Corvus Corax (band)

Last updated

Corvus Corax
Corvus Corax German Band.jpeg
Background information
Also known asDie Könige der Spielleute (The Kings of Minstrels)
OriginGermany
Genres Neo-Medieval music
Years active1989–present
LabelsBehzmokum, Noir Records
MembersCastus Rabensang
Micha der Frick
Xandru
Vit
Norri (Harmann der Drescher)
Hatz
Victorius
Past membersMike "Teufel" Paulenz
Martin Ukrasvan
Meister Selbfried
Wim (Venustus)
Brandan
Pan Peter
Donar von Avignon
Jagbird
Mr.Poettner
Jean
Strahli
Ardor
Patrick
Jordon
Website corvuscorax.de
Performance in Warsaw in September 2011 CorvusCorax20110929A.jpg
Performance in Warsaw in September 2011
Act during Cross Culture Festival in Warsaw, September 2011 CorvusCorax20110929B.jpg
Act during Cross Culture Festival in Warsaw, September 2011

Corvus Corax is a German band known for playing neo-Medieval music using authentic instruments. Their name is the Latin name for the common raven. The band was formed in 1989 by Castus Rabensang, Wim (Venustus) and Meister Selbfried ("Master Selfpeace") in East Germany. The band often uses bagpipes as the solo instrument; their live performances attract attention with the bizarre look of the musicians being reminiscent of ancient Greek myths: half-naked, dressed in unusual clothes, wearing primitive tribal decorations, often tattooed.

Contents

Today the band consists of seven members: Castus Rabensang ("Castus Ravensong"), Xandru, Norri (formerly known as Harmann der Drescher), Hatz ("hunt"), Vit and Victorius. In May 2005 Meister Selbfried, one of the Corvus Corax founders and the researcher of medieval music, decided to cease his active musicianship and to dedicate himself mostly to managing Corvus Corax's own label Pica Records. [1] His place in the line-up was taken by Jordon Finus in 2006.

The band releases its music through Pica Records in Europe and Noir Records in the US. The Cantus Buranus projects have thus far been released in Europe by Roadrunner Europe.

Interpretation and theory

Because medieval music theory was dominated by ecclesiastics, it is often difficult to determine from the existing manuscripts just how the secular medieval music sounded. Corvus Corax draws on a number of sources to try to make their music as authentic as possible: they have used documents that "condemn profane music" as an indicator of what the music might have sounded like, and drawn on nineteenth century scholarly treatises for information. In many cases these treatises are unreliable, as they impart more nineteenth century interpretations of medieval music than factual information on what the music was like.

But the profane music of the day was often accompanied by a droning bass tone similar to that generated by the bourdon stop on an organ, [ citation needed ] which is provided in Corvus Corax's case by the drones on their bagpipes. An inkling as to the harmonies used is found in a song by Walter von der Vogelweide, in which he calls for the song to be played "the old way", meaning harmonising with thirds. At the time, the third was considered an awkward, ugly interval by the sacred musicianlike the tritone, or diabolus in musicabut it was a common interval in folk music.

Matters are further complicated by the fact that each minstrel would add his personal interpretation to a piece, and that recorded (i.e. written) versions may differ depending on who did the transcribing, and where. It is on this that Corvus Corax's interpretation hinges: medieval popular music was played more from the heart than the brain, and despite making use of scholarship to give them a grounding, Corvus Corax attempts to maintain the spirited, free manner in which the minstrels themselves would have played the music. [2]

Projects

In 1996 the band released the album Tanzwut which combined the elements of metal music with their brand sound of bagpipes. The CD turned out to be a commercially successful experiment and the band decided to continue the tradition of that album in a separate musical project called Tanzwut, which included Castus Rabensang (German Rabensang = ravensong), Wim, and Teufel (German Teufel = Devil) from Corvus Corax as well as three new members.

