Early Music

United Kingdom · 1950s

Chill Dreamy Sentimental Romantic Epic

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Description

Early music is a modern performance movement devoted to the repertoire of the Medieval, Renaissance, and early Baroque eras (roughly before c. 1750), approached with historically informed performance (HIP) practices.

It emphasizes period instruments (or faithful replicas), historical tunings and temperaments, original notations and sources, and performance conventions documented in treatises of the time. The sound world ranges from monophonic chant and modal organum, to intricate Renaissance polyphony, to the emergence of basso continuo and dramatic affect in the early Baroque.

Rather than being a single historical style, early music is a contemporary practice of reviving diverse pre‑Classical musics with scholarly rigor and artistic vitality.

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Influenced by

Ancient Music

Ancient music refers to the musical practices of the literate civilizations of antiquity (e.g., Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Levant, Persia, India, and China) before the medieval period. It is largely monophonic, text-driven, and modal, and survives today through a small corpus of notated fragments, theoretical treatises, iconography, and instrument remains. Its sound world is characterized by modal pitch systems (e.g., ancient Greek harmoniai built from tetrachords), rhythm tied to poetic meter, and timbres from lyres, harps, auloi (double-reed pipes), flutes, rattles/sistra, frame drums, and early lutes. Because authentic performance practice must be reconstructed, modern revivals rely on scholarship in archaeology, philology, and organology as much as on musical craft.

Medieval

Medieval music refers to the diverse sacred and secular musical practices of Europe between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the dawn of the Renaissance. It spans more than eight centuries, from early monophonic chant to the first notated polyphony. Core features include the use of church modes rather than major/minor, extensive reliance on vocal music (Latin sacred chant as well as vernacular song), and the progressive development from unmeasured chant to rhythmic modal notation and, later, mensural notation. Texture evolves from monophony (plainchant, troubadour songs) to organum, conductus, and the motet, culminating in complex isorhythmic works by the late 13th–14th centuries. Secular traditions—troubadours and trouvères in France, Minnesänger in German lands, and the Iberian Cantigas—coexisted with and influenced sacred practice. Instruments such as the vielle, harp, psaltery, recorder, shawm, hurdy-gurdy, and portative organ often doubled or accompanied voices, though much music remained purely vocal.

Medieval Classical Music

Medieval classical music refers to the notated art music of Europe during the Middle Ages (roughly the 6th to the late 14th century). It encompasses sacred and secular traditions, moving from largely monophonic chant to the first structured polyphony, and establishing many of the foundations of the Western classical tradition. At its core are liturgical repertoires (especially Latin chant) and the emergence of measured rhythm, modal theory, and contrapuntal procedures. Later medieval innovations—such as organum, motet, isorhythm, and the formes fixes—shaped the musical language that would lead into the Renaissance.

Gregorian Chant

Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song of the Roman Catholic liturgy. Sung in Latin (and occasionally Greek), it employs modal melodies that flow with the natural accent of the liturgical text rather than a fixed meter. Characterized by stepwise motion within a narrow range and by free rhythm guided by the syllabic and melismatic shapes of the text, Gregorian chant aims to create a contemplative, prayerful atmosphere. Its melodies are organized by the medieval church modes and are transmitted in neumatic notation—first adiastematic (height-indeterminate) neumes and later square notation on a four-line staff. Although named after Pope Gregory I, the repertory crystallized during the Carolingian era as a synthesis of Roman and Gallican practices, and it became the foundation for much of Western sacred music and the development of early polyphony.

Plainchant

Plainchant (cantus planus) is the monophonic, unaccompanied chant of the Western Christian liturgy. Sung in Latin (with occasional Greek), it uses modal scales rather than major–minor tonality and unfolds in flexible, speech-like rhythms shaped by the sacred text. Melodically, plainchant ranges from simple syllabic formulas for reciting psalms to ornate melismatic lines for processional and festal moments. It is performed in unison by a schola or congregation, often organized antiphonally or responsorially across the liturgical actions of the Mass and the Divine Office. Its austere sonority, modal color, and text-centered phrasing give it a contemplative, timeless quality.

Ars Antiqua

Ars antiqua is a medieval European musical style that flourished roughly from the late 12th century to the early 14th century, with its center of gravity in Paris and the Notre Dame Cathedral school. It is defined by the consolidation of measured rhythm through the six rhythmic modes, the cultivation of polyphony in organum and discant styles, and the emergence of the early motet and conductus. Composers favored two to four vocal parts, with a chant-derived tenor forming the foundation and upper voices providing melismatic and texted counterpoint. Harmony emphasized perfect consonances (unisons, fourths, fifths, and octaves), with cadences carefully prepared. Ars antiqua laid crucial groundwork for European notation (including Franconian mensural concepts), enabling more precise rhythmic coordination and setting the stage for the innovations of the later Ars nova.

