Thread: Chamber music or music of around 1597

Hi,

I am a sound designer for theatre currently working on a production of Romeo & Juliet. The play is being set around 1597. For the party where Romeo + Juliet meet I need to find some music that would be played during the party.

I was wondering if any Classical buffs out there could point me in the right direction regarding composers and any pieces that I should look out for / listen to. The show is on in London and I can offer two free tickets to anyone who can help me look in the right direction!

Thanks in advance

Steve

Hi Steve, firstly I would like to say that I think it's great that you're putting so much thought into this- early music is my field and there have been so many occasions when I have observed productions and wanted to cry out 'that instrument wasn't even invented back then!' Handel has suggested some really beautiful composers, whom I would also recommend investigating, though it may be a good idea to play some secular music too (although Orlando Gibbons is one of the greatest composers to ever have lived and one of my personal favourites), merely because of the religious upheaval going on during Shakespeare's era. If I remember rightly, isn't this scene full of apparent heresy? I think there were criticisms at the time regarding Romeo's idolatary of Juliet, so any religious music may have to fit the content of the scene? I'm not sure how specific you want to be. Also, Capulet begins the scene by making jokes and urging people to dance. This suggests that the music would probably have been more instrumental than vocal, and would have had rythmn and pulse. I would therefore recommend that you look at music by St. Georges Canzona, who are a musical ensemble that use the same instruments used in Shakespeare's era. One CD of theirs is called 'Medieval Songs and Dances' and although many of the pieces predate Romeo and Juliet, instrumental music was not really advanced in a big way in regard to dance until the 1600's, so all of the 14th and 15th century pieces would have been in use at this time. The Musica Antiqua are also a group that I would recommend- they play music by composers such as Von Burck (around 1575) and Thomas Forde. The Musica Antiqua are good because they play everything from secular music to church music, both vocal and instrumental, so if you wanted to hear a variety of pieces before choosing then I would recommend them. Eloquence records have a great CD that consists of a compilation of the more well known composers from this era, such as Palestrina, Byrd and Dufay. It's called 'Music of the Renaissance' and has some excellent dance pieces of a really superb quality. If you plan on having a live ensemble perform the music then I think the pieces you will find on this CD will be the most helpful, as early and renaissance sheet music is notoriously difficult to obtain. As the composers on this CD are the giants of their day, printed music by them will be easier to come by. However, if you plan on playing the music pre-recorded then I would perhaps advise using one of the other options I have suggested, as they are have more dance pieces and would probably fit the mood of the party in a more appropriate way. I think most of these are available on i-tunes. I can also send you any of these pieces if you wish to hear them.
Hope some of my waffling helps! Good luck with the project
Amy

Amy, welcome back! Good to see you post again!

Hehe, point taken Handel The typical wafflings on the enthusiast, eh..lol.
Thanks Chambernut- it has been a long time since I've posted so I'm back with a vengence!

Originally Posted by Amy

Eloquence records have a great CD that consists of a compilation of the more well known composers from this era, such as Palestrina, Byrd and Dufay. It's called 'Music of the Renaissance' and has some excellent dance pieces of a really superb quality.

How funny! I bought this CD totally randomly last week. I love the lively dances it has, like "basse danse la brosse" or something like that. It's also very diverse, but I would have liked more profane music. It has a lot of monotonous gregorian-like hymns.

I love the lively ones too- I think the basse dance is my fave! Thumbs up to your choice, Morigan I'm not as keen on the vocal pieces either- I prefer early vocal music to be polyphonic and with a bit more diversity in chord arrangements etc. I especially enjoy hearing early composers place sharpened 7ths in modal pieces. The instrumental pieces do kick *** tho!

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the help with the play. Blooming directors gone and changed her mind though! This is the new thread I've started for peeps to have a look if you come this way.

Hi there,

I am a sound designer for theatre currently working on a production of Romeo + Juliet. I am looking for classical / period music for the Capulet's party where R+J initially meet and the director says that the Capulet's are extremely rich but not very classy and quite debauched and the music should reflect that. We are kind of setting it around the period that the play was written but if it's the right pieces of music then I don't think it would matter!

I'm starting to get very stuck now so any help would be amazing and if you live in London then I might be able to sort out a couple of tickets!

Thanks in advance

Urban

Thought you were such a helpful bunch but I still need help! Those tickets are still up for grabs

U )