Late Middle Ages

The late Middle Ages were a time of great musical diversity. Sacred chants, secular songs, dance tunes, and early polyphonic music coexisted and were performed in a wide variety of settings: in cities, at courts, in monasteries, at festivals, and in everyday life.

In this section, you’ll find sheet music, books, and supplementary materials from the Verlag der Spielleute that focus on late medieval music and historical performance practice. These titles are ideal for anyone who plays early music, teaches it, or simply wants to understand it better.

Many melodies from the late Middle Ages can be easily adapted for the bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, flute, harp, voice, drum, and other historical instruments. What makes this particularly exciting is working with drones, rhythm, ornamentation, and ensemble sound. This is how a notated melody becomes living music.

If you’re interested in music from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, you’ll find resources here to help you get started and explore the subject in greater depth. This selection will help you make practical use of historical sources and incorporate them into your own music-making.