Neo-Medieval music
Encyclopedia
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. Music styles within neo-Medieval music vary from authentic performance interpretations of Medieval music (understood as Classical music) to crossover
genres that blend Medieval instruments, such as bagpipe, shawm
and hurdy-gurdy with electronic music
and rock
. In many cases, it is more or less overlapping with styles such as folk rock
, electric folk
and Neofolk
.
Bands specializing in neo-Medieval music are particularly plentiful in Germany, although the genre also enjoys some popularity in North America, The Czech Republic, the Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Italy and the Scandinavian countries.
are in some way neo-Medieval music; this definition would include music from as early as the Renaissance
and onwards. Other examples of early neo-Medievalism in music would also include a number of Romantic
composers such as Niels W. Gade, Edvard Grieg
, and Felix Mendelssohn
(who often used Medieval- and folk-style tunes in their music), as well as parts of the Carmina Burana
by Carl Orff
, and many movie soundtracks
from the 20th century.
However, as a popular music term the birth of neo-Medieval music is closely connected with the folk rock
and roots music
movement of the 1960s and 1970s. In many countries in Europe musicians sought to find their cultural roots, reviving music that had largely died out as a result of centuries of industrialization, and decades of exposure to United States music styles like jazz
and rock
.
The founding of the German band Ougenweide
in 1970 is particularly important in this respect. Ougenweide revived many distinctly German and European genres, such as the Minnesang
, and other examples of courtly love
poetry and music. It is interesting to compare Ougenweide's approach to music with that of their contemporary kraut rock bands, especially Kraftwerk
. Both sought to recreate German culture which they felt had been compromised by Nazism
and World War II. But whereas Kraftwerk took music creation to an entirely new level, Ougenweide would revive ancient music and play types of instruments that, at least in Northern Europe
, had been out of use for centuries.
In Great Britain, too, prog rock bands like Jethro Tull
would often write songs with a Medieval touch to them. It was not until the late 1980s, however, that neo-medieval music would arise as an entire genre of its own, replete with a subculture following.
The Australian outfit Dead Can Dance
who released most of their most famous works in the latter half of the 1980s was another early influence on the scene. Dead Can Dance had a far more pompous and symphonic sound than previous acts, and, although never considering themselves to be a Goth
band, were mostly popular among Goths. This formed the precedence of neo-Medieval music being particular popular in the Goth scene.
1989
saw the formation of the German band Corvus Corax
, two members of which were on the run from the disintegrating East German regime. Throughout the 1990s Corvus Corax would go on to have a profound effect on the state of neo-Medieval music.
Corvus Corax, along with other bands, started the now immensely popular strategy of combining medieval music with electronic music.
More recently, the band Extra Life
has combined aspects of early music with the modern genre of math rock
.
(Medieval metal), Saltatio Mortis
, Faun
(medieval pagan folk) and more ambient
oriented bands like Helium Vola
, Qntal
, Love Is Colder Than Death, and Estampie
to mention a few. A particularly popular line-up is a variation of a traditional pipe-and-drum band, consisting mainly of modified bagpipes and a davul
drum, often backed up by shawms in a manner reminiscent of a Breton
bagad
.
whose music contains a fair share of Medieval influences, not least in their choice of instruments; their songs often contain hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes
and nyckelharpa
. Whether the band is actually neo-Medieval or not may be a matter of debate. One could argue that they are merely infatuated with everything ancient. They have even been known to use Danish
Bronze Age
lur
s, as well as playing gigs in castle ruins. However, their influence on the neo-Medieval scene in Scandinavia
is arguably enormous.
Garmarna
is another important Swedish band in this context, as well as the Dead Can Dance/Qntal inspired act Arcana
.
where it is entirely a cappella
, though this does not necessarily mean that it did not include instruments in its heyday. In Denmark the lyrics of most of the ballads, being always in the vernacular
, were recorded by the landed nobility
in the 16th century, and the melodies in the 19th and 20th centuries. Because of this vernacular ballad tradition, Danish and other Scandinavian neo-Medieval music is almost devoid of the Latin
lyrics of e.g. the German scene.