Ars Nova

Ars nova is a 14th‑century European musical style that originated in France and spread to Italy, marking a decisive break from the earlier Ars antiqua. It is distinguished by innovations in rhythmic and mensural notation that allowed composers to write complex, syncopated, and independently moving parts. Typical genres and forms include the isorhythmic motet, mass movements, and secular chansons in the formes fixes (ballade, virelai, and rondeau). Textures are primarily vocal and polyphonic (often three to four voices), with techniques such as isorhythm (talea and color), hocket, and frequent use of mensural proportions. Its French wing coalesced around the theories and works of Philippe de Vitry and Guillaume de Machaut, while the Italian Trecento (often considered an Italian Ars nova) cultivated parallel secular song forms and characteristic cadences (e.g., the Landini cadence).

Ars Subtilior

Ars subtilior is a late–14th‑century style of Franco‑Flemish and southern French/Iberian court music noted for its extreme rhythmic, notational, and contrapuntal sophistication. It refines the innovations of the Ars nova into music of dazzling subtlety: complex syncopations, multiple simultaneous meters, proportion signs, coloration (red/black notation) that alters rhythmic values, and isorhythmic devices. Composers often wrote in the French formes fixes (ballade, rondeau, virelai) and in elaborate motets, sometimes presenting pieces in fanciful shapes (hearts, circles) to mirror their poetic conceits. The sound world is courtly and intricate: interlocking lines in three or four parts, refined dissonance control, and virtuosic rhythms that challenge performers while serving refined, often allegorical texts.

Renaissance

Renaissance music (c. 1400–1600) marks the shift from medieval sonorities to a clearer, triad-based polyphony in which multiple independent voices are treated with near-equal importance. It favors modal counterpoint, pervasive imitation, smooth voice-leading, and carefully prepared cadences. Text intelligibility and expressive text-setting become central concerns, especially in sacred motets and masses and in secular forms like the Italian madrigal and the French chanson. While much of the repertory is a cappella, instrumental consorts (viol, recorder, sackbut, cornett, organ) play a growing role. A steady tactus underpins rhythms, and tuning systems such as meantone temperament shape its characteristic color. Music printing (from 1501) accelerates stylistic diffusion across Europe.

Baroque

Baroque is a period and style of Western art music spanning roughly 1600–1750. It is characterized by the birth of functional tonality, the widespread use of basso continuo (figured bass), and a love of contrast—between soloist and ensemble, loud and soft, and different timbres. Hallmark genres and forms of the era include opera, cantata, oratorio, concerto (especially the concerto grosso), dance suite, sonata, and fugue. Textures range from expressive monody to intricate counterpoint, and melodies are richly ornamented with trills, mordents, and appoggiaturas. Baroque music flourished in churches, courts, and theaters across Europe, with regional styles (Italian, French, German, English) shaping distinctive approaches to rhythm, dance, harmony, and ornamentation.

Has influenced

Neo-Medieval Folk

Neo-medieval folk is a modern revivalist style that reimagines the sounds of medieval and early Renaissance Europe through contemporary folk aesthetics. It favors acoustic, historically inspired instruments (hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, lute, harp, nyckelharpa, recorders, shawms, frame drums) and modal melodies, often sung in historical or reconstructed languages. While rooted in academic early-music practice, the genre is more atmospheric and narrative-driven than strictly scholarly. Artists blend courtly songs, dance forms (such as estampie and saltarello), drone-based textures, and ballad traditions with modern songwriting and subtle production. Depending on the act, it may lean toward dark wave and gothic timbres or toward pastoral, festival-ready folk.

Medieval Metal

Medieval metal is a subgenre of folk/rock/metal that fuses heavy guitar riffs and modern drum kits with melodic and rhythmic materials from medieval and Renaissance music. It typically features authentic historical instruments such as bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, shawm, recorder, nyckelharpa, lute, and various frame/drone drums alongside overdriven guitars and bass. Songs often use modal melodies (Dorian, Aeolian, Mixolydian), drone tones, parallel fifths, and dance rhythms reminiscent of estampies, jigs, and bourrées, while lyrics draw on Middle High German or Latin texts, minstrelsy, legends, and historical themes. The result is a rousing, festival-ready sound that alternates between stomping anthems and ornate, folk-tinged passages.

Pagan Folk

Pagan folk is a contemporary folk style that draws on pre‑Christian European traditions, mythologies, and seasonal rites. It emphasizes acoustic, hand‑crafted instruments, trance‑like percussion, and communal chanting to evoke a ritual, nature‑centric atmosphere. Musically it is modal (often Aeolian, Dorian, and pentatonic), drone‑friendly, and rhythmically driven by frame drums, stomps, and simple ostinatos. Timbres from hurdy‑gurdy, lyres, tagelharpa, nyckelharpa, flutes, and bagpipes are common, with layered vocals ranging from intimate laments to massed, call‑and‑response chants. Aesthetically it sits between neo‑medieval revivalism, dark/ritual folk, and world/ethereal traditions, but unlike folk metal it avoids heavy guitars and drum kits, favoring earthy, organic production and a strong sense of ceremony.

