u/kidneykutter

Here is an instrumental performance of the religious Leich "Got, aller saelden anevanc" (God, origin of all bliss) by the 13th-century Middle High German Spruchdichter known as Der Meißner (or Der Junge Meißner). These Spruchdichter were the religious equivalent of Minnesäng whose subject was courtly love. While many works of the Minnesang and Sangspruchdichtung traditions survive only as text, this piece is preserved with its original melody in the Jenaer Liederhandschrift (J), one of the most vital sources for German song of the late Middle Ages. The manuscript utilizes a specific form of Roman square notation often called Hufnagelschrift (horsenail notation). In the video I show examples of the musical manuscript as well as the Manesse manucript which has a picture of Der Meissner and some interestingly illuminated text.

It's been hard to put the 13 course lute down! Here is another great Weiss work, the Sarabande movement from the Sonata in G major found in the Moscow manuscript, a document compiled by one of his students about a decade after his death. 13 course baroque lute built by Andrew Rutherford (A 415). 

One of the most famous English medieval songs, Sumer is icumen in has a choice of two repeated ground basses (pes) and a song (with secular and sacred text) that can be done as a canon for several voices. Played here with one pes and two voices on medieval lute. Found in the British Library MS Harley 978.

In the medieval trouvère repertoire there was a genre called "mal mariée", songs about unhappily married women who either lament their situation or are the object of affection by the singer. This genre continued in 16th century Spain with "La bella malmaridada" (the beautiful, badly married woman) and was actually used in vihuela intabulations by Narvaez and Valderrabano.

I present it here 3 ways: First as the monophonic melody alone played on vihuela.

Second (starting at 1:00) in the 4 part arrangement by Gabriel Mena (c1470 to 1528), from the Cancionero Musical de Palacio

Third (1:41) as a viheula piece by Luis de Narváez from Los seys libros del Delphin (1538). Narváez took the tenor line of Mena's setting as a starting point and composed new, independent music around it. In the manuscript the notes taken from the song are seen in red in the tablature.