

The repetition of the same music became tiresome whereby these boxes would be quickly retired.īy 1886, a new music box style appeared in Germany called the disc playing music box. Cylinder music boxes, while musically fabulous, had the major drawback of being only able to perform the tunes that had been “pinned” to the cylinder originally. Cylinders ranged in length from about two inches to nearly two feet, and up to five inches diameter. In the 19th Century, the invention of the original cylinder music boxes occurred which consisted of a brass cylinder and numerous steel pins that plucked a tuned steel music comb as the cylinder rotated with the aid of a clockwork motor. A long and established tradition, music boxes were well known in Europe and America.

Recorded in 20 in the church of the Monastero delle Suore Clarisse, Perugia, Italy.Ĭontains liner notes and ensemble biography.Ĭontains details of the period instruments used for the performance.Traditional music boxes gained popularity in the 18th Century with the French court of Louis XIV.

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The booklet contains extensive liner notes, full texts are available on Other information: The ensemble Armoniosoincanto makes use of Female voices, and is accompanied by a variety of contemporary instruments like hurdy gurdy, lute, vielle and a positive organ, thus presenting a lively and colourful rendering of these ancient songs of worship, enhanced by the atmospheric recording in the church of the Monastery delle Suore Clarisse in Arezzo. They are the earliest examples of sacred songs in the common language found in Europe. Thematically they follow the liturgical year of Advent, Nativity, Epiphany, Easter and Pentecost. Or Lauds, songs written in the popular language for praise and worship. The 13th century manuscript contains a wealth of Laude The Laudario Di Cortona was discovered in the library of a monastery in Cortona, Italy. Recorded in the church of the Monastero delle Suore Clarisse in Perugia, close to the manuscript’s origins in nearby Arezzo, this rich and musically affective document offers a fascinating insight into the remarkable culture of medieval Italy. This is one of the few releases documenting the complete musical works of the Laudario di Cortona. They are supported by Anonima Frottolisti, a prominent vocal group on the early music scene, as well as several musicians playing on copies of authentic instruments these include a hurdy‐gurdy, a lute, a vielle (an early bowed instrument like a violin) and even a portative organ, a type of medieval organ with bellows that was designed to be carried.
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Experienced interpreters of early music, their research has led them to offer an authentic performance of the Laudario, although they admit to some artistic license with the use of mainly female voices, which evocatively call to mind the spirit of Mary, the mother of God. Performing these medieval works is the vocal ensemble Armoniosoincanto. Indeed, themes surrounding the Virgin Mary are present in many of the lauds Ave Maria, gratïa plena (Hail Mary, full of grace), for example, or O Maria, d’omelia se’ fontana (O Mary, you are the fount of sacred learning).

The document originated in the Brotherhood of Santa Maria delle Laude, a group of monks devoted to Marian worship. All the periods of the Christian calendar are represented, with lauds relating to the Nativity, Epiphany, Easter and Pentecost, showing the manuscript’s continued importance throughout the year. Unusually, around 46 of the lauds had been set to music, making this manuscript the oldest known collection of music written in the Italian vernacular. Discovered around 140 years ago in the library archives of the small Tuscan town of Cortona, the Laudario di Cortona is a 13thcentury manuscript containing 66 laude, or lauds: a type of vernacular song written for praise and worship.