Corvus Corax performing live at Wacken Open Air 2010 Corvus Corax-Live-Wacken 2010.jpg
Corvus Corax performing live at Wacken Open Air 2010

In 2005 Corvus Corax started the ambitious project Cantus Buranus : a full-length opera set to the original Carmina Burana manuscript lyrics. The music for the opera was fully composed by the band and had no connection with the famous work by Carl Orff. It was performed with symphonic orchestra, choir and medieval ensemble, combining traditional symphonism with medieval minstrel-like melodies. The project included a CD recording, a DVD, as well as live performances. A live CD and DVD recording of Cantus Buranus was released in March 2006.

2005 also marked the band's debut concerts in the US. The band performed four sets on each of four different days in mid-October, not far from Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. There was also a "secret show" held for employees of the Faire. Footage shot by the band members and crew was assembled into a featurette that was included as a bonus track on the US edition of the band's live DVD, Gaudia Vite.

Out on 1 August 2008 via the band owned label Pica Music, Cantus Buranus II was released., [3] It is a new orchestral recording of songs from the Medieval manuscript "Carmina Burana". The Berlin-based act created a composition for orchestra, choir and a Medieval ensemble and recorded the CD and DVD live in the Museum Island in front of 5,000 people.

A collaboration with the Russian band, Ottawa Yo, appeared on YouTube on December 31, 2022. [4]

Corvus Corax performed a live rendition of their song "Ballade De Mercy" in the pilot episode of the TV series Game of Thrones , based on the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. [5] The pilot episode was changed dramatically before it aired on TV, and the performance was not used.

Discography

Albums

EPs/Singles

DVD/Video

See also

Related Research Articles

Medieval metal is a subgenre of folk metal that blends heavy metal music with medieval folk music. Medieval metal is mostly restricted to Germany where it is known as Mittelalter-Metal or Mittelalter-Rock. The genre emerged from the middle of the 1990s with contributions from Subway to Sally, In Extremo and Schandmaul. The style is characterised by the prominent use of a wide variety of traditional folk and medieval instruments.

<i>Carmina Burana</i> Medieval manuscript of poems and dramatic texts

Carmina Burana is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreverent, and satirical. They were written principally in Medieval Latin, a few in Middle High German and old Arpitan. Some are macaronic, a mixture of Latin and German or French vernacular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanzwut</span> German Neue Deutsche Härte/Medieval metal band

Tanzwut is a German Neue Deutsche Härte and Medieval metal band which originated as a side project of Corvus Corax members. The band uses a Medieval theme during their live performances which are expressed through their stagecraft, costumes and choreography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In Extremo</span> German medieval metal band

In Extremo is a German Medieval metal band originating from Berlin. The band's musical style combines metal with Medieval traditional songs, blending the sound of the standard rock/metal instruments with historical instruments. Versions of well-known traditional/Medieval ballads make up the main part of their repertoire, but the band has written an increasing share of original material in recent years. Their own material is written in German, whilst the traditional songs and cover songs are in a variety of languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subway to Sally</span> German folk metal band

Subway to Sally is a German folk metal band founded in Potsdam in the early 1990s. Their music has clear folk and medieval influences, later also adding gothic and metal elements. With their continuous inclusion of oriental sounds and elements of classical music and the use of instruments seldom seen in metal bands such as bagpipes, shawm, violin, hurdy-gurdy and lute, Subway to Sally has acquired the label of medieval metal. The band has released 12 studio albums, two live albums, and two live DVDs. Their fame is centered mainly in the German-speaking countries, having played only a handful of concerts outside of that area.

The Dancing Ferret entertainment group is an unofficial collective name for Dancing Ferret Discs and Dancing Ferret Concerts. It was started by Patrick Rodgers in 1995 with the formation of Dancing Ferret Concerts. The company markets bands from the gothic rock, heavy metal, alternative rock, neo-Medieval, trip hop, and industrial genres of music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drolls (Russian early music ensemble)</span> Musical artist

Drolls is a Russian early music ensemble formed in 1999 and playing its own interpretation of Medieval and Renaissance music, using authentic instruments. The name of the ensemble refers to a droll - a short comical sketch of a type that originated during the Puritan Interregnum in England. Although their main repertoire consists of music and songs from across the Europe, they also sing and play music of skomorokchs.

