Hurly Burly Spring Concert, May 25 in Peterborough, ON

Hurly Burly (Peterborough’s early music ensemble) will be revisiting the animal theme in their upcoming spring concert on Sunday, May 25th. As the Facebook event page says, “Hurly Burly’s annual Spring concert goes to the dogs… and fleas… not to mention birds and a missing sheep!” We’re having lots of fun with the songs, and hope you will enjoy them too! It will be our trademark blend of early and late period pieces, with mixed instruments and voices.

Animal, Vegetable, Madrigal: an Afternoon of “Beastly” Songs and Dances
Sunday May 25th, 2:30 p.m.
St. John’s Anglican Church in the Guild Hall

99 Brock Street (just east of Water Street in Peterborough)
Tickets available at the door
(And yes, there will be the usual home-made refreshments during the intermission!)

Hurly Burly main group site: http://hurlyburlyensemble.wordpress.com/
May 25 Concert Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/544264745688966/

Hurly Burly Spring Concerts, with Special Guest

Hurly Burly in 2010 at St. John'sWow, time does whizz by. Sorry for not posting in April, the weather was too nice here to stay indoors! – T.H.

We’re happy to announce that Hurly Burly will be joined by Hazina Bellydance for both our Sat. May 18 concert in Oshawa, ON, and our Sun. May 26 concert in Peterborough, ON.

More info on the official Hurly Burly site: http://hurlyburlyensemble.wordpress.com/

 

Early Music Concert (with Arianna Savall on period harp)

Top-notch performances by Jordi Savall, Rolf Lisevand, Perdo Estevan, and Arianna Savall. I instantly fell in love with the larger of Arianna’s two period replica harps. It’s not easy to find video of medieval harps in concert where the sound mix does them justice, but the balance is perfect in this one.

May 29 Medieval Concert, Peterborough

Hurly Burly Early Music Ensemble Presents
The Vigorous Impulse: Music from the 12th Century Renaissance

This Sunday, May 29 · 2:30pm – 5:30pm
The Guild Hall, St. John’s Anglican Church, Peterborough, ON

The 12th century was a time of musical innovation and fervent. Our concert features some of the first recognizable names in Western composers: Abelard, Hildegard, the Comtessa de Dia, and many troubadours and trouveres.
Featured instruments this time out include multiple harps, citoles, recorders, vielle, rebec, hurdy gurdy, and percussion.
Take a break from the gardening and join us for a lively and melodic afternoon!

For those of you on Facebook, we now have a group page (search for “Hurly Burly Music Ensemble”).

The page for this Sunday’s event can be found here.

Group website: celticharper.com/hurlyburly

Robin Ward plays Suite Royalle on Triple Harp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmTJYj-k_MY

According to Mr. Ward:

An arrangement of Robert de Visee’s Suite Royalle in Dm. Originally for Lute/Theorbo. Performed on an Italian styled triple harp, built by the performer.

You can see more of Robin Ward’s playing here, and visit his website at www.earlyharps.com. (Along with performing he also teaches and builds harps).

Therese Honey – Branle de la Torche

Therese is playing a reproduction of the 17th C. “Boston Harp”, currently in the collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The replica was built by Catherine Campbell, Port Townsend, Washington.
This arrangement of the popular Torche Branle by Praetorius can be found in Therese’s book “The Royale Harpist”. You can watch more of Therese’s performances (of both early and Celtic music) here.

September Tune of the Month: Douce Dame Jolie

An upbeat 14th C. song by French composer Guillaume de Machaut, Douce Dame Jolie is quite easy to play on the harp. A simple rhythmic drone using open fifths is all you need for accompaniment.

Douce Dame Jolie by Guillaume de Machaut, 14th C.

More info on this piece can be found here. To hear a midi version of this tune, click here.

The HarpBlog Tune of the Month is courtesy of Chubby Sparrow Music . For a printable version, right click on the picture and choose “save target as”, or pop over to the Chubby Sparrow Free Music page for more detailed printing instructions (note: if you just left click and try to print directly from the browser, it probably won’t print at the right size).

On the Music of the Middle Ages (quote)

This came to me by way of one of the members of our early music ensemble; thanks Sue!

“John of Salisbury (1120 – 1180) taught at the University of Paris during the years of Léonin and Pérotin. He attended many concerts at the Notre Dame Choir School. In De nugis curialiam he offers a first-hand description of what was happening to music in the high Middle Ages. This philosopher and Bishop of Chartres wrote:

“When you hear the soft harmonies of the various singers, some taking high and others low parts, some singing in advance, some following in the rear, others with pauses and interludes, you would think yourself listening to a concert of sirens rather than men, and wonder at the powers of voices … whatever is most tuneful among birds, could not equal. Such is the facility of running up and down the scale; so wonderful the shortening or multiplying of notes, the repetition of the phrases, or their emphatic utterance: the treble and shrill notes are so mingled with tenor and bass, that the ears lost their power of judging. When this goes to excess it is more fitted to excite lust than devotion; but if it is kept in the limits of moderation, it drives away care from the soul and the solicitudes of life, confers joy and peace and exultation in God, and transports the soul to the society of angels…” (Hayburn 18).

December Tune: To Drive The Cold Winter Away

After an unusually warm and rainy November, winter has finally descended on our little town. We woke up this morning to chilly sub-zero temperatures and a blanket of snow. So I thought this would make for an appropriate December tune of the month. “To Drive the Cold Winter Away” (also known as “All Hail to the Days”) is one of my favourite seasonal tunes, a standard with my early music ensemble and my flute, harp and cello trio. Because the words are also quite lovely, I’ve also included the lyrics to the song below. The duet part was written for our cello player. If you want to use the bass as a left hand part for solo harp, you can leave out the G# if you don’t have G levers, or don’t feel like flipping in the middle of the piece.

The HarpBlog Tune of the Month is courtesy of Chubby Sparrow Music . For a printable version, right click on the picture and choose “save target as”, or pop over to the Chubby Sparrow Free Music page for more detailed printing instructions (note: if you just left click and try to print directly from the browser, it probably won’t print at the right size).

Lyrics: “All Hayle to the Dayes”, Eng. trad.

All hayle to the days that merit more praise
Than all the rest of the year!
And welcome the nights that double delights
As well for the poor as the peer!
Good fortune attend each merry man’s friend
That doth but the best that he may,
Forgetting old wrongs with carols and songs
To drive the cold winter away.

To mask and to mum, kind neighbours will come
With wassails of nut-brown ale,
To drink and carouse with all in the house
As merry as bucks in the dale;
Where cake, bread and cheese are bought for your fees
To make you the longer stay;
The fire to warm, will do you no harm,
To drive the cold winter away.

Thus none will allow of solitude now
But merrily greet the time,
To make it appear of all the whole year
That this is accounted the prime:
December is seen apparel’d in green,
And January fresh as May
Comes dancing along with a cup and a song
To drive the cold winter away.

This time of the year is spent in good cheer,
Kind neighbours together do meet
To sit by the fire with friendly desire
Each other in love to greet;
Old grudges, forgot, are put in the pot,
All sorrows aside they lay;
The old and the young doth carol this song
To drive the cold winter away.