Corvus Corax (band)
Encyclopedia
Corvus Corax is a German band known for playing Neo-Medieval music
using an abundance of authentic instruments. Their name is the latin name for the Common Raven
. The band was formed in 1989 by Castus Rabensang, Wim (Venustus) and Meister Selbfried ("Master Selfpeace") in East Germany. The band often uses bagpipes as the solo instrument; their live performances attract attention with the bizarre look of the musicians being reminiscent of ancient Greek myths
: half-naked, dressed in unusual clothes, wearing primitive tribal decorations, often tattoo
ed.
Today the band consists of eight members: Martin Ukrasvan, Castus Rabensang ("Castus Ravensong"), Panpeter, Harmann der Drescher ("Harmann the thresher"), Hatz ("hunt"), Teufel ("devil") and Wim (Venustus). In May 2005 Meister Selbfried, one of the Corvus Corax founders and the researcher of medieval music, decided to cease his active musicianship and to dedicate himself mostly to managing Corvus Corax's own label Pica Records. His place in the line-up was taken by Jordon Finus in 2006.
The band releases its music through Pica Records in Europe and Noir Records in the USA. The Cantus Buranus projects have thus far been released in Europe by Roadrunner Europe.
But a number of things are known for certain. For example, the profane music of the day was often accompanied by a droning bass tone similar to that generated by the bourdon stop on an organ, which is provided in Corvus Corax's case by the drones on their bagpipes. An inkling as to the harmonies used is found in a song by Walter von der Vogelweide, in which he calls for the song to be played "the old way", meaning harmonising with thirds
. At the time, the third was considered an awkward, ugly interval by the sacred musician — like the tritone
, or diabolus in musica — but it was a common interval in folk music
.
Matters are further complicated by the fact that each minstrel
would add his personal interpretation to a piece, and that recorded (i.e. written) versions may differ depending on who did the transcribing, and where. It is on this that Corvus Corax's interpretation hinges: medieval popular music was played more from the heart than the brain, and despite making use of scholarship to give them a grounding, Corvus Corax attempts to maintain the spirited, free manner in which the minstrels themselves would have played the music.
which combined the elements of metal music with their brand sound of bagpipes. The CD turned out to be a commercially successful experiment and the band decided to continue the tradition of that album in a separate musical project called Tanzwut
, which included Castus Rabensang (German Rabensang = ravensong), Wim, and Teufel (German Teufel = Devil) from Corvus Corax as well as three new members.
In 2005 Corvus Corax started the ambitious project "Cantus Buranus
": a full-length opera set to the original Carmina Burana
manuscript lyrics. The music for the opera was fully composed by the band and had no connection with the famous work by Carl Orff
. It was performed with symphonic orchestra, choir and medieval ensemble, combining traditional symphonism with medieval minstrel
-like melodies. The project included a CD recording, a DVD
, as well as live performances. A live CD and DVD recording of Cantus Buranus was released in March 2006.
2005 also marked the band's debut concerts in the USA. The band performed four sets on each of four different days in mid-October, not far from Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. There was also a "secret show" held for employees of the Faire. Footage shot by the band members and crew was assembled into a featurette that was included as a bonus track on the US edition of the band's live DVD, "Gaudia Vite."
Out on August 1, 2008 via the band owned label Pica Music, the most recent Corvus Corax album "Cantus Buranus II" was released., It is a new orchestral recording of songs from the Medieval manuscript "Carmina Burana". The Berlin based act created a composition for orchestra, choir and a Medieval ensemble and recorded the CD and DVD live in the Museum Island in front of 5000 people.
It has recently been confirmed that Corvus Corax will be performing a live rendition of their song "Ballade De Mercy" in the pilot episode of the HBO TV series A Game of Thrones, based on the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire
by George R.R. Martin
Neo-Medieval music
Neo-Medieval music is a term used to describe a variety of styles within modern popular music. A common characteristic of these styles is that they contain elements of Medieval music and early music in general...
using an abundance of authentic instruments. Their name is the latin name for the Common Raven
Common Raven
The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...
. The band was formed in 1989 by Castus Rabensang, Wim (Venustus) and Meister Selbfried ("Master Selfpeace") in East Germany. The band often uses bagpipes as the solo instrument; their live performances attract attention with the bizarre look of the musicians being reminiscent of ancient Greek myths
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
: half-naked, dressed in unusual clothes, wearing primitive tribal decorations, often tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
ed.
Today the band consists of eight members: Martin Ukrasvan, Castus Rabensang ("Castus Ravensong"), Panpeter, Harmann der Drescher ("Harmann the thresher"), Hatz ("hunt"), Teufel ("devil") and Wim (Venustus). In May 2005 Meister Selbfried, one of the Corvus Corax founders and the researcher of medieval music, decided to cease his active musicianship and to dedicate himself mostly to managing Corvus Corax's own label Pica Records. His place in the line-up was taken by Jordon Finus in 2006.
The band releases its music through Pica Records in Europe and Noir Records in the USA. The Cantus Buranus projects have thus far been released in Europe by Roadrunner Europe.
Interpretation and theory
Because medieval music theory was dominated by ecclesiastics, it is often difficult to determine from the existing manuscripts just how the secular medieval music sounded. Corvus Corax draws on a number of sources to try to make their music as authentic as possible: they have used documents that "condemn profane music" as an indicator of what the music might have sounded like, and drawn on nineteenth century scholarly treatises for information. In many cases these treatises are unreliable, as they impart more nineteenth century interpretations of medieval music than factual information on what the music was like.But a number of things are known for certain. For example, the profane music of the day was often accompanied by a droning bass tone similar to that generated by the bourdon stop on an organ, which is provided in Corvus Corax's case by the drones on their bagpipes. An inkling as to the harmonies used is found in a song by Walter von der Vogelweide, in which he calls for the song to be played "the old way", meaning harmonising with thirds
Mediant
In music, the mediant is the third scale degree of the diatonic scale, being the note halfway between the tonic and the dominant. Similarly, the submediant is halfway between the tonic and subdominant...
