Melos Presents: Historical Instrument Minutes
Baroque bassoon with Katie Legere
Katie Legere introduces the Baroque bassoon, including a comparison of its physical structure to that of its modern counterpart, a description of its tonal qualities, a discussion of how it was used by composers of the era, and a sample from one of the bassoon’s most prolific Baroque composers.
Video producer & editor: Katie Legere
Melos Historical Instrument Minutes series producer: Jeff Hamacher
References:
- Portrait of Vivaldi from https://commons.
wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Antonio_Vivaldi_portrait.jpg - Excerpts from Vivaldi Concerto for bassoon in a minor RV498: https://musopen.org/
music/45471-concerto-for- bassoon-in-a-minor-rv-498/ - Baroque musicians painting from: https://commons.
wikimedia.org/wiki/File:R%C3% A9union_de_musiciens_by_Fran% C3%A7ois_Puget.jpg
Further Listening:
Boismortier – Sonata in G major for bassoon & continuo
Fasch – Sonata in C major for bassoon & continuo
Vivaldi – Concerto in E minor for cello & bassoon
Melos Presents: Historical Instrument Minutes
The Rebec with Heather Schreiner
Melos’ musicians are not performing these days, but we are still practicing. And we have a whole lot of cool instruments that no one has ever seen or heard of before. This is a rebec, an ancient bowed stringed instrument seen in some beautiful Medieval and Renaissance art. It was a very popular instrument for centuries, with its nasal tone–good for both church and dances. Have a look!
Rebec recording taken from documentary soundtrack: Dry Bones – Christianity In Transition: Andrea Budgey, rebec, Sine Nomine Ensemble for Mediaeval Music. Courtesy ACTD, Holly Gwynne-Timothy.
Melos instrumentalist Heather Schreiner discusses the “rebec”, an ancient bowed stringed instrument seen in some beautiful Medieval and Renaissance art. It was a very popular instrument for centuries, with its nasal tone–good for both church and dances. Rebecs (soprano, alto and tenor) are heard in Melos concerts accompanying other musicians. Have a look!
2nd slide – photo Heather Schreiner
3rd slide, 1st photo (2 rebecs) – from Wikipedia, Picture from the Cantigas of Santa Maria. ‘Original publication: late 13th century. Immediate source: http://www.
3rd slide, 2nd photo (rebec and lute) – Rebec and Lute Players depicted in Cantigas de Santa Maria / Public Domain (from website https://brewminate.
4th slide, 1st photo (angel with rebec) from Wikipedia, the citation is “Detail from “Virgin among Virgins” (1509), by Gerard David“, Wikipedia (US) considers it public domain
5th slide, dancers with rebec etc – Pinterest (from Google)-site disappeared
6th slide, last photo (Cretan lyra) – H.S.
Other good rebec youtube links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?