Classic FM's Fast And Friendly Guide To Early Music

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Top Renaissance pieces

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643 : Italy) Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner Ensemble: The Monteverdi Choir; Philip Jones Brass Ensemble; Philip Jones Wind Ensemble Record label: Decca Catalogue ID: 4434822

If ye love me artwork

If ye love me Thomas Tallis (c.1505-1585 : England) Conductor: Peter Phillips Ensemble: ;Tallis Scholars Record label: Gimell Catalogue ID: CDGIM 203

Thomas Tallis (c.1505-1585 : England) Conductor: Jeremy Summerly Ensemble: ;Oxford Camerata Record label: Naxos Catalogue ID: 8 557770

Ave verum corpus artwork

Ave verum corpus William Byrd (1543-1623 : England) Conductor: Stephen Cleobury Ensemble: Choir of King's College, Cambridge Record label: EMI Catalogue ID: 50999 22894403

Justorum animae artwork

Justorum animae William Byrd (1543-1623 : England) Conductor: Graham Ross Ensemble: Choir of Clare College, Cambridge Record label: Harmonia Mundi Catalogue ID: HMU 907617

Download Classic FM's music period collections

Classic FM collection: Early & Renaissance: 1400 to 1600 artwork

Classic FM collection: Early & Renaissance: 1400 to 1600 Various artists: 1400 to 1600 Ensemble: The Sixteen; Gabrieli Consort; The Consort of Musicke and more

Classic FM collection: Baroque: 1600 to 1750 artwork

Classic FM collection: Baroque: 1600 to 1750 30 tracks - £6.99 Ensemble: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; Academy of Ancient Music and more Soloists: Janine Jansen; Elin Manahan Thomas; Andreas Scholl; Daniel Hope and more

Features

A musical butt in Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights.

Hear the haunting music printed on a man’s bottom in this wild Renaissance painting

Michalina Malisz plays the hurdy-gurdy

Holy smokes, a hurdy-gurdy cranking heavy metal riffs sounds monumental

Early music quiz

Only an early music wizard can name these obscure medieval and Renaissance instruments

People are unearthing bizarre medieval music transcriptions

People are unearthing Renaissance music manuscript doodles and they’re pretty spicy

Palisander Spice Girls

Watch 11 Spice Girls songs played in 2 minutes by a Renaissance recorder consort

Metallica’s ‘Nothing Else Matters’ performed on Re

Metallica’s ‘Nothing Else Matters’ performed on Renaissance lute is giving us life today