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.
The first album simply named "Drolls" was released in 2000, and shortly after that, in the beginning of 2001, was released the second album named "Kalenda Maya".
In 2006 Drolls together with the Belarusian ethno-band Guda recorded the album called "Zara", in which kupala and harvest songs are mixed with French estampie, Macedonian dances and much more. The result can be described as a world music in a way.
The same year Drolls were engaged in another project, and tried themselves both as both musicians and actors in the medieval play, which is based on poems of the famous manuscript Carmina Burana. The play is set in a medieval tavern, where its main characters discuss quite serious matters over a pint.
In 2007 the ensemble members appeared as actors yet again, but this time as medieval Slavic performers - skomorokhs in the historical movie "Alexander. Nevskaya Bitva" dedicated to Alexander Nevsky (1221-1263). The short performance musicians made for the film laid the foundation of their new program which was quite different to what they did before. And in the end of 2007 Drolls presented their new concert program called "Люди Веселы" (Skomorokhs) in Moscow, which was followed by release of the new album in 2008.
For musicians playing European music this was a move back to their roots, as main characters here are Slavic street performers, playing music very characteristic for those kind of performers and using more than 20 authentic music instruments of XIV—XVII centuries Russia.
In 2009 Drolls released their last studio album to the date, called "Decimus" (The Tenth).
In the following years Drolls devoted themselves more to an artistic collaboration. In 2014 together with the Petrozavodsk State University Choir they presented a new program called "Cantigas". This was quite a success, so in 2018 Drolls and the University Choir presented their second joint music project called "Codex Buranus".
In the beginning of 2019 appeared another joint project, but this time together with "Onego" folk instruments orchestra, in which two ensembles presented new remastered versions of pieces from the Skomorokhs program.
In the end of 2019, for the ensemble's 20th birthday, Drolls and Petrozavodsk State Glazunov Conservatoire orchestra presented a project called Danza della Morte Nera.
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.
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.
The vielle is a European bowed stringed instrument used in the medieval period, similar to a modern violin but with a somewhat longer and deeper body, three to five gut strings, and a leaf-shaped pegbox with frontal tuning pegs, sometimes with a figure-8 shaped body. Whatever external form they had, the box-soundchest consisted of back and belly joined by ribs, which experience has shown to be the construction for bowed instruments. The most common shape given to the earliest vielles in France was an oval, which with its modifications remained in favour until the Italian lira da braccio asserted itself as the better type, leading to the violin.
Poetry took numerous forms in medieval Europe, for example, lyric and epic poetry. The troubadours, trouvères, and the minnesänger are known for composing their lyric poetry about courtly love usually accompanied by an instrument.
Sephardic music is an umbrella term used to refer to the music of the Sephardic Jewish community. Sephardic Jews have a diverse repertoire the origins of which center primarily around the Mediterranean basin. In the secular tradition, material is usually sung in dialects of Judeo-Spanish, though other languages including Hebrew, Turkish, Greek, and other local languages of the Sephardic diaspora are widely used. Sephardim maintain geographically unique liturgical and para-liturgical traditions.
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.
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 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.
Joel Cohen is an American musician specializing in early music repertoires. Cohen graduated from Classical High School in Providence, Rhode Island in 1959, and Brown University in 1963. He continued graduate education at Harvard University. From 1968 to 2008, he was the director of the Boston Camerata, a prominent American early music ensemble. He remains connected to the Boston Camerata as Music Director Emeritus. Cohen founded the Camerata Mediterranea in 1990 and incorporated it as a nonprofit research institute in France in 2007. He plays the lute and guitar, as well as sings. He is best known as an organizer and creator of concert programs and sound recordings. He has also written extensively on musical topics. In recent years, Cohen's research and performance activities have centered on early American repertoires, as well as Southern European repertoires of the Middle Ages. Many of his projects in this latter category involve collaboration with Middle Eastern musicians.
"O Fortuna" is a medieval Latin Goliardic poem which is part of the collection known as the Carmina Burana, written early in the 13th century. It is a complaint about Fortuna, the inexorable fate that rules both gods and mortals in Roman and Greek mythology.
Carmina Burana is a cantata composed in 1935 and 1936 by Carl Orff, based on 24 poems from the medieval collection Carmina Burana. Its full Latin title is Carmina Burana: Cantiones profanae cantoribus et choris cantandae comitantibus instrumentis atque imaginibus magicis. It was first performed by the Oper Frankfurt on 8 June 1937. It is part of Trionfi, a musical triptych that also includes Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite. The first and last sections of the piece are called "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi" and start with "O Fortuna".
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.
Faun is a German band that was formed in 1998 and plays pagan folk, darkwave, and medieval music. The originality of their music style is that it falls back to "old" instruments, and the singing is always the center of attention. The vocals are performed in a variety of languages, including German, English, Latin, Greek, and Scandinavian languages. Their instruments include Celtic harp, Swedish nyckelharpa, hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, cittern, flutes, and many others.
Oliphant is a Finnish band playing medieval music.
Renaissance Ensemble Serbia is the first early music ensemble in Serbia and the second in south-eastern Europe, having been founded in 1968. Ensemble Renaissance usually focuses on the music of the Middle ages, Renaissance and Baroque. Occasionally, however, Ensemble performs modern music on ancient instruments.
Schelmish was a German Mittelalter rock band from the city of Bonn. The band originally formed in 1999 for a birthday celebration for band member Des Demonia's mother. The language of their songs varies between German, English, Latin, French and several old languages. The band split-up in December 2012; a group of member founded the electro folk rock band InVictus.
The Mediæval Bæbes is a British musical ensemble founded in 1996 by Dorothy Carter and Katharine Blake. It included some of Blake's colleagues from the band Miranda Sex Garden, as well as other friends who shared her love of medieval music. The lineup often rotates from album to album, and ranges from six to twelve members. As of 2010, the group had sold some 500,000 records worldwide, their most successful being Worldes Blysse with 250,000 copies purchased.
Ana Alcaide is a Spanish performer, composer and music producer who carries out research on ancient traditions and cultures.
Anthology is the 13th album by Ensemble Renaissance, released in 1997 on the Al Segno label in Germany. The double disc is the greatest hits compilation of the Medieval and Renaissance music; the material on this Anthology are remasters from Ensemble's LPs Greatest Hits 3, Mon amy, Hommage a l'amour.
New London Consort was a London-based Renaissance and Baroque music ensemble, which performed in most of Europe and various other parts of the world. Founded and directed by Philip Pickett, most of its repertoire was recorded and broadcast by BBC and regularly appeared at major venues and festivals. This repertoire included unpublished works and new interpretations of familiar ones, sometimes controversial. The group has been inactive since its director's conviction as a sex offender in 2015.
"O Fortuna" is a movement in Carl Orff's 1935–36 cantata Carmina Burana. It begins the opening and closing sections, both titled "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi". The cantata is based on a medieval Goliardic poetry collection of the same name, from which the poem "O Fortuna" provides the words sung in the movement. It was well-received during its time, and entered popular culture through use in other musical works, advertisements, and soundtracks beginning in the late 20th century.
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