ALCHEMIA in short by Pieter (Belgium)
BRUSSELS ROYAL LIBRARY, department of music manuscripts
Choirbook from the Burgundian Chapel XVth century - B-Br-ms-5557, folio 48v
Click on picture for digital images of the full manuscript
Click on picture for digital images of the full manuscript
BRUSSELS ROYAL LIBRARY, department of music manuscripts
Chansonnier Margaret of Austria, B-Br-ms-228 - folio 16v
Myn hert altyt heeft verlanghen (Flemish song) - Pierre de la Rue
for digital images click on picture
Myn hert altyt heeft verlanghen (Flemish song) - Pierre de la Rue
for digital images click on picture
Copy of BRUSSELS ROYAL LIBRARY, department of music manuscripts
SHORT DESCRIPTION
Improvised polyphony was a widely spread practice from the XIVth to the XVIth century.
The Low Countries was the cradle of what we call today Franco-Flemish polyphony.
The music school of Bornem (Belgium) is located along the river Schelde. This river was not only important for
trade but also the vein for spreading the flourishing practice of polyphony.
Young boys were trained at an early age in improvising polyphony and writing 3-part up to 5-6 part polyphony.
This way of singing was wanted all over Europe in these days and boys were transferred to other important
royal chapels and religious institutions like the Vatican.
What's left today are luxurious manuscripts with a body of fantastic polyphony.
These choirbooks are silent witnesses of important musical heritage.
During the sessions of ALCHEMIA we will bring alive the improvising techniques of those dates based on output by recent scholars.
How to improvise 2-part polyphony, how to create realtime a canon, how to improvise a faux-bourdon.
Reading the manuscripts requires also basic knowledge of the mensural notation. A way of notation that is context related.
During the mobility days in Belgium we will exchange all our improvising experiences and we will visit the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels to see the manuscripts where singers were singing from 500 years ago.
The Low Countries was the cradle of what we call today Franco-Flemish polyphony.
The music school of Bornem (Belgium) is located along the river Schelde. This river was not only important for
trade but also the vein for spreading the flourishing practice of polyphony.
Young boys were trained at an early age in improvising polyphony and writing 3-part up to 5-6 part polyphony.
This way of singing was wanted all over Europe in these days and boys were transferred to other important
royal chapels and religious institutions like the Vatican.
What's left today are luxurious manuscripts with a body of fantastic polyphony.
These choirbooks are silent witnesses of important musical heritage.
During the sessions of ALCHEMIA we will bring alive the improvising techniques of those dates based on output by recent scholars.
How to improvise 2-part polyphony, how to create realtime a canon, how to improvise a faux-bourdon.
Reading the manuscripts requires also basic knowledge of the mensural notation. A way of notation that is context related.
During the mobility days in Belgium we will exchange all our improvising experiences and we will visit the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels to see the manuscripts where singers were singing from 500 years ago.