Renaissance harp: music of the 1500s from Germany and Italy

Source: The newly attributed harp manuscript, Leipzig, 191 [c. 1540]

WORKSHOP 1. Leipzig 191, ca. 1540 — The Fundamentals  
- Overview of the history of the manuscript 
- The Fundamentals of Singing / Instrumental Playing by Martin Agricola (1529)
- Solmisation and the hexachord system: notes – strings – tuning
- Extra semitones or not? Musica ficta?
- Cadences: How to produce them on a 16th-century harp
- A look at a specific piece from the manuscript

NB: This is a practical session. We will immediately put into practice what we are learning.

Bonus: You will receive a wealth of material so you can continue to play music from this MS long after the course has ended!

[Heidrun Rosenzweig]

WORHSHOP 2: Leipzig 191 — From four-part song to embellished harp solo

- The different metres: Pieces in 3 and 2
- The different 'jobs' for the two hands 
- Patterns for embellishments I
- How to deal with long notes, syncopations and dotted notes 
- A look at a specific piece from the manuscript 

[Heidrun Rosenzweig]

WORKSHOP 3: More Intabulation Strategies

- The role of the accompanying hand
- Patterns for embellishments II
- How to deal with original ficta 
- Lengthening and shortening passages, is it allowed?
- A look at a specific piece from the manuscript

[Heidrun Rosenzweig]

WORKSHOP 4: Applying these strategies to other 16th-century pieces

- Twelve strategies for intabulation revisited
- Preludes and finales
- Intabulating a four-part song to become solo harp music
- A look at two specific pieces

[Heidrun Rosenzweig]

In this class, we will explore an instrumental piece from Intabolatura nova di balli, a keyboard book published in Venice in 1551. Working from original tablature and transcriptions, we'll discuss techniques for adapting the piece to your own harp and playing level, including selecting the best range, modifying the original accompaniment, and finding the best strategy for passages with accidentals.

[Claire Piganiol]

Building on our previous session, we will delve into creating simple variations based on the framework of the piece we studied. We will analyze the structure of the written variations and explore how to craft simple yet effective new ones that are idiomatic for our harps. Mastering such a skill was essential for a Renaissance musician and will prove invaluable to us for playing other pieces from this repertoire in the future.

[Claire Piganiol]