The Sound of Renaissance Music

Posted by Lito Apostolakou Sep 15, 2009

The woodcarver making replicas of Scotland's "other Crown Jewels" - one of the largest and finest surviving collections of Renaissance wood carvings in Europe - the famous Stirling Heads, noticed a peculiar notation carved at the edge of one of them. His commission was part of Historic Scotland's major restoration project of the finest Renaissance building in Scotland, the Royal Palace of James V (1513-1542). What it revealed was exciting news for students and researchers of Renaissance music and society.

Stirling Heads are oak carved roundels or medallions used to decorate the ornate ceiling of James V Presence Chamber and bedchambers in the late 1530s and early 1540s. They are an invaluable resource for the iconography of the Renaissance as they bear the carved portraits of royals and courtiers and of all creative and fashionable people attracted to the vibrant and lavish court of James V. Some are true to life, others are depicted as gods reflecting the obsession of the time with all things ancient Greek and Roman.

The notation was discovered on a Stirling Head depicting an anonymous, possibly middle-aged, woman. It is a sequence of I, II and O, a foundation for composing music rather than a musical score as we know it today. The discovery of the musical notation is the oldest written example of Scottish instrumental music since in 16th century, music tradition was mostly oral tradition.

The musical notation or sequence can be interpreted in different ways. It is believed that it represents a piece composed for James V. On August 27, 2009, the piece (an interpretation of the notation realised by Bill Taylor, renown performer of ancient harp music) was performed in the Chapel Royal of Stiling Castle.

See my Renaissance music article