Last Update:

Front cover of the new book by Sydney Higgins Theatre in the Round: The Staging of Cornish Medieval Drama, a new illustrated analysis by SYDNEY HIGGINS is now published.

In the USA, it is available from Amazon.com for $16.93 and in the UK from Amazon.co.uk for £12.50.

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MEDIEVAL MUSIC

MEDIEVAL DANCE

OTHER LISTS OF MEDIEVAL DRAMA LINKS

MEDIEVAL MUSIC 

a. General

Early English Musick: 1385-1714
This provides brief information on composers and their works (with information about where extant manuscripts can be found). There is also an extensive bibliography.
Medieval Music Database
This comprehensive searchable resource is provided by LaTrobe University Library in Australia. You can also browse by Text, Composer, Genre, Manuscript or Liturgical Feast.
Secular Musicians In Late Medieval England
Although written in 1968, Richard Rastall’s thesis is still important and most informative. 

b. Examples

The Cantigas de Santa Maria   
The Cantigas de Santa MariaThis is a collection of facsimiles both of pages from the original manuscript and of a transcription of the music made in 1922 of what is thought to be the largest collection of solo songs to have survived from the Middle Ages. They were written in Spain during the reign of Alfonso X "El Sabio" (1221-1284).
French Singing in the Middle Ages
This informative article in French by Olivier Bettens is part of his useful collection of material under the heading 'Chantez-vous fran�ais?'
Gregorian Chant Home Page
Compiled by Peter Jeffery of the Music Department of Princeton University, this is a comprehensive collection of information and links to other sites.
Medieval Music of Cyprus
An interesting introduction, stressing the importance of Cyprus as a vital staging post during the Crusades. There are samples of music contained in an early fifteenth-century Cypriot manuscript, now in the collection of the National Library of Turin, Italy.
Music of the 14th Century
Five midi-files on the site of the English & Fine Arts Faculty of the Virginia Military Academy.
Troubadours & Instruments
A detailed, informative article by Joel Cohen in which he considers whether or not instruments were used to accompany the songs of troubadours.
A Selection of Medieval Music
A useful overview of the music of the period with references to CD recordings. Written by Todd M. McComb.
Manuscripts of Medieval Music
Manuscripts of Medieval MusicThese examples, from the Vatican's vast collection, include pages, copied towards the end of the 15th century, showing the Gregorian chant of the first verse of the hymn 'Conditor alme siderum'.

MEDIEVAL DANCE

Medieval Dance
A brief but informative introductory article, written by Yvonne Kendall, that contains a 'Brief Overview of World Dance' and 'Dance in Western Culture'. It is part of the ORB (online reference book) for Medieval Studies.  
Medieval Dance Picture Collection
Medieval Dance PictureA growing collection of illustrations of dance from medieval documentary sources, with a text in both German and English. A very useful resource.
Fifteenth Century Dance Steps
A verbal account of simple dance steps, compiled by Ken Reed.
Fifteenth Century Italian Dance
In a series of files, there is an excellent account (based on surviving manuscripts) of the basic steps and method of dancing in Italy during the fifteenth century. There are then detailed descriptions of many dances, including La Spagna, Reale, Corona, Pietosa, Caterva, Voltati in Ça Rosina, Petit Vriens and Pizochara.
'Les Basses Danses de Marguerite d'Autriche'
In the Bibliothèque Royale Albert I, Brussels, is a Burgundian-Flemish dance manuscript that was probably written in the first half of the fifteenth century. This page provides an introduction and information about the four dance-steps dealt with in the choreography (in English) and a transcript of the manuscript and some illustrations.

OTHER LISTS OF MEDIEVAL DRAMA LINKS

Baragona's Medieval Drama Page
Some Internet resources for the study of Medieval and Early Renaissance Drama, compiled by Alan Baragona of the Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.
Hanly's Medieval Drama Page
Medieval Drama Prof. Michael Hanly, of Washington State University, has produced a page of links for 'the use of my medieval students and of any others who stumble upon it'.
NetSERF Medieval Drama
A short but useful list of links.
 
Any suggestions or comments? Please write to me: Mail Me