Probably the best-known neo-Medieval band in Denmark is Sorten Muld
whose songs are primarily interpretations of the above mentioned dancing ballads. Although their music does contain hints of medieval instruments like hurdy-gurdy and nyckelharpa
it relies heavily on trip-hop influences, and most of the Medieval elements are downplayed in favour of synthesizer
sounds, double bass
, and filtered breakbeat
s.
In recent years other Danish bands playing in a more international (and more aggressive!) Medieval style have sprung up. These include Gny, Virelai, Solhverv, Asynje, and Valravn. These bands may or may not integrate the ballad tradition in their largely instrumental music.
. On the other hand, Finland is fairly well known of its heavy metal bands, and many bands such as Turisas
have adopted Medieval-ish tunes and instruments, and Waltari
has made also several neo-medievalish songs. Koistinen's electric kantele
is widely employed on Finnish neo-medieval music.
from Italy has started creating music and live performances inspired by early (Medieval and Renaissance) music in the mid 80s. Their most significant albums inspired by this genre are Historiae (1998, CMI); Suenos (2001, CMI) and the coming Kremasta Nera (2007).
culture, and it is mainly within metal genres that neo-Medieval music finds its outlet in a Norwegian context. Bands like Lumsk
are known for incorporating Medieval and folk elements into their music. More traditional folk-oriented bands like Ym:Stammen
and Gåte
also exist. Many Norwegian bands, metal- or otherwise oriented, have a remarkable Neo-pagan slant.
musical tradition. It include bands like Melnitsa
, The Dartz
, Stary Olsa
, among others.
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
. A common characteristic of these styles is that they contain elements of Medieval music
Medieval music
Medieval music is Western music written during the Middle Ages. This era begins with the fall of the Roman Empire and ends sometime in the early fifteenth century...
and early music
Early music
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
in general. Music styles within neo-Medieval music vary from authentic performance interpretations of Medieval music (understood as Classical music) to crossover
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
genres that blend Medieval instruments, such as bagpipe, shawm
Shawm
The shawm was a medieval and Renaissance musical instrument of the woodwind family made in Europe from the 12th century until the 17th century. It was developed from the oriental zurna and is the predecessor of the modern oboe. The body of the shawm was usually turned from a single piece of wood,...
and hurdy-gurdy with electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
. In many cases, it is more or less overlapping with styles such as folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
, electric folk
Electric folk
Electric folk is the name given to the form of folk rock pioneered in England from the late 1960s, and most significant in the 1970s, which then was taken up and developed in the surrounding Celtic cultures of Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man, to produce Celtic rock and its...
and Neofolk
Neofolk
Neofolk is a form of folk music-inspired experimental music that emerged from post-industrial music circles. Neofolk can either be solely acoustic folk music or a blend of acoustic folk instrumentation aided by varieties of accompanying sounds such as pianos, strings and elements of industrial...
.
Bands specializing in neo-Medieval music are particularly plentiful in Germany, although the genre also enjoys some popularity in North America, The Czech Republic, the Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Italy and the Scandinavian countries.
History
It is difficult to point to an exact beginning of neo-Medieval music. One could argue that all Medieval-sounding tunes written after the actual Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
are in some way neo-Medieval music; this definition would include music from as early as the Renaissance
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
and onwards. Other examples of early neo-Medievalism in music would also include a number of Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
composers such as Niels W. Gade, Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
, and Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
(who often used Medieval- and folk-style tunes in their music), as well as parts of the Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana (Orff)
Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff in 1935 and 1936. It is based on 24 of the poems found in the medieval collection Carmina Burana...
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:...
, and many movie soundtracks
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
from the 20th century.
However, as a popular music term the birth of neo-Medieval music is closely connected with the folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
and roots music
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
movement of the 1960s and 1970s. In many countries in Europe musicians sought to find their cultural roots, reviving music that had largely died out as a result of centuries of industrialization, and decades of exposure to United States music styles like jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
.