. At the time, the third was considered an awkward, ugly interval by the sacred musician — like the tritone
Tritone
In classical music from Western culture, the tritone |tone]]) is traditionally defined as a musical interval composed of three whole tones. In a chromatic scale, each whole tone can be further divided into two semitones...
, or diabolus in musica — but it was a common interval in folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
.
Matters are further complicated by the fact that each minstrel
Minstrel
A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...
would add his personal interpretation to a piece, and that recorded (i.e. written) versions may differ depending on who did the transcribing, and where. It is on this that Corvus Corax's interpretation hinges: medieval popular music was played more from the heart than the brain, and despite making use of scholarship to give them a grounding, Corvus Corax attempts to maintain the spirited, free manner in which the minstrels themselves would have played the music.
Projects
In 1996 the band released the album TanzwutTanzwut (album)
Tanzwut is the debut full-length eponymous studio album by the German industrial rock/medieval metal band, Tanzwut. It was released on 1 March 1999 by EMI Music.-Track-listing:# "Exkremento" − 3:42# "Im Rausch" − 3:43...
which combined the elements of metal music with their brand sound of bagpipes. The CD turned out to be a commercially successful experiment and the band decided to continue the tradition of that album in a separate musical project called Tanzwut
Tanzwut
Tanzwut is a German Neue Deutsche Härte and medieval metal band which originated as a sideproject of Corvus Corax-members.- History :Their name is the German term for "dancing mania", but is directly translated with "dance-rage". Tanzwut are known for their heavy use of bagpipes, an unusual...
, which included Castus Rabensang (German Rabensang = ravensong), Wim, and Teufel (German Teufel = Devil) from Corvus Corax as well as three new members.
In 2005 Corvus Corax started the ambitious project "Cantus Buranus
Cantus Buranus
Cantus Buranus is the recording album by the German medieval revival band Corvus Corax that employs the medieval text Carmina Burana. Cantus Buranus is a stage opera of eleven poems from Carmina Burana for orchestra, choir and medieval instruments, incorporating medieval, classical and modern...
": a full-length opera set to the original Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana , Latin for "Songs from Beuern" , is the name given to a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces were written principally in Medieval Latin; a few in Middle High German, and some with traces...
manuscript lyrics. The music for the opera was fully composed by the band and had no connection with the famous work by Carl Orff
Carl Orff
Carl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children.-Early life:...
. It was performed with symphonic orchestra, choir and medieval ensemble, combining traditional symphonism with medieval minstrel
Minstrel
A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...
-like melodies. The project included a CD recording, a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, as well as live performances. A live CD and DVD recording of Cantus Buranus was released in March 2006.
2005 also marked the band's debut concerts in the USA. The band performed four sets on each of four different days in mid-October, not far from Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. There was also a "secret show" held for employees of the Faire. Footage shot by the band members and crew was assembled into a featurette that was included as a bonus track on the US edition of the band's live DVD, "Gaudia Vite."
Out on August 1, 2008 via the band owned label Pica Music, the most recent Corvus Corax album "Cantus Buranus II" was released., It is a new orchestral recording of songs from the Medieval manuscript "Carmina Burana". The Berlin based act created a composition for orchestra, choir and a Medieval ensemble and recorded the CD and DVD live in the Museum Island in front of 5000 people.
It has recently been confirmed that Corvus Corax will be performing a live rendition of their song "Ballade De Mercy" in the pilot episode of the HBO TV series A Game of Thrones, based on the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of epic fantasy novels by American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the series in 1991 and the first volume was published in 1996. Originally planned as a trilogy, the series now consists of five published volumes; a further two...
by George R.R. Martin
Albums
- Ante Casu Peccati (1989)
- Congregatio (1990)
- Inter Deum Et Diabolum Semper Musica Est (1993)
- Tritonus (1995)
- Live auf dem Wäscherschloß (1998)
- Viator (1998)
- Tempi Antiquii (1999, compilation of works from 1988–1992)
- Mille Anni Passi Sunt (2000 - limited edition of 2000 copies issued as 'MM')
- In Electronica Remixe (2000)
- Seikilos (2002)
- Gaudia Vite (live) (2003)
- Best of Corvus Corax (2005)
- Cantus BuranusCantus BuranusCantus Buranus is the recording album by the German medieval revival band Corvus Corax that employs the medieval text Carmina Burana. Cantus Buranus is a stage opera of eleven poems from Carmina Burana for orchestra, choir and medieval instruments, incorporating medieval, classical and modern...
(2005) - Cantus Buranus Live in Berlin (2006)
- Venus Vina Musica (2006)
- Kaltenberg anno MMVII (2007)
- Cantus Buranus II (released on August 1, 2008.)
- Cantus Buranus--Das Orgelwerk (released on December 5, 2008)
- Live in Berlin (released in July 2009)
EPs/Singles
- Tanzwut EP (1996)
- Corvus Corax erzählen Märchen aus alter Zeit EP (2000)
- Hymnus Cantica CDS (2002)
DVD/Video
- Gaudia Vite Live DVD - USA Edition (2006)
- Cantus Buranus Live in Berlin DVD (2006)
- Corvus Corax Live in Berlin - Passionskirche DVD (2009)
- Cantus Buranus Live in München DVD (2010)