Neo-Medieval music is a modern popular music characterized by elements of Medieval music and early music in general. Music styles within neo-Medieval music vary from authentic performance interpretations of Medieval music to crossover genres that blend Medieval instruments, such as bagpipe, shawm and hurdy-gurdy with electronic music and rock. In many cases, it is more or less overlapping with styles such as folk rock, British folk rock and neofolk.

<i>Cantus Buranus</i> 2005 studio album by Corvus Corax

Cantus Buranus is an album by the German medieval revival band Corvus Corax that employs the medieval text Carmina Burana. Cantus Buranus is a stage opera of eleven poems from Carmina Burana for orchestra, choir and medieval instruments, incorporating medieval, classical and modern musical idioms. It is not the first time Corvus Corax has worked with Carmina Burana; the band Tanzwut used the poems "Fautue" and "Caupona" in their album Ihr Wolltet Spass.

<i>Schattenreiter</i> 2006 studio album by Tanzwut

Schattenreiter is the fourth full-length studio album by the German industrial rock/medieval metal band Tanzwut. It was released on 7 April 2006 by PICA Music as a two-CD digipak. The album marks their newfound sound, which incorporates a more down-tuned use of guitars, darker atmospheres and harsher vocals at times than their previous albums, making them lean towards industrial metal.

<i>Ihr wolltet Spass</i> 2003 studio album by Tanzwut

Ihr wolltet Spass is the third full-length studio album by the German industrial rock/medieval metal band Tanzwut. It was released in 2004 by PICA Music in a digipak. The album shows Tanzwut's sound gravitating towards a more industrial metal sound.

<i>Labyrinth der Sinne</i> 2000 studio album by Tanzwut

Labyrinth der Sinne is the second full-length studio album by German industrial rock/medieval metal band Tanzwut. It was released in 2000 by EMI Music. The album ranked #46 on the German Alternative Charts (DAC) Top Albums of 2000.

<i>Tanzwut</i> (album) 1999 studio album by Tanzwut

Tanzwut is the first full-length studio album by the German industrial rock/medieval metal band Tanzwut. It was released on 1 March 1999 by EMI Music.

Oliphant is a Finnish band playing medieval music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saltatio Mortis</span> German band

Saltatio Mortis is a German medieval metal group. The Latin name means "dance of death". It is an allusion to the Danse Macabre, and a motto of the band is: "He who dances does not die."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schandmaul</span> German medieval folk rock band

Schandmaul is a German medieval folk rock band from the Munich area.

<i>Sverker</i> 2011 studio album by Corvus Corax

Sverker is a studio album by Neo-Medieval group Corvus Corax.

<i>Cantus Buranus II</i> 2008 studio album by Corvus Corax

Cantus Buranus II is a studio album by Neo-Medieval band Corvus Corax.

"Ecce gratum" is a medieval Latin Goliardic poem written early in the 13th century, part of the collection known as the Carmina Burana. It was set to music in 1935/36 by German composer Carl Orff as part of his Carmina Burana which premiered at Frankfurt Opera on 8 June 1937. Within Orff's Carmina Burana, this song is the 5th movement in section 1, Primo vere.

References

  1. Staupa Musica Archived 29 June 2012 at archive.today
  2. Meister Selbfried, "Background to the Band", 1998, obtained from Corvus Corax website.
  3. Corvus Corax to launch new album and DVD 'Cantus Buranus II' in early August
  4. "Отава Ё - Новогодний Музыкальный Марафон (Musical marathon)". YouTube .
  5. "UPDATE: Corvus Corax Speaks".
  6. See the band's official website and Cantus Buranus project website