The founding of the German band Ougenweide
Ougenweide
Ougenweide is a progressive rock band from Germany. They are notable for being pioneers of the medieval folk rock subgenre. The name comes from Middle High German ougenweide .- The beginning :...
in 1970 is particularly important in this respect. Ougenweide revived many distinctly German and European genres, such as the Minnesang
Minnesang
Minnesang was the tradition of lyric and song writing in Germany which flourished in the 12th century and continued into the 14th century. People who wrote and performed Minnesang are known as Minnesingers . The name derives from the word minne, Middle High German for love which was their main...
, and other examples of courtly love
Courtly love
Courtly love was a medieval European conception of nobly and chivalrously expressing love and admiration. Generally, courtly love was secret and between members of the nobility. It was also generally not practiced between husband and wife....
poetry and music. It is interesting to compare Ougenweide's approach to music with that of their contemporary kraut rock bands, especially Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
. Both sought to recreate German culture which they felt had been compromised by Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and World War II. But whereas Kraftwerk took music creation to an entirely new level, Ougenweide would revive ancient music and play types of instruments that, at least in Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
, had been out of use for centuries.
In Great Britain, too, prog rock bands like Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
would often write songs with a Medieval touch to them. It was not until the late 1980s, however, that neo-medieval music would arise as an entire genre of its own, replete with a subculture following.
The Australian outfit Dead Can Dance
Dead Can Dance
Dead Can Dance are an ethereal neoclassical duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in August 1981, by Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry. The band relocated to London in May 1982 and disbanded in 1998. Their 1996 album Spiritchaser reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top World Music Albums Chart...
who released most of their most famous works in the latter half of the 1980s was another early influence on the scene. Dead Can Dance had a far more pompous and symphonic sound than previous acts, and, although never considering themselves to be a Goth
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
band, were mostly popular among Goths. This formed the precedence of neo-Medieval music being particular popular in the Goth scene.
1989
1989 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR...
saw the formation of the German band Corvus Corax
Corvus Corax (band)
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 and Meister Selbfried in East Germany...
, two members of which were on the run from the disintegrating East German regime. Throughout the 1990s Corvus Corax would go on to have a profound effect on the state of neo-Medieval music.
Corvus Corax, along with other bands, started the now immensely popular strategy of combining medieval music with electronic music.
More recently, the band Extra Life
Extra Life (band)
Extra Life is an experimental band from Brooklyn. They are known for using unusual rhythms and time signatures, and for Charlie Looker's unique singing style, which often uses melisma and is reminiscent of medieval and Renaissance music.Other members of Extra Life also play in a number of other...
has combined aspects of early music with the modern genre of math rock
Math rock
Math rock is a rhythmically complex guitar-based style of experimental rock that emerged in the 1980s and that was very influenced by progressive rock like King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Henry Cow - and 20th century composers such as Steve Reich and John Cage...
.
Germany
Germany is by far the most active country in the neo-Medieval scene. Nowhere else in the world are the artists so plentiful and the styles of music so diverse. The country contains such acts as Ioculatores (traditional Medieval music), In ExtremoIn Extremo
In Extremo is a German medieval metal band originating from Berlin. The band's musical style combines metal with medieval traditional songs, blending the sound of the standard rock/metal instruments with historical instruments...
(Medieval metal), Saltatio Mortis
Saltatio Mortis
Saltatio Mortis is a German medieval metal group. They are recognized as one of the leading bands of the genre. The latin name means "dance of death".- Studio albums :* 2001: Tavernakel* 2002: Das zweite Gesicht...
, Faun
Faun (band)
Faun is a German band formed in 2002 who play pagan folk, darkwave and medieval music. The originality of their music style is that they fall back to "old" instruments, and the singing is always the center of attention. The vocals are performed in a variety of languages, including German, Latin,...
(medieval pagan folk) and more ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
oriented bands like Helium Vola
Helium Vola
Helium Vola is a German Darkwave or "Electro-Medieval" band founded in 2001 by Ernst Horn, who was also one of the founding members of Qntal. In the contract with Chrom Records Horn insisted on Helium Vola not being seen as a successor of Qntal nor being marketed as such...
