Ars Nova Copenhagen
Tutor style architecture in Worsley and the Canal in greater Manchester England
Music of the Tudors
The title and subtitle refer to a choir concert I heard today in the cathedral of Aarhus, one hour’s drive from my home. The choir is called Ars Nova Copenhagen. The choir music was written about five hundred years ago in the English Tudor style. I don’t know how many voices there were. Twelve singers and maybe eight different voices. The main composer was Robert Fayrfax (1464-1521). Here a piece can be heard at YouTube with a similar choir.
The choir music was written about five hundred years ago in the English Tudor style. I don’t know how many voices there were. Twelve singers and maybe eight different voices. The main composer was Robert Fayrfax (1464-1521).
Pictures from the Cathedral in Aarhus Denmark
I couldn’t help comparing modern-day pop music to this. The pop music is melodic but simple and untrained voices sing the many repetitions of a refrain. It’s another style.
The texts were in Latin and taken from the bible. The many voices went through my body and filled every fibre of my being. After the first song was finished a little three-years old boy said with a loud and clear voice:
That was a lovely song. Thank you to you all!
Big smiles were seen at the choir’s faces. He nailed the situation.
The choir Ars Nova Copenhagen is one of the world’s finest vocal ensembles. They perform all over the world in this renaissance genre as well as in new music composed by English or American composers.
Here is a link to another of their concerts in Copenhagen some years ago Alegris Miserere. That’s the piece that young Mozart copied by heart by hearing it once at the Vatican.
Found a recent video with this choir with similar kind of music
Categories: Art, Classical music
From one Heart to Another 
How lovely! This world needs more people with the voices of angels and the wisdom of three year old children.
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He too had a voice of and angel so very sweet. In a church nobody says anything
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Nice post Maria, and from the video link I can see why you and the three year old enjoyed the beauty of their singing.
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I am glad I didn’t hurt you by my remark on pop music. I nearly did not want yo write it. But hours before on my drive to the city I heard a musical song where the same phrase was repeated and the woman who sang was using her voice with air coming along with the melody. It became a huge contrast to this old kind of art being performed. The acoustic in the church was so great and no you tube video can show what it was. I will try to find something sung on the for me unknown composer Fayrfax and link it up too. Thanks a lot for your nice comment Clive
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My taste in music goes much further than pop! To be honest, my preferred genres are folk, rock and country – most modern pop music is absolute rubbish to my ears! I’m glad you wrote what you did, it’s always interesting to have one’s musical horizons widened. Fayrfax is a new one on me too – my English musical knowledge and listening starts a little later than him, with Purcell and Byrd. If you find more, do please share!
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I am so pleased to hear this. It’s about quality more than genre
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True, and like most of us I think I have a taste for quality 😊
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I just put a link in with some of his music played at the concert
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Thank you, I’ll take a look.
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That’s lovely! Not the most imaginative video though 😉
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I admit it’s a minimalistic video
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Indeed, but all of those posted by the same man are like that. He’s clearly more interested in the music. Absolutely nothing wrong with that!
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What a lovely post. I so enjoyed it!
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What a treat that had to be. The music and the setting are sublime.
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yes it was worth the travel and you would enjoy the music too. Unbelievable that they could create so beautiful music so many years ago and that the notes are preserved for us to hear it
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Jumped over from the Senior Salon – SO thankful for the reminders to visit lovely blogs like yours every week. I’m playing catch-up because I still have the old Wednesday schedule in my brain – but I’m determined to get around to read and comment on ALL the posts before next Monday’s Salon posting.
Your comment about pop singers reminded me of something my mother said, many years ago when I was a teen, “In my day the singers had to actually know how to sing — and the lyrics were more than a line or two repeated endlessly to a drumbeat.” If she were alive today she would have loved your post – and would be amazed to hear me say something similar. 🙂
I adore ensembles like the one you featured here. I wish I could have been there with you to see and hear it live.
xx,
mgh
(Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
ADD/EFD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
“It takes a village to educate a world!”
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I would have loved to sit there with you. There were lots of space left in the big church
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