Early learning

What is "early music"?

"It's not music performed first thing in the morning," insists Delma Tomlin, director of the National Centre for Early Music on Walmgate, York. It is music from the medieval period through to about 1750/1800 - and can be performed at any time of day.

So how do I know early music when I hear it?

Rule out immediately anything involving stratocasters and speaker stacks. By the same token, modern orchestras are too loud and proud. You are listening for quiet acoustic music that was designed for a smaller space, rather than a concert hall.

Chamber music, then?

Yes, but this music was not only performed in chambers. Much of it is sacred, and was heard first in church or monasteries. It was also performed at court, if the king or queen wasn't too busy fighting wars. As time went on and England became more politically settled, musicians would perform in the homes of the well-to-do. To have a concert in your front room was more impressive than having widescreen digital TV with Nicam stereo sound.

What about the unwashed rabble?

Much as today, they loved their pop music. Street musicians would gig at weddings, shindigs and, well, on the street. The York Waits are one of the best known groups to revive this folk music tradition.

Can I hum along to a good early music tune?

"Compared with some of the compositions people might be familiar with from the last 50 years, it is very melodic," says Delma. "Some of the polyphonic choral music is very 'scrunchy'. It gives you a buzz. Scrunchy is different to discordant. It's clever, it's great."

Would I know any early music?

If you've ever belted out While Shepherds Flocked, or fumed as a telephone pipes Greensleeves down the line while you're on hold, then yes. And JS Bach and Mozart's music dates from the end of the period.

But aren't all the instruments weird?

Not really. They are just early versions of what we know today. As technology improved, so new instruments that were better, louder and more reliable came along. Musicians rushed to play them, and the old ones became obsolete. Just like we ditch computer software as soon as version 2.0 comes out.

So why revive the old

instruments after 400 years?

To perform music as it was composed to be performed, for one. And the historical perspective makes you appreciate both the sound and the time, says Delma. We can cherish early music like we do early buildings: "Some of York's old churches are quite cold, but we don't knock them down and build new ones."

Did early musicians have

trumpets, trombones, clarinets and drums?

Sort of. The cornet is an early trumpet made of leather. Delma explained that it is a simpler and less easily-controlled than "the modern-day brass instrument which has a lot of curly things and valves". Before the trombone came the sackbut (old French for "pull-push") and the forerunners of the clarinet are 14th century reed instruments such as the crumhorn, shaped like a hockey stick, which has a nasal sound. And as for drums, one word: nakers.

Well, I've never been so

insulted...

Nakers is the name for little bongo-like drums that were strapped to your side. An expert on his nakers might well be accomplished on other instruments, like the symphony, a forerunner of the hurdy-gurdy. At one end of this waist-long wooden box is a handle, which turns to give a drone. Push the stops and a tune emerges. Hopefully. Bigger drums, like the one in our top picture, were mainly used in the military, to drum up the right mood before battle.

What about strings,

and keyboards?

The viol is like a fat violin. It is too chunky to stick under the chin, so it is lodged between the knees and bowed like a cello. Strings were made from catgut: animal lovers will be relieved to know that wire is used today. The harpsichord differs to the piano in that it plucks, rather than hammers, the strings, so only short notes can be played. Then came the forte piano, as played by Mozart. It hammers - but not as well as the later pianoforte.

Were early musicians revered?

Not always. The original versions of the York Waits also worked as nightwatchmen and barely had enough money to mend their costumes. Politics could make life difficult for composers. William Byrd (1543-1623) was writing religious music at a time when England couldn't decide whether it was Catholic or Protestant. As soon as he finished a mass, it was the last thing anyone wanted to hear.

So what is the York Early Music Festival all about?

Running until July 15, with several concerts a day, it has an Italian theme to celebrate the 500th anniversary of music printing by Petrucci of Venice. The festival first began in 1977 in York - a city naturally associated with early music due to its many surviving churches and guildhalls. This year 75 per cent of the audience will have come to York especially for the festival, many staying for the whole thing. The music will reach countless others via broadcasts on Radio 3 and the World Service. Box office: (01904) 658338.

What does the National Centre for Early Music do the rest of the time?

Two staff work full time on early music education and research. Delma and others are involved in the wider arts scene, organising concerts and exhibitions at the centre, as well as renting it out for recitals, training sessions and the like. Hundreds of local schoolchildren also benefit from music education days at the converted church. That's not to mention the Christmas Early Music Festival.

See you there...

Updated: 10:45 Friday, July 06, 2001