What Is This, and Why Does It Matter?

Put simply: early music is fascinating, and we believe Alabamians deserve to hear more of it!

“Early music” usually means Western classical music written before 1750, especially the Renaissance (c. 1450–1600) and Baroque (c. 1600–1750) eras. From 1750 onward, especially as the last candles of the 18th century burned out, instruments and their equipment that would have been familiar in the Renaissance an Baroque eras, such as the harpsichord, Baroque-era bows, and sackbuts (yes, really) fell into obscurity in favor of newer instruments and innovations.

By the early 20th century, however, a growing number of curious musicians had rediscovered and emphasized the ancient beauty of Renaissance and Baroque music, and were curious just how far instruments and performance practices had diverged from what its composers and musicians had known. They dug through archives and museums, restoring or reconstructing instruments such as theorbos, viols, serpents, and hurdy-gurdies. They also studied old tuning systems, playing styles, and performance customs. Their research ultimately launched the historically informed performance (HIP) movement: an effort to bring old music to life as its composers intended.

Since then, HIP has grown into a vibrant branch of classical music. Ensembles worldwide specialize in HIP and perform on period instruments, and top conservatories now offer certificates and degrees in historical performance. Even if we’ll never know exactly how early music sounded, HIP brings us closer than ever today.

Its influence stretches beyond the concert hall:

• Instruments such as lutes, shawms, and handheld harps commonly seen in fantasy films and games are instruments revived in part by the HIP movement.

• Appalachian fiddling styles, studied by some violinists in the HIP movement, preserve techniques brought across the sea by early European settlers.

• Popular soundtracks, from Assassin’s Creed to Elder Scrolls, borrow textures and modes directly from early music.

• You will often find musicians specializing in HIP performing on historical instruments at Renaissance fairs, folk and heritage festivals, living history museums and re-enactments, universities, churches, theaters and opera houses, and much more!

At Bama Baroque, we perform Baroque and folk music with this historically informed approach. Though they seem different, these styles influenced each other greatly, and much of the folk repertoire most familiar to us dates from around the 17th-18th centuries. It’s a natural fit for our period instruments.

Most of all, we believe everyone deserves to experience the captivating beauty of early music. We invite you to attend a concert, share your ideas, or get involved; there’s a place for you in this timeless art form!