Meet [hanse]Pfeyfferey

We asked Renaissance Loud Band [hanse] Pfeyfferey about their instruments and to explain exactly what a Loud Band is. Hear them live on 8 October

1. What is a Renaissance Loud Band?

In music, the renaissance era is 15th and 16th century (a little bit later than in art history for example). At that time there were different kinds of typical musical ensembles with two main categories: “alta” (= loud, high) and “bassa” (= soft, low). Loud instruments are usually wind instruments and can be played on high towers, outside and in large spaces. These kinds of ensembles are often referred to as townpipers, waits, ministriles, Stadtpfeifer or piffari, depending on the region.

2. What kind of events were accompanied by this music?

Festive events like banquets, balls, processions, representative moments of cities and court, and surely also less noble occasions… imagine, there were no recordings available!

3. Tell us about your instruments.

We play in a combination of brass and double reed instruments typical for the early 16th century:

• Cornetto – resembles a recorder but is actually a brass instrument because of its cup mouthpiece. It’s made of wood, covered with leather and the mouthpiece is made out of horn. It was extremely popular in the 17th century (Monteverdi, Schütz, Gabrieli and many more wrote beautiful music with cornets around that time; it was used in a similar way to the violin) but it was clearly a part of the windband already in the 16th century. It probably originated from animal horns that had been adapted for musical purposes. The German name Zink is etymologically related to the word for tooth.
• Slide trumpet – a sort of a unicorn, since no originals from 14-15th century survive (no wonder), a natural trumpet with all its characteristics, but amended with a single slide. As a result, the whole instrument is being moved, unlike with the trombone, where only the slide moves. Most of the time we have 4, sometimes 5 positions, making the instrument partly chromatic. A core member of the alta capella ensemble setting.
• Shawm – a double reed instrument that originated in ancient indian and arab regions and was already popular in Europe throughout the middle ages – it was one of the standard instruments in townpiper groups from the 14th to the 16th century. Shawms come in many sizes but the most popular is the one I am using, its main function is to play the tenor part – which was at the time the main melody of the composition. Its range is about the range of an average female voice but the sound is clear and loud.
• Trombone – very similar to its modern counterpart, the renaissance trombone was the first wind instrument that could play chromatically, making it a very practical addition to ensembles, especially in its different sizes or alto, tenor, and bass. In the 16th and 17th centuries the trombone (or “sackbut”) would be played loudly in townpiper groups to match the sound of the shawm and slide trumpet, but other times would be played with a sweeter sound, to blend with voices in church settings.
• Dulcian – the second double reed instrument in our group. It was invented and became popular in the 16th century and one main innovation is the fact that the bore is two fold – so a relatively small instrument can reach low notes. In a group like ours, it is the perfect instrument for the bass part.

4. How did the band form?

Alexandra and Laura discovered they both were interested in starting a renaissance wind band, to be able to play outside and literally everywhere, to rediscover renaissance polyphony, to memorize it and to learn how to improvise it. Luckily Lilli joined for the first official concert in 2021 and brought the desire to play from towers. Since then [hanse]Pfeyfferey has become an important part of our life – and we are super grateful to regularly perform in a larger setup.

5. What should the audience listen out for in your concert?

You may look forward to the exceptional Tandernaken by Ludwig Senfl – listen especially to the cantus firmus, the melody of the song, beautifully played by Alexandra. Speaking of, in this piece, she usually performs a special move with the slide trumpet… keep your eyes peeled! Asides from Tandernaken, a lot of the music we are playing is very imitative in nature – short snippets of melody are passed between the different instruments, often all held together by the cantus firmus (a slightly slower line, often played by the shawm).

6. What music do you all enjoy listening to?

We like all sorts! But you can often find us listening to our friends playing in different concerts – that is always inspiring!

7. What do you all enjoy doing in your spare time?

all together: Enjoying good food, good coffee, and good company! We definitely look forward to sharing a tasty meal together after a long day of rehearsing, and all of our travelling (both as a group and individually) has helped us to develop rather keen eyes in terms of spotting promising coffee shops! We are of course also always on the lookout for secondhand shops in which to find new sparkly “party like it’s 1525” clothing.

Lilli: spending time with friends and family, finding a cat to cuddle, to stroll around the city

Alexandra: a well-timed Vietnamese coffee, a good bike tour and a climbing gym

Laura: second hand shopping (even if it´s not sparkling…), hiking, dancing

Emily: a peaceful coffee and getting outdoors, be that hiking, cycling, or swimming in the river Rhein.

Melissa: if she hasn´t answered this question by now she might tell some personal fun facts after the concert 🙂