Product Description
This is a companion to my earlier volume Chording to Consort which presented 35 Renaissance Dance band tunes and Chansons and arranged them as a single melody line with chords derived from the original harmony lines. In this volume I have reunited the first 18 of the pieces with the lower parts in the score, so that with more collaborators, the fullness of the original arrangement can be heard. The chords are still present, so if the ensemble is short handed, and lines are missing, the arrangements will still work. What is more, by contrasting the melody and chords with the full scoring, it should be possible to work some light and shade into performances. You can hear all the pieces and their chords on YouTube together with contemporary art and historical background material:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYRWH2nycMkPO9vTOgEoG_kRJlJ5nUHnx
Composers and printers of this time would often use note values that are double the length of those we would be used to seeing today, and so to make this version more readable, breves have become semibreves or whole notes, semibreves have become minims or half notes and so on.
Working with this publication
For those just starting out in Early Music, the volume is an ideal introduction, since the ensemble can build from a soloist with accompaniment with the chords alone, and parts can be added in as additional musicians become available. Instrumentation for these pieces was not specified in the original prints. The range of each part is quite limited, and though the harmonies may seem strange at times, key signatures are kind to the less experienced musician. If enthusiasm takes hold, then reproductions of early music instruments are sold by some very talented makers, as well as coming up on auction sites. Otherwise, it is possible to put together a fairly convincing ensemble with recorders, violins, a cello and mandolins, bouzoukis, flutes or guitars and gradually introduce the authentic instruments as they become available.
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.