• Mixtapes
    • Metal Mixtapes
    • Minor Key Mixtapes
    • Christmas Mixtapes
  • Mini Movie Reviews
    • Full List (A – Z)
    • Recent Reviews
  • Board Game Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Children’s Game Reviews
    • Expansion Reviews
    • Full List (A-Z)
  • Reader Mail
  • About
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Mixtapes
    • Metal Mixtapes
    • Minor Key Mixtapes
    • Christmas Mixtapes
  • Mini Movie Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Full List (A – Z)
  • Board Game Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Children’s Game Reviews
    • Expansion Reviews
    • Full List (A-Z)
  • Reader Mail
  • About
  • Contact

Minor Key Music 77.5: Merry Medieval Christmas

December 24, 2018

As an apology for last year’s Christmas playlist of underground black/death metal songs, I thought I’d do a list this year of songs that actually celebrate the birth of Jesus, rather than decrying his lack of goatborn blood.  I love all types of pre-classical Western music, but for today’s list I wanted to limit my songs to pre-Baroque only.  And, since I’ve been going (and saving the programs) to the local Collegium Musicum concert of early Christmas music for the past decade or so, I had plenty of good candidates for a list of Christmas songs that could also serve as a soundtrack for Monty Python and the Holy Grail!

So, let’s not bury the lede, here is my playlist of chanty/medieval music celebrating the birth of Jesus. Enjoy!

And, here are the individual songs with a few quick thoughts on each!

Chantez à Dieu (Jan Sweelinck) – Late 16th Century

https://www.isleyunruh.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Psalm-96-Chantez-a-Dieu-Sweelinck.mp3

This song’s canon-style makes it seem quite Christmas carol-y!

Adoramoste Senor (Francisco de la Torre) – Late 15th Century

https://www.isleyunruh.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Adoramoste-Senor-Torre.mp3

Mid-paced and quite renaissance-y sounding, this arrangement includes a bit of percussion to good effect.

Il es Bel et Bon (Pierre Passereau) – Mid 16th Century

https://www.isleyunruh.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Il-est-bel-et-bon-Passereau.mp3

This one moves (a lot of early music is a bit slow for my tastes), and the way they say “Bon bon bon bon” is pretty damn cute.

Joseph est Bien Marie – 17th Century

https://www.isleyunruh.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Joseph-Est-Bien-Marie.mp3

This one takes a fairly straight-forward and catchy talk-sung melody and puts it through usual paces of alternating voices.

Ein Kind Geborn Zu Bethlehem (Leonhard Schroter) – 16th Century

https://www.isleyunruh.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Ein-Kind-geborn-zu-Bethlehem-Schroter.mp3

I always appreciate when they throw a few instruments into the arrangements (if you count recorders as an “instrument”), and the song has a nice refreshing take on minor key tonality that really delivers.

Jesus-Christ s’habille en Pauvre – 17th Century

https://www.isleyunruh.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Jesus-Christ-Shabille-En-Pauvre.mp3

The arrangement here sounds almost folky with the acoustic guitar and clear mix.  But, sounding like something from a Rohmer period film is only going to make me love it more!

Sit Nomen Domini (Josquin des Prez) – Early 16th Century

https://www.isleyunruh.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Sit-nomen-Domini-Prez.mp3

This song starts underwhelming but then builds in some really cool polyphony as it moves on.

Stella Splendens in Monte (from El Llibre Vermell de Montserrat) – 14th Century

https://www.isleyunruh.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Llibre-Vermell-Stella-splendens.mp3

This one is a bop.  Taken from an anonymous collection of songs (all of which are great), this is the reason I love medieval music.

Fa Una Canzona (Orazio Vecchi) – Late 16th Century

https://www.isleyunruh.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Fa-Una-Canzona-Vecchi.mp3

This song is just kind of sounds like Christmas.  So, merry Christmas one and all!

Dum Pater Familias (from the Codex Calixtinus) – 12th Century

https://www.isleyunruh.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Codex-Calixtinus-Dum-Pater-Familias.mp3

This isn’t really a Christmas song (best I can tell, it’s something about the Apostle James spreading the good word to Spain–but, that good word includes the birth of our Christ, so, counts).  The Codex Calixtinus has some of the earliest examples of polyphony in Western music.  Which, makes me suspect there was large amount of artistic license taken with the arrangement here, as the low droning really compliments the great melody, and it all around sounds much more polished than most earliest examples of polyphony sound.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Share

Holidays  / Minor Key Music  / Non-Metal Music

Leave A Reply


Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Recent Comments

    • James Webber on Middle-earth Monday 29 – Framsburg
    • Anonymous on Top Ten Best Classic Black Metal Logos
    • isley.unruh on The Top 5 Best Black Metal Cover-photo Cock Shots
    • John Cole on The Top 5 Best Black Metal Cover-photo Cock Shots
    • Stephen Maynard on Lord of the Rings, The Lost Chapters I: A Wind from the West
  • Recent Posts

    • KOVID Movie-watching Kumite
    • 15 Lessons Learned in Cooking over the Last 15 Years
    • Travels in Middle-earth 75: The Three-farthing Stone
    • My Favorite Movies 77: (The Red Shoes, 1948)
    • An Open Letter to Mythical Meats RE: Your Woefully Uninspired Fantasy Meat Sticks
  • Categories

    • Art (5)
    • Books (12)
      • Only the Good Parts (6)
    • Comics (6)
    • Film (246)
      • Best Movies of the Decade (2)
      • Best Movies of the Year (5)
      • Cinema Scripture School (3)
      • James Bond Picture Books (2)
      • Mini Movie Reviews (98)
      • My Favorite Movies (77)
      • Year in Reviews (6)
    • Food and Cooking (9)
    • Games (51)
      • Brilliant Board Games (2)
      • Descent D&D (7)
      • Mini Board Game Reviews (12)
      • Painting in Miniature (5)
      • RE-Zork (10)
    • Holidays (21)
      • April Fool's (8)
      • Halloween (2)
    • Internet (30)
      • Memes I Missed (21)
      • The Art of Trolling (4)
    • Lists (49)
    • Mailbag Monday (86)
    • Math and Science (3)
    • Me (57)
      • Rousing Tales from Isley's Spirited Past (11)
    • Metal Music (120)
      • Album Artwork for the Ages (3)
      • Battle Vests of the KVLT & TR00 (3)
      • Best Metal of the Year (6)
      • Extreme Metal Radio Edits (2)
      • Mid-month Metal Masterpiece (74)
      • Racism in Metal (5)
    • Myth and Fantasy (8)
      • Archetypical (4)
    • Nerd Open Letters (20)
    • Non-Metal Music (100)
      • Minor Key Music (88)
    • Other (2)
    • Philosophy (3)
    • Sports and Fitness (7)
    • Spotlight Posts (58)
    • Tales from Center Valley High (19)
      • Goth Blog (6)
      • Jock Blog (7)
      • Snob Blog (6)
    • Tolkien (97)
      • The Lost Chapters (6)
      • Travels in Middle-earth (76)
    • TV (5)
    • War (7)
  • Archives

  • Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org



  • Home
  • Mixtapes
    • Metal Mixtapes
    • Minor Key Mixtapes
    • Christmas Mixtapes
  • Mini Movie Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Full List (A – Z)
  • Board Game Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Children’s Game Reviews
    • Expansion Reviews
    • Full List (A-Z)
  • Reader Mail
  • About
  • Contact
© Copyright www.isleyunruh.com