Performance of Minnesang
Areas to be explored under this topic include:
- Who were the performers of Minnesang?
- What were the occasions for performance of Minnesang?
- Were Minnesinger accompanied by instruments?
See and Hear Medieval Musical Instruments(external link).
- Did both men and women perform Minnesang?
- Was Minnesang ever performed by more than one voice?
- What can we learn about preformance from literary texts or other documents?
We must also discuss some technical aspects of performance, such as:
- Monophony: unlike modern music, this music is essentially monophonic, with no hint of harmonic structure.
- Pitch: the medieval world had no concept of absolute pitch, but singers wee very concerned about the accuracy of intervals.
- Melodic modes and modal melodies: medieval composers had many scales available, and made greater use of pre-existing melodies in their compositions.
- Range, volume and tempo: the manuscripts give little information, but we may be able to learn something from other sources.
- Rhythmic interpretation: this has been the most-discussed and most-disputed aspect of the performance of medieval monophony.
This page will be expanded by participants in the course.