THE ENSEMBLE

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THE INSTRUMENTS

Early music, ancient instruments, Renaissance music, the culture of ancient times... We can list the key words that bring to everyone's mind the romanticism of the age of knights, the grounds of castles, the atmosphere of kingly feasts and minstrels. Our music speaks to those who know these things. We want to evoke this world and give it voice through our period-accurate instruments. With three members our ensemble general travels about the country or abroad, but we strengthen our ranks with colleagues, especially in concerts and performances.

Shakespeare writes in the Merchant of Venice: "The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as night, And his affections dark as Erebus. Let no such man be trusted." Let us add to this, by way of expanding these wise lines: Pay attention to the experience of every fellow musician as one pays attention to literature. Music and literature in past centuries formed an unbreakable union. Poetry existed together with music then, but a well-crafted lyric added power of its own as well. The music and verse of Medieval and Renaissance Hungary and the rest of Europe appears through preservation of the ensemble, and it is our belief that the temperament of the people at that time is the temperament of people today as well. András Szabó

The founding members, who ensure the sound of the ensemble
Katalin BENNŐ - pastor's flute/whistle, hurdy gurdy, voice
Ádám BUDA - Hurdy gurdy, koboz, lute, voice, pastor's flute/whistle
Balázs NAGY - Hurdy gurdy, koboz, oud, voice
Péter MOLNÁR - pastor's flute/whistle, gemshorn, kaval, folk shawm, shawm, crumhorn

The ensemble gets its name from the Bourdon style, a representative musical style of the middle ages. In the Bourdon style the use of accompanying or Bourdon strings first appears. In this manner the bagpipe, the hurdy gurdy, and the zither are capable of sounding the tonic to accompany the music and add color, but they do not use the accompanying chords which appear only later in art music. In our programs we always use some form of the hurdy gurdy, which is the most characteristic instrument in the Bourdon style, but we also use many other interesting instruments in the course of our performances.

----In a millennial concert in Budapest

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THE INSTRUMENTS

Our instruments are typical of the middle ages in type, craftsmanship and sound. Most of our instruments were obtained in instrument shops, but we make some of our instruments as they are otherwise impossible to obtain. In our programs we play pieces written specifically for our instruments to show their characteristic sounds or we provide our own instrumentation of period music if no instrumentation already exists.

HURDY GURDY (Hungarian TEKERŐLANT) - an instrument which a turning wooden disk sounds the strings and which is played with the help of wooden keys. A favorite instrument in Europe since the middle ages. This "mechanical fiddle" played a major role in classical music as well as in folk music. The medieval masters prepared the hurdy gurdy in a variety of forms, both in lute form and guitar form. The instrument was used in Hungary as well, but only in folk music--even today it is used only in music coming from traditional roots.

KAVAL

MEDIEVAL LUTE- the form of this plucked instrument, which has been known for many millenia, as it had been developed by the 15th century became one of the most preferred instruments Renaissance Europe. It was ideal as an accompanying instrument and in orchestral ensembles. Our instruments have the appropriate number of strings, sounds, and measurements for the period.

GEMSHORN - wind instrument in a variety of sizes fashioned from the horn of an animal. Closing the open end of the hollow horn and providing a fipple produces an instrument similar to the pastor's flute/whistle. A pleasant, humming sound made this a favored instrument in the music of the middle ages.

BLOCKFLUTE (RECORDER) - the universally recognized form of the pastor's flute whose development made this ancient instrument ideal for use in classical music because of its clear sound and wide range. One of the most important instruments in the music of both the Renaissance and Baroque periods, it has preserved its primacy to this day in early music ensembles.

CRUMHORN - one of the preferred instruments in the Renaissance period, it belongs to the double-reed instrument family. It is interesting in that the blade of the reed is not touched by the player -- a wind cap protects the reed and makes it possible to blow into the instrument.

FOLK SHAWM (TURKISH PIPE or TÁROGATÓ) - double reed instruments were popular in Hungary as well. With its simple form and powerful sound the Turkish pipe was very important in medieval Hungarian music, especially after the end of the Turkish occupation.

SHAWM - a wind instrument of ancient origin similar to the oboe which developed into many different forms, both in classical music and in folk music. E.g., the zurna/zurla, the pommern, and the Turkish pipe or tárogató. A simple double-reed produces the sound. Simpler types rely on covering the finger holes to change the sound, while more advanced types have keys.