, Qntal
Qntal
Qntal is a German "electro-medieval" band founded in 1991 by Michael Popp and Ernst Horn. They later added vocalist Syrah to complete the band. It has roots in Estampie, a band of similar genre but different style; Michael Popp and Syrah are the principal members. Horn left the group in 1999, to...
, Love Is Colder Than Death, and Estampie
Estampie
The Estampie is a medieval dance and musical form, it was a popular instrumental style of the 13th and 14th centuries.-Musical Form:The estampie consists of four to seven sections, called puncta, each of which is repeated, in the form...
to mention a few. A particularly popular line-up is a variation of a traditional pipe-and-drum band, consisting mainly of modified bagpipes and a davul
Davul
The davul or tupan is a large double-headed drum that is played with sticks. It has many names depending on the country and region.-Names:Some names of davuls include:*tupan *davul...
drum, often backed up by shawms in a manner reminiscent of a Breton
Breton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...
bagad
Bagad
A bagad is a Breton band, composed of bagpipes , bombards and drums . The pipe band tradition in Brittany was inspired by the Scottish example and has developed since the mid-20th century...
.
Sweden
Sweden is home to the legendary folk rock band HedningarnaHedningarna
Hedningarna is a Swedish and, for some years partly Finnish, folk music band that mixes electronics and rock with elements from old Scandinavian folk music. Their music features Yoik or juoiggus, a traditional Sami form of song.-History:...
whose music contains a fair share of Medieval influences, not least in their choice of instruments; their songs often contain hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
and nyckelharpa
Nyckelharpa
A nyckelharpa , sometimes called a keyed fiddle, is a traditional Swedish musical instrument. It is a string instrument or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when a key is depressed, serve as frets to change the pitch of the string.The nyckelharpa is similar in appearance to a...
. Whether the band is actually neo-Medieval or not may be a matter of debate. One could argue that they are merely infatuated with everything ancient. They have even been known to use Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
lur
Lur
A lur is a long natural blowing horn without finger holes that is played by embouchure. Lurs can be straight or curved in various shapes. The purpose of the curves was to make long instruments easier to carry A lur is a long natural blowing horn without finger holes that is played by embouchure....
s, as well as playing gigs in castle ruins. However, their influence on the neo-Medieval scene in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
is arguably enormous.
Garmarna
Garmarna
Garmarna is a Swedish folk rock band. Their songs are mainly old Scandinavian ballads.- Biography :Garmarna was founded in 1990. Stefan Brisland-Ferner, Gotte Ringqvist and Rickard Westman were inspired by old Swedish music, which they had heard in a theatre. They began searching for old tunes and...
is another important Swedish band in this context, as well as the Dead Can Dance/Qntal inspired act Arcana
Arcana (band)
Arcana is Swedish neoclassical band formed in 1994 and was originally signed to the Cold Meat Industry label.-History:The original band consisted of founder Peter Bjärgö and vocalist Ida Bengtsson...
.
Denmark
Medieval music in Denmark, and to some extent the other Nordic countries as well, has almost always been synonymous with Nordic dancing ballads. This particular type of ballad depends on cooperation between the lead singer and his audience. The singer narrates a story in song, to which the audience dances and falls in at the repeated chorus line which often predicts the end of the story (which is usually tragic). A song may last 20+ minutes. This tradition has been alive to the present day in the Faroe IslandsFaroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
where it is entirely a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
, though this does not necessarily mean that it did not include instruments in its heyday. In Denmark the lyrics of most of the ballads, being always in the vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
, were recorded by the landed nobility
Landed nobility
Landed nobility is a category of nobility in various countries over the history, for which landownership was part of their noble privileges. Their character depends on the country.*Landed gentry is the landed nobility in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
in the 16th century, and the melodies in the 19th and 20th centuries. Because of this vernacular ballad tradition, Danish and other Scandinavian neo-Medieval music is almost devoid of the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
lyrics of e.g. the German scene.
