Just as a vocalist can do by using their breath pressure, you were using the breath pressure on the organ. Its wonderful to see. It hadnt been built for several reasons. And then came my very special instrument in 2014. But I think in early music, since a big part of it is unknown to the public, sometimes the public comes with predetermined expectations, how it has to sound, and which instruments, and what repertory, which means we have to guide them, because the repertory is huge, and there are different styles. Probably the most outstanding difference is the possibility of moving the instrument and the way they are performed: a portative can be played by one person, one hand on the bellow and another on the keyboard, and especially it can be carried while playing, while a positive needs at least two people, one for the bellows and another for the keyboard, and cant be carried while playing it. These images are copyright Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. Thats how I came to play this repertory. Unfortunately, the other section of society didnt have the wealth to create sources that live nowadays. This question has different answers. This is called diaphona basilica, which is not really improvising but creating these drones, and the theory of using drones in medieval music you can find in the sources this is only one example. They will not build the instrument if they lack the information how to do it, to know the materials or the design. In, Unfortunately, most manuscripts we have from the middle ages are related to communities of people that had the money to write it down, mostly clerics. If you contact Cristina via her website, link at the bottom of the article, I am sure she will answer any questions you have. There is a lot of historical evidence for medieval portative organs. Of course, what I learn by using the instrument is phrasing, because I try to take everything from the sources, even about rhetoric or the use of text and pronunciation, the use of consonants and vowels I apply everything to the instrument. Le Grand Andely, Collegiate Church of Notre Dame. This article includes three videos of Cristina playing: table organ, clavicytherium, and portative organ. Not only is Cristina a musician of consummate skill, her love for her instruments and specialism is obvious and infectious: rarely have I seen anyone play and talk about music with such transparent joy. Privacy Policy. However, weshould always be aware of their function. Exactly. The only thing we have are some positive organ pipes which are in Jerusalem, in the Convent of the Flagellation. Cristina Als Raurich is a historical musician and researcher who specialises in keyboards of the middle ages and early renaissance: portative organ, positive organ, clavicimbalum, and clavicytherium. Often historical performance venues already owned an organ be it built-inor moveable (see images of table organ and regal). Do you know of any earlier? And that is very natural and consequent: if you want to play repertory, you need to have the notes of that repertory. Their creation is a modern need responding to a precise demand. Best of all, you can solve any crossword puzzle online! But at that point, when I started in Basel, I realised the period I was most interested in was the hard core of medieval music. (As with all pictures, click to see larger in a new window. In this interview, Cristina discusses how she discovered medieval keyboards; her research into the portative organ and her commissioning of the only 13th century reconstruction; its playing techniques within the framework of medieval musical styles; its performance context in the middle ages; and performance presentation to a modern audience. These cookies do not store any personal information. With thanks to, Everything came very naturally. Yes, the organ is especially related to liturgical music, as you say, since it was considered the voice of the doctors of the church the whole instrument was to praise God. But I was not aware that one could study this music, so I made my whole career as a pianist. Medieval instruments often had drones portative organ, organistrum, simfony, double pipe, and so on. The term regal may apply to the reed stops generally found in the breastworks of the organ. In my view this is revealing and a good means of visually identifying the type of organ. How to Solve Universal Crosswords easily? In Pluteo 29.1 [or Pluteus 29.1, or the Florence Manuscript, c. 12451255, the largest surviving music manuscript in the style of the Notre Dame School], at the end there are some folios with dances. Everything came very naturally. 124570). Of course, people together, they party and talk and sing and dance, and in Montserrat the church wanted to control what they sang and danced, they could not accept certain topics, and thats why these dances were made, which were also probably created by the clerics, or maybe influenced by popular dances. Before electricity, bellows occupied a certain physical space andrequired people to action them. In some treatises on music theory they discuss proportions. Nowadays this little organ is often called aportative organ (or positive organ). Here are 7 Tips to Help you! Ars Musici AM 1207-2 (1997). I believe we can imitate the vocal ornamentations that are described in the 12, Exactly. From the evidence youve found, were there other contexts in which the portative organ was played? I wish someday I can do that. In my case, I have chosen also to have F# because in the 13th century you find it in many sources. Several medieval sources say that the ambitus of the voice has three distinct colours and I recall, after this instrument was made, actually it fits this idea perfectly, because the different diameters of pipes used mean that the instrument is not homogeneous with one sound-colour. Cristina performs internationally solo and with medieval music groups Magister Petrus, La Douce Semblance, Le Souvenir, Carmina Harmonica, Sonus Hyspaniae and Hamelin Consort; and gives courses and master classes on medieval music and medieval keyboards around Europe. I would need more information before saying it was a troubadour instrument. air pressure provided by flowing water, but Im not entirely sure anyone has worked out quite how they worked. it radiates from you. The only thing we have are some positive organ pipes which are in Jerusalem, in the Convent of the Flagellation. lat. By choosing the names properly we will be helpingto understand better which instrument is which. Trk 8 Toccata seconda del none tono naturale (excerpt). Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. , but there are some neumes that we dont know exactly what they are. The earliest are 10, We can just quote Theophilus. We should differentiate this instrument from reconstructions of historical small organs such aschest organ (English), Truhenorgel (German), organo a cassapanca or organo ad ala (Italian), orgue coffre (French), realejo (Spanish). For some, the organ would also be a pedagogical instrument. I am glad that you are interested in the medieval organs! What are the constituent parts of the early organ? The liquesence is a fantastic example that we can apply to the organ. Proportions are very important in the middle ages. In Catalonia, where I lived as a child, we have many buildings and much history available, so a wish of my brother and me as a child on our birthdays was to visit a castle or a museum, and it was mostly about medieval or ancient civilisations. I was surprised by the diversification of possibilities, and I had to make choices because several possibilities were plausible according to the sources, like the option of making conical or cylindrical pipes; the option of making pure copper pipes or with just a tiny amount of another metal with it; options about the range, etc. Are the Bb and F# part of the run of buttons or are they offset? You may also have a first contact with his instruments coming to one of my courses where student may rent different models of portative organs for the course length. What I mean is that any information we might have about dances of the 12th and 13th century is thanks to this part of the society, so probably there were dances that were transmitted orally but the traces of these dances are very hard to reconstruct. We absorbed it as a sponge. Theophilus is a cleric of the beginning of the 12, Cristina pointing to the buttons on her medieval portative organ. Most of these transportable organs offer a standardised sound for all historical repertoires. Music conservatories also benefit from having easily movable instruments for transportation from the classroom to the concert hall. Its size is very convenient for transport and economy of space (it doesnt require human action on the bellows). everything. This improvised polyphony is in parallel fourths, fifths and octaves, but this tradition develops into what we understand as organum [polyphonic accompaniment], and one of the options in organum is to keep the basic note all the time while the tune is sung. Thats why I found it was very important that I didnt want to impose on the maker, I want an organ that sounds like this. It is heard with great pleasure before court banquets and at affairs of honor.. Sharing this information is beautiful, I enjoy it so much, I would love to help people by doing that, sharing the research and knowledge, to reflect and create awareness. In this case it really matches the sources, and it also matches other instruments of the period which have exactly the same aspect, like medieval fiddles. This more fully justifies the use of the word portative (to carry in Latin). If I would need an instrument for the 14, I was surprised by the diversification of possibilities, and I had to make choices because several possibilities were plausible according to the sources, like the option of making conical or cylindrical pipes; the option of making pure copper pipes or with just a tiny amount of another metal with it; options about the range, etc. Some performers who have an aversion to playing on the most standardised models employ further satirical or amusing names. Youve looked at a great deal of iconography, looked at the evidence from the development of the larger and static positive organ with slides to the smaller and portable portative organ with buttons. I think you mentioned F# and Bb. I passed from piano to renaissance keyboards like clavisimbalum [see picture above], clavicytherium [see video below], and renaissance portative organs, and when you go backwards in time you realise the clavisimbalum and clavicytherium are late medieval instruments. It is a little organ which is played with one hand on the keyboard andthe other on the bellow. Not to be reproduced in any form without permission. Mostportative organs of the 13th and 14thcenturies are hung from a strap, allowing performers to stand, walk, and dancewhilst playing. When you play I am so struck by how much like a human voice the portative organ is. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), The medieval portative organ: an interview with Cristina Als Raurich, Surprising songs of sentient statues: the Virgin, Venus, and Jason and the Argonauts (Cantigas de Santa Maria article 6/6). Confusion. Hillerd, Denmark, Frederiksborg Castle chapel. Are there any surviving portative organs, medieval or renaissance? That means they need help, then with the knowledge they have of making, and scholars and musicians with the knowledge of sources, together its possible, and thats what I did with Walter Chinaglia. This instrument is mostly used for basso continuo in ensembles. In classical music its hard to change nowadays. Ian. I wonder if the organ in particular is used because some in the church believed that only the organ should accompany the voice in the liturgy. We dont have the choreographies, we know they danced outside the church. everything. So one part is very strongly based on this study of text, and study of the neumes, and rhetoric, etc., and then there is this artistic part where you decide how to use the air, as you said, how to create the phrase, the movement, and to make the line alive. In returning characters framed by HL, don't mention a rebel. which explain improvised polyphony with voices. Switzerland (late 16th century). Yes, because you cannot use the single larger pipes melodically. Medieval Organ. I believe we can imitate the vocal ornamentations that are described in the 12th13th century by, for example, Jerome of Moravia [Dominican friar and music theorist who wrote Tractatus de Musica, Paris, c. 1280]. Feel free to contact him or to pay a visit to his atelier near Como (North Italy). We can just quote Theophilus. This is an aesthetic difference