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Minstrels and jesters
A minstrel, a word from Provençal which means “house servant”, was the court artist in the Feudal Time.
Frequently the minstrel was retained as entertainer by royalty and high society. He was a musician, he sang
stories and he was even a jester. He was present in the medieval time in France and in England. Although
minstrels created their own tales, they often would memorize and embellish the works of others, mainly of
troubadours.
A jester, another word from Provençal, indicates the artist who made his living performing in front of a public
in the XII-XIII century. His performances could include songs, music, storytelling, acrobatics, juggling and
magic. Jesters were men of middle education but they joined learned to popular literature. They were considered
the first Arts professionals because they lived on their art. Much of the entertainment was performed in a comic
style and many jesters made contemporary jokes in word or song about people or events well known to their
audiences. They had an important role in spreading news, opinions and entertaining performances.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES
Medieval music was mainly vocal music and the instruments were used only as accompaniment.
The main instrument were: the lute, a small organ called "portativo" similar to modern accordion; the rebec; the
psaltery and the hurdy-gurdy.
Moreover there were flutes, trumpets, viols (the ancient violin) and different types of percussion instruments
which had to give the rhythm to the dance.
All Medieval texts we know are called ‘estampie’ which means an instrumental dancing composition.
String instruments
The Rebec
The rebec is a bowed stringed instrument: it was the typical instrument used by minstrels and troubadours. In its
most common form, it has a narrow boat-shaped body and 1-5 strings. Played on the arm or under the chin, it is
an ancestor of the violin. Popular in the XV and XVI centuries, the introduction of the rebec into Western
Europe possibly coincided with the conquest of Spain by the Moors.
The Psaltery
The psaltery is an ancient harp-like instrument of Oriental origin. It has a triangular shape. The word psaltery
derives from the Ancient Greek, it was played with the fingers or with the plectrum. It was introduced in
Europe in the XI century.
The harp
The harp is a ‘pizzicato’ multi-string musical instruments which has the plane of its 47 strings positioned
perpendicularly to the soundboard. It has a triangular shape and in the lower part there is the resonator. At the
base of the instruments you have 7 pedals. The harp is rarely used as a solo instrument. The two typical harp
effects are the ‘arpeggio’ and the ‘glissando’.
The citole
The Citole, also spelled Sytole, Cytiole, Gytolle, is an archaic musical instrument, similar and a distant ancestor
of the modern guitar without the neck. It is generally shown as a four-string instrument, with a body generally
referred to as "holly-leaf" shaped. It can be played with the fingers or with the plectrum. The citole is frequently
mentioned by poets of the 13th to the 15th centuries.
The hurdy-gurdy
The hurdy gurdy is a stringed instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing
against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the
instrument sound similar to those of a violin. Melodies are played on a keyboard that presses tangents —
small wedges, typically made of wood — against one or more of the strings to change their pitch. Like
most other acoustic stringed instruments, it has a sound board to make the vibration of the strings
audible. The hurdy gurdy was used by minstrels. The hurdy gurdy is often used interchangeably or along
with bagpipes, particularly in French and contemporary Hungarian and Galician folk music.
The guitar
.
The term guitar is descended from the Latin word cithara but the modern guitar itself is generally not believed to
have descended from the Roman instrument. Many influences are cited as antecedents to the modern guitar.
Although the development of the earliest "guitars" is lost in the history of medieval Spain, two instruments are
commonly cited as their most influential predecessors, the European lute and its cousin, the four-string oud; the
latter was brought to Iberia by the Moors in the 8th century. It is played with fingers and plectrum.
Wind Instruments
The Chalumeau
The chalumeau is the general name of a lot of wind instruments in the XII and XIII centuries. In the XV and
XVI century the name indicates two different instruments: one that has a single-reed mouthpiece and a straight
cylindrical tube with an approximately cylindrical bore, that is the predecessor to the modern day Clarinet; the
other one with a double reed musical with a conical bore and flared bell that is the predecessor to the oboe.
The cornett is an early wind instrument that dates from the Medieval period. . It consists of a conical wooden
pipe covered in leather and has finger holes and a small horn or ivory mouthpiece. It is not to be confused with
the trumpet-like cornet. The sound of the cornett was produced by lip vibrations against a cup mouthpiece
The trumpet
.
A trumpet is a musical instrument of the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments,
dating back to at least 1500 BC. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing"
sound that starts a standing wave vibration in the air column inside the instrument. There are several types of
trumpet. Earlier trumpets did not have valves, but modern instruments generally have either three piston
valves or, more rarely, three rotary valves. Each valve increases the length of tubing when engaged, thereby
lowering the pitch.
The zampogna
Zampogna is an aerophone instrument of popular music . A lot of different types are
spread everywhere in Europe. It is a generic term for a number of Italian double chantered pipes that can be
found in different parts of Italy: Marche, Abruzzo, Latium, Molise, Basilicata, Campania, Calabria, and Sicily.
The tradition is now mostly associated with Christmas, and the most famous Italian carol, "Tu scendi dalle
stelle" is derived from traditional zampogna music. The bags are made from goat hides that are removed from the
slaughtered animal in one piece, cured, turned inside out, then tied off just in front of the rear legs, one of the
front legs serving to house the blow pipe with its simple leather valve (soffietto), and the other tied off. The typical
round stock into which both chanters and drones are fixed goes into the neck of the skin. The hair is left on,
and is contained in the inside of the bag (otre).
The flute
The flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from
the flow of air across an opening. According to the instrument classification flutes are categorized as edgeblown aerophones. In its most basic form, a flute can be an open tube which is blown like a bottle. Flutes can be
divided between side-blown (or transverse) flutes and end-blown flutes. Flutes may be open at one or both ends;
they may have any number of pipes or tubes, though one is the most common number.
Percussion Instruments
The drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. It is a membranophone. Drums consist
of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either
directly with the player's hands, or with a drum stick, to produce sound. There is usually a resonance head on the
underside of the drum, typically tuned to a slightly lower pitch than the top drumhead. Other techniques have
been used to cause drums to make sound, such as the thumb roll. Drums are the world's oldest musical
instruments, and it is present in almost every culture.
The tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic,
with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a
drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all. Tambourines are often used with regular percussion
sets. They can be mounted, but position is largely down to preference. Tambourines come in many shapes with
the most common being circular. It is found in many forms of music, mainly in the Mediterranean area. .
The cymbals
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist
of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small
disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a definite note. Cymbals are used in every type of music.