in performance electronically would be a delight.

BTW- If hillbillies can sing on pitch, I suspect troubadours could as well, except for that famously bad one.

https://youtu.be/T8gat9iwqMM

Get to a library or buy these (my sourcebooks from 1970)

Gleason "Examples of Music Before 1400" (I believe it has that drinking song, also "In Seculum Viellatoris" which could become "In Seculum Thereminus" with Hocket).
"Harvard Anthology of Music Volume 1, Oriental, Medieval and Renaissance Music."

One you can still buy:

https://www.abebooks.com/Historical-Anthology-Music-Vol-Oriental-Medieval/30207754912/bd?cm_mmc=gmc-_-new-_-PLA-_-v01&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpOK83OHA4QIV1YKzCh3gtAJqEAkYByABEgKLl_D_BwE

Also there are collection of motets available in university libraries, more than you can imagine.

Library of Congress has a facsimile of Hildegard's works, if you can read squiggles.

Thanks for all the resources Rupert!

I checked out some of your stuff on sound click Rupert. Interesting!  Disturbing even
Thanks for sharing.