Baroque Pop

Baroque pop is a mid‑1960s fusion of contemporary pop/rock songwriting with the timbres, textures, and contrapuntal techniques of Baroque and broader European classical music. It is marked by harpsichord and piano doubling, string quartets or small orchestras, woodwinds (oboe, recorder, bassoon), French horn and piccolo trumpet colors, and melody‑forward arrangements that favor counter‑melodies and suspensions over riff‑based accompaniment. Harmonies tend to be richer than standard rock, with chromatic voice‑leading, circle‑of‑fifths motion, deceptive cadences, and occasional modulations. Production is usually lush and reverberant, supporting reflective, often nostalgic or romantic lyrics. Although it overlaps with orchestral pop and psychedelic pop, baroque pop is distinguished by its chamber‑scale instrumentation, Baroque idioms (basso continuo feel, ornamented lines), and the way classical elements are woven into compact pop song forms.

Neoclassical Dark Wave

Neoclassical dark wave is a subgenre of dark wave that fuses the somber atmospheres of gothic-leaning post-punk with orchestral and early-music aesthetics. It favors minor-key harmonies, liturgical or poetic vocals, and dramatic, cinematic arrangements. Typical sound palettes include strings, choirs, piano, organ, and timpani alongside ambient textures and spacious reverbs. Tempos are often slow to moderate, with processional rhythms and modal writing (Aeolian, Dorian, Phrygian) that evoke medieval, Renaissance, or Baroque sensibilities. Vocals often sit in the “heavenly voices” tradition—ethereal sopranos or solemn baritones—singing in English, Latin, or other European languages. The result is music that feels sacred, melancholic, and epic, balancing intimate chamber music colors with vast, cathedral-like ambience.

Neoclassical New Age

Neoclassical new age is a crossover style that blends contemporary classical writing with the mellow, restorative aesthetics of new age music. It is typically piano-led, harmonically consonant, and minimalist in texture, often supported by soft strings, subtle electronics, and generous ambience. The genre favors lyrical melodies, repeating ostinati, slow builds, and a cinematic sense of space. It trades on intimacy and clarity—close-miked “felt” pianos, warm reverbs, and quiet dynamics—creating music that is contemplative, emotionally direct, and accessible to listeners beyond the traditional classical audience.

Wyrd Folk

Wyrd folk is a contemporary, experimental strain of folk that blends traditional balladry and acoustic instrumentation with psychedelia, ritualistic drones, and a subtly uncanny, pastoral mood. It often sounds intimate and handmade—fingerpicked guitars, harmoniums, fiddles, flutes, and dulcimers are common—yet it introduces tape hiss, room ambience, drones, and spectral harmonies to tilt the sound toward the otherworldly. The style draws on British and Celtic folk idioms, the 1960s/70s acid-folk lineage, and the early-2000s “new weird” movement. Lyrics tend to reference folklore, landscape, esoterica, and myth; forms may be circular or chant-like, encouraging a trancey, contemplative state rather than a conventional verse–chorus release. The result is music that feels both ancient and modern: rustic in timbre, but unafraid of collage, ambience, and experimental arrangement.

Folk Baroque

Folk baroque is a strand of the British folk revival distinguished by intricate, classically informed fingerstyle guitar on steel‑string acoustics. Players borrow contrapuntal habits from Baroque lute and classical guitar—independent bass and melody, voice‑leading, and ornamentation—then fuse them with British and Celtic traditional tunes and ballads. The sound is modal and harmonically rich: drones, ground‑bass patterns, suspensions, and extended jazz/blues colorations are common. Alternate tunings (notably DADGAD) enable harp‑like resonance and sustained inner voices, while arrangements often feel like small chamber pieces rather than simple song accompaniments.

Classical Performance

Classical performance refers to the interpretive tradition of presenting Western classical repertoire in concert and studio settings. Rather than defining a compositional style, it describes how ensembles and soloists realize written scores through technique, tone, phrasing, and stylistic choices across eras from Baroque to contemporary. It centers on fidelity to the score and historically informed practice, while allowing space for interpretive nuance such as tempo flexibility, articulation, and dynamic shading. Typical forces include soloists, chamber groups, choirs, and orchestras performing in acoustically resonant venues or purpose-built studios, captured by production teams specialized in naturalistic sound.

Orchestral Performance

Orchestral performance refers to the live or studio presentation of music by a full orchestra—strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion—under the direction of a conductor. It is less a compositional genre than a performance tradition that interprets repertory from the Baroque era to contemporary works. Its core values are balance among sections, timbral blend, dynamic control, and expressive phrasing shaped by conducting technique and ensemble discipline. Venue acoustics, seating plans, and modern recording practices (from single-point to multi-mic arrays) further define how orchestral performance is experienced. Although most closely associated with Western classical repertoire, orchestral performance practices have also shaped film music, symphonic rock/metal, and large-scale jazz projects.

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