compared to later instruments in consorts in the renaissance, a whole family of instruments that, from the smallest to the largest, all have a similar quality of sound. Of these, he says: Organ (1605-10). In Catalonia, where I lived as a child, we have many buildings and much history available, so a wish of my brother and me as a child on our birthdays was to visit a castle or a museum, and it was mostly about medieval or ancient civilisations. If you continue browsing, you are consenting to its use. The website of Medieval Music Besal, the international course on medieval music performance in Besal, Catalonia, of which Cristina is assistant director and faculty member, is here. This is the case with the oriscus, but others like the liquesence [singing a single consonant sound or diphthong over more than one note] we know. And as no new name was assigned to them, the result has been a confusion of many diverse names even amongst players. The 2nd century Roman floor mosaic in Zliten, Libya, shows a small water organ, but I dont know if thats the earliest depiction. Maybe the biggest surprise is to realise, once you have the instrument and you play the repertory of the 13th century, is how well it fits with the sound aesthetic of the period and with other reconstructions of instruments of the same period. But I was not aware that one could study this music, so I made my whole career as a pianist. Passionate about communication and obsessed with the question: what is medieval music to us? Cristina Als Raurichs website, including her biography, upcoming events, ensembles, instruments, teaching and research, is here. You can find many different positions on this topic. This trouvre songbook includes such important composers as Guillaume li Vinier (trouvre and cleric, c. 1190-1245), Guillaume dAmiens (or Guillaume le Peigneur, trouvre and painter, late 13th century), and Perrin dAngicourt (trouvre and possibly a cleric, fl. For instance, in the medieval music Besal summer course, each of the teachers has done work like me with their own instrument: vielle [medieval fiddle], citole, percussion, musa [medieval bagpipe], everything. Maybe the biggest surprise is to realise, once you have the instrument and you play the repertory of the 13, I dont think there are any. Keep Your Brain Healthy And Younger By Solving 1 Crossword Puzzle Daily. Its essential to better understand the middle ages. We do have treatises, like the. All these different languagesmake reference to the box(often with doors) in which the instrument is closed. Enter This Link To View The Full List of Clues From 10 April 2022 For The Times Specialist, Yellow-grey horse jerkily unsaddles related ones, Rise of soft Tory is a worry for the country, Frozen dessert provided jamminess but not cold, contrarily, Rugby union hooker who won 124 caps for Ireland, Greeting to a suitable victim, starting with the conclusion that'll go over a woman's head, Constrain one to be in dock, which might be a squash. As youll have read, Cristina had hers made to her specifications. There are a series of pipes, alleged to be dated to the 12, Exactly. Did medieval writers mention this? Some of the earliest information about dances is in the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat [Red Book of Montserrat, Catalonia, 1399]. Theophilus is a cleric of the beginning of the 12th century, and he explains what the positive organ is made of: pipes; a box; slides; the conflatorium, which brings the air of the bellows to the box; and bellows. In this way, its so experimental: who knows what the result is. What about the portative organ? Its not exactly ornamentation with breath pressure, its part of the neumes. Cristina with a chromatic portative organ of the 14th15th century. But this is a very difficult topic because we dont have enough information for the popular songs and dances. In other words, only a few models actually correspond to concrete historical models and their repertoires. We use our own and third party cookies to analyze users' browsing and improve our services. Support Medieval Organ, contributions are always welcome. Using the name for two differenttypes of organ at the same time creates confusion rather than being helpful. Christopher Stembridge, organ. And suddenly, while I was in The Netherlands, I met a teacher of medieval music, Corina Marti, and thats when I went to Basel [Schola Cantorum Basiliensis] to study with her. So then I stayed with the portative organ and then I realised I needed an instrument that was not yet built by any maker. If you work in an orchestra you can grow awareness among your colleagues. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Creative Commons License. Is there contemporaneous writing about the portative organ? The whole manuscript can be viewed, Left: An image of a woman playing a portative organ in the margin of a manuscript about Merlin: folio 357r of, An example just to get out of the framework we sometimes have. We see the instrument also in dance: there are iconographies of portative players who are dancing at the same time. I wonder, if we saw the rest of the page, if there is any evidence for what sort of dance? This fascination was not only the music but also for the culture, everything related to this period. This applies not only to liturgical and para-liturgical music, but Latin poetry, erotic music, song and dance, so all these different registers were connected to clerics because they were the educated people, people who could write and read, create, study, make philosophy and talk about aesthetics and theology etc. Yes, you can buy this model of portative organ from the organ maker Walter Chinaglia. Since thisname is widespreadpeople often ask: what is the relation of this instrumentto the medieval portative organ?. The regal can be made very soft by placing its cover on, and by taking it off it can be made low enough to sound clearly in a full and well-appointed ensemble of singers and players. [The Notre Dame School of polyphony were composers at or around the Parisian cathedral of that name from 1160 to c. Most people think about late medieval music or renaissance, 14th, 15th and 16th century, and I always wondered about the earlier music of the middle ages. Whats the oldest image you have found yourself? So there are many doors, and probably I could have had a different instrument made.