Concert for a King: Music from the Time of Richard III

I reported in an earlier post about how I managed to acquire some free tickets to a fabulous medieval music concert, with music from the time of King Richard. I have not yet, however, told you how it was!

The concert, sponsored by the Ricardian Music Guild,  was performed by a group called Aitone: The Early Music Consort. This group, formed in 2005, is based in the east Midlands town of Long Eaton. They perform a capella and sing music from the 10th to the 18th centuries, including Anglo-Saxon chant, West Gallery psalmody, medieval English discant, and Renaissance madrigals.

At this particular concert, they were joined by an American musician, Susan Burns from Charlotte, North Carolina. She played several recorders for a few of the songs.

Several songs stuck out for me in the programme. I have found some YouTube recordings of them. Although they are not identical to the performance I heard, they will give you an idea of what was in vogue musically during the time of King Richard III.

The first song I especially enjoyed was called Bryng Us in Good Ale which was a chorus sing-along. It is a drinking song, and it was great fun to try to sing along.

I also enjoyed Trotto,  a quick Italian dance, which I have heard many times:

Ecce Quod Natura, a lovely carol from a Leicester manuscript, describes the mystery of virgin birth from a Nature-turned-upside down perspective.

Hay! Mary, Ful of Grace is another nice carol from St. Mary Newarke, Leicester. It continued to be popular for many years later, still being published in 1550. 

One last one that I enjoyed was called Lully Lulla: Thow Littel Tine Child. Here is a very nice version:

Interspersed between songs was some description, interpretation, and history about the music we were to hear. This was quite helpfully provided by Dr. Tony Bentley from the University of Leicester. In the programme notes, I learned that he is also a 1st cousin 15x removed from King Richard, so he is one of my cousins, too!

Overall, the concert was very lovely. The only downside was the intermission, when people left the church itself to go out for a tea break. It took a longer time to get them back again than was expected, and I was ready to hear the music again!