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Musical Instruments of the Renaissance
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Musicians of Renaissance Faires endeavor to perform their music on instruments of the period. The Renaissance Period lasted from approximately 1400 to 1600 A.D. The musical instruments of this period must include the human voice. Liturgical musical emphasized the voice and musical instruments were relegated to supporting the voice. The concept behind this was that the human voice was the purest form of musical sound. The sound musical instruments produced was considered contrived and not of a divine source.
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The secular music of the period placed musical instruments and voice on an equal level. This is evident with the music of John Dowland, Thomas Morley, John Bull, Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Weelkes, and Henry Purcell. The musical forms of these composers included madrigals, motets, pavans, and galliards. This music was presented to the public through the jongleurs and troubadours (early minstrels) of this period. Instrument ensemble music is a development of the late Renaissance. Henry the VIII’s collection of musical instruments is evidence of this. “In 1526 Henry had in active use at court three lutes, fifteen trumpets, three rebecs, three taborets, a harp, two viols, four drums, a fife, and ten sackbuts.” From Music in the Renaissance by Gustave Reese, page 867.
The musical instruments of the Renaissance consisted of: viols, virginals, lutes, bagpipes, hurdy gurdys, krummhorns, sackbuts, serpents, trumpets, drums, harps, rebecs, recorders, fifes, and more that can viewed at the Musica Antiqua Web site.
To help show these instruments, Mr. Carl Bleyle has given me permission to use the photographs from his Web site, Musica Antiqua. Please visit this site. It has an excellent representation of the music and instruments of the Renaissance period. Their costuming is outstanding and adds to your aesthetic understanding of Renaissance culture. I will not, nor could I place all of their photographs in this article. You must view their Web site to get the best understanding of this article. This site will do a better job than I to fully present the musical instruments of the Renaissance - especially since I have not named all the instruments pictured.
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