Fragment of music from the Aberdeen Breviary : Volume 1 or 'Pars Hiemalis'.Credit: Image courtesy of the National Library of Scotland
Posted on 01/09/2025 1:37:20 PM PST by SunkenCiv
A fragment of “lost” music, discovered within the pages of Scotland’s first full-length printed book, is offering valuable insights into the sound of music from five centuries ago.
Experts from Edinburgh College of Art and KU Leuven in Belgium have been examining the origins of this musical score—comprising just 55 notes—to shed light on early sixteenth-century, pre-Reformation Scottish music.
Researchers describe the find as a rare glimpse into the musical practices of Scottish religious institutions 500 years ago. Notably, it is the only surviving piece of music from this era originating in the northeast of Scotland.
The scholars made the discovery in a copy of The Aberdeen Breviary of 1510, a collection of prayers, hymns, psalms, and readings used for daily worship in Scotland, including detailed writings on the lives of Scottish saints. Known as the ‘Glamis copy’ as it was formerly held in Glamis Castle in Angus, it is now in the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh.
Despite the musical score having no text, title or attribution, researchers have identified it as a unique musical harmonisation of Cultor Dei, a night-time hymn sung during the season of Lent.
(Excerpt) Read more at scitechdaily.com ...
Fragment of music from the Aberdeen Breviary : Volume 1 or 'Pars Hiemalis'.Credit: Image courtesy of the National Library of Scotland
Singers: Holly Gowen, Sam Fitzgerald, Matt Norriss, Paul Newton-Jackson (Director). Music Identification and Reconstruction: David Coney. Audio: Matt Norriss (Piraxa Studios). Credit: Courtesy of Paul Newton – Jackson
https://scitechdaily.com/images/Cultor-Dei-Memento.wav?_=1
how does it sound on the bagpipe?
Hey, everything sounds better on the bagpipe. :^)
Hey, everything sounds better on the bagpipe. :^)
Best Bagpipe song ever!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-qkY2yj4_A
LOL! It’s a long way from the early 16th century to the late 1970s!
-PJ
Wow....I’m so excited...
Try to imagine the sound of a choir in those Gothic cathedrals singing that type of music.
I had a best friend who had an art scholarship to Edinburgh College of Art.
Make Scotland Catholic Again.
It’s Keith Richards’ first solo work
Edinburgh is one of my favorite cities on the planet.
Does it involve being arrogant and tight fisted?
-PJ
Beat me to it....
I had to open the WAV in a new window which then downloaded. It may be necessary to go to your downloads to get it to play.
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