The Elizabethan era was
a time when music and art were growing more and more each day. This
time period, also known as the English Renaissance, is still well
known for its styles and sound of music. Queen Elizabeth herself was
a skillful player of both the lute and the virginal. She said that
she never played for performance, " but only to shun melancholy." It
was thought that the virginal was named after Elizabeth, the "Virgin
Queen." Other instruments that were popular during this time period
were the spinet and the viol. All of these are stringed
instruments.
There are many different kinds of stringed instruments. The lute is played by plucking the strings with the fingers. The viol is played with a bow made out of string that is played against the strings on the instrument. The spinet is a piano-like instrument in which each key has a string that is hit with a soft mallet when the key is pressed.
The popularity of stringed instruments grew tremendously during the Renaissance period because of the amount of expression that is possible when a musician is playing one of these beautiful instruments.
Probably the most popular
instrument of these days was the lute, which was used in
story-telling as well as for musical purposes. The wooden instrument
looks somewhat like a guitar, except the head is bent backwards at a
90û angle. There are frets on the lute, as on the guitar, also.
Unlike the guitar, though, the lute can have as many as thirteen
pairs of strings running the length of the body. This characteristic
makes it very difficult to play and almost impossible to keep in
tune. The lute fell out of popularity fairly quickly because of these
problems with tuning and playing.
The Renaissance era was one of the most productive time periods in history as far as the advancement of music goes. Music became much more expressive, and the sound and quality of the instruments became more refined and more pleasant to listen to. Instruments such as the harpsichord, the spinet, and the lute became more than just accompaniment for singers; they became an outlet for emotions. A modern listener can almost picture what the Renaissance composer or musician was feeling when he or she was writing a piece of music. The music of the Elizabethan era had a large influence on the advancement of all music which came after it.
Ardley, Neil. Music (Eyewitness Books). New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1989.
This book has a lot of valuable information pertaining to instruments and their history. It shows how a simple stick of wood with some strings attached changed over the years to become the modern violin. The section on stringed instruments was especially helpful.
*Janson, H.W. , and Joseph Kerman. A History of Art and Music . Englewood Cliffs, N.J. and New York: Prentice- Hall, Inc., and Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
This book gives an in-depth look at the history of music and art. It has many descriptions of Renaissance instruments and some very good pictures. The section entitled "Music in the Era of the Renaissance" is very thorough and informative.
Loft, Abram. The World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, Inc., 1995.
This article goes into great detail about the lute, a stringed instrument played during the Elizabethan era. The article describes its construction and how it is played.
*Midgley, Ruth. Musical Instruments of the World . United States: Paddington Press, Ltd., 1976.
This book has many descriptions and pictures of Renaissance instruments. It shows all sorts of instruments form the earliest ones known to man to modern synthesizers and other new instruments. The chapter entitled "Renaissance Instruments" was very helpful.
*Source for visual
Music was a very
important part of the Elizabethan Age. In the sixteenth century, a
knowledge of music was considered a genteel accomplishment for
persons of high rank, especially royalty and high-ranking military
officers.
During Elizabeth's long reign, music was not only fashionable, but held in an almost universal esteem. Henry VIII was an extremely accomplished musician, even to the point of writing his own music. Court music was very popular as entertainment at royal parties and important public functions. The musicians would play their instruments or sing until they were told to stop. They generally were not paid and performed solely for housing, food, and clothing.
Toward the end of the Elizabethan Age, the court musicians began to move into music houses, usually in the middle of a large metropolis, and form music guilds. Here they performed concerts, consisting of both vocal and instrumental music, for the entertainment of the general public.
One of the wind instruments used was the bagpipe. It consists of a leather bag fitted with one, preferably two or more, pipes. By manipulating the leather bag and blowing through the pipes, the musician produces a series of high-pitched, sometimes shrill, notes. Although the bagpipe's origin was in Scotland, it was used extensively during the Elizabethan times, especially as the mainstay of the court music.
Another popular instrument was the cornet, which resembles a short trumpet. Tones on the cornet are produced by vibrating the lips in a cup-shaped mouthpiece which fits into the end of the horn. Notes are played by changing the tension of the lips, forcing air through the horn, and operating the valves. The cornet developed from a valveless brass instrument called a post horn. The modern cornet developed after valves were invented in the late 1600's.
The fife is a small instrument that belongs to the flute family. It consists of a wooden tube that has between six to eight finger holes along its length and a mouth hole. It is played by blowing air through the mouth hole and manipulating the finger holes. The fife originated in Switzerland in the 1500's.
The pipe is probably the oldest of all musical instruments, traced to the mythical Pan. The basis of almost all of the musical wind instruments is the pipe. It is shaped much like a modern-day recorder. It is also the ancestor of our modern-day pipe organ.
The recorder is a type of flute that has a whistle mouthpiece. The instrument consists of a wooden or plastic tube with a row of seven finger holes and a thumb hole. The recorder was invented during the Middle Ages and has remained virtually unchanged through the years. It became popular during the 1500's and 1600's and was an important part of the music of the Renaissance.
The trumpet, especially the herald trumpet, was very important in the court music. The herald trumpet was used particularly to announce the arrival of royalty, as seen sometimes in movies. These trumpets were very long-- approximately five feet long. They had a very full tone and were often played very loud.
Music was a very important aspect of the Elizabethan period and of the Renaissance movement as a whole. Whether it was Henry VIII singing, playing, and writing his own music, or people in bars just having a good time singing and dancing, music was a part of everyone's lives, both rich and poor.
*Ardley, Neil. Music (Eyewitness Books). New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1989.
This book has a lot of valuable information pertaining to instruments and their history. It shows how a simple stick of wood with some strings attached changed over the years to become the modern violin. The section on stringed instruments was especially helpful.
Hart, Roger. English Life in Tudor Times. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons Publishing, 1972.
This book has great illustrations pertaining to music. It explains the importanceof music to Henry VIII. Capter 6, "Learning and the Arts," is particularlyinformative.
Rowse, A.L. The Elizabethan Renaissance: The Cultural Achievement. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons Publishing, 1972.
This book had limited infomation. It gave very few examples of instruments, but it did talk about court music. Chapters III and IV, "Domestic Arts," and "Words and Music," have the most information.
Strutt, Joseph. The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England. New York: Augustus M. Kelly Publishing, 1970.
This book stresses the importance of music in Elizabethan times. It also explains the formation of music houses. Book IV, "Domestic Amusements of various kinds; and pastimes appropriated to particular seasons" is particularly informative.
Williams, Penry. Life in Tudor England. Ed. Peter Quennel. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons Publishing, 1964.
This book talks about the evolution of court music into professional guilds.It does not mention any of the particular instruments used in Elizabethan times.Chapter III,"The Order of Society," has the most information.
World Book Encyclopedia. 1988 ed.
Volumes 2, 3, 7, 15, 17, and 19 have descriptions of some of the musical wind instruments described here, including explanations of when they were invented. Some articles explain the instruments' importance during the Elizabethan Age.
* Source for visual.