Probably the best-known neo-Medieval band in Denmark is Sorten Muld
Sorten Muld
Sorten Muld is a Danish folktronica band, formed in 1995. They have won two Danish Grammys for Mark II. The English translation of Sorten Muld is Black Soil....
whose songs are primarily interpretations of the above mentioned dancing ballads. Although their music does contain hints of medieval instruments like hurdy-gurdy and nyckelharpa
Nyckelharpa
A nyckelharpa , sometimes called a keyed fiddle, is a traditional Swedish musical instrument. It is a string instrument or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when a key is depressed, serve as frets to change the pitch of the string.The nyckelharpa is similar in appearance to a...
it relies heavily on trip-hop influences, and most of the Medieval elements are downplayed in favour of synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
sounds, double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, and filtered breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
s.
In recent years other Danish bands playing in a more international (and more aggressive!) Medieval style have sprung up. These include Gny, Virelai, Solhverv, Asynje, and Valravn. These bands may or may not integrate the ballad tradition in their largely instrumental music.
Finland
In Finland, the rise of neo-medieval music has coincided that with history re-enactment and interest in living history. The best known Finnish neo-medieval band is Tarujen SaariTarujen Saari
Tarujen Saari is a Finnish folk-rock group. They are known for playing songs from a variety of European folk traditions , as well as original compositions. Tarujen Saari employs a wide variety of instruments, many of which are traditional or Renaissance-era...
. On the other hand, Finland is fairly well known of its heavy metal bands, and many bands such as Turisas
Turisas
Turisas is a Finnish folk metal band from Hämeenlinna. It was founded in 1997 by Mathias Nygård and Jussi Wickström and named after an ancient Finnish God of war....
have adopted Medieval-ish tunes and instruments, and Waltari
Waltari
Waltari is a band from Finland, known for its diversity and combination of music styles, frequently combining alternative metal, progressive metal, death metal, hard rock, heavy metal, hip hop, industrial, pop, punk, rap, symphonic metal, techno and thrash metal.Most of the band's music is written...
has made also several neo-medievalish songs. Koistinen's electric kantele
Kantele
A kantele or kannel is a traditional plucked string instrument of the zither family native to Finland, Estonia, and Karelia. It is related to the Russian gusli, the Latvian kokle and the Lithuanian kanklės. Together these instruments make up the family known as Baltic psalteries...
is widely employed on Finnish neo-medieval music.
Latvia
The only one neo-medieval music band in Latvia is Obscurus Orbis, using wide variety of bagpipes and drums, they also uses hurdy-gurdy, shawns, bouzuki and Baltic national instrument kokle.Italy
The well-known band AtaraxiaAtaraxia (band)
Ataraxia is an Italian neoclassical band who combine modern technology with archaic instrumentation over various media. They describe their music as a cross "between sacred and profane, ethereal and neo-classical, contemporary and early music". They make researches into the European legends...
from Italy has started creating music and live performances inspired by early (Medieval and Renaissance) music in the mid 80s. Their most significant albums inspired by this genre are Historiae (1998, CMI); Suenos (2001, CMI) and the coming Kremasta Nera (2007).
Norway
Norway is famous for its thriving metalHeavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
culture, and it is mainly within metal genres that neo-Medieval music finds its outlet in a Norwegian context. Bands like Lumsk
Lumsk
Lumsk is a folk metal band from Trondheim, Norway. It combines traditional Norwegian folk music and folklore with rock, progressive rock and metal...
are known for incorporating Medieval and folk elements into their music. More traditional folk-oriented bands like Ym:Stammen
Ym:Stammen
Ym:Stammen was an ethnic-influenced post-punk band from Oslo, Norway that released six albums. The group was founded in 1983 by Trygve Mathiesen....
and Gåte
Gåte
Gåte was a band from Trøndelag, Norway playing Norwegian folk music bred with metal and electronica. Their style has been referred to as progressive folk-rock...
also exist. Many Norwegian bands, metal- or otherwise oriented, have a remarkable Neo-pagan slant.
Russia
Russia, as well as Belarus and Ukraine, share the common East SlavicEast Slavic languages
The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of Slavic languages, currently spoken in Eastern Europe. It is the group with the largest numbers of speakers, far out-numbering the Western and Southern Slavic groups. Current East Slavic languages are Belarusian, Russian,...
musical tradition. It include bands like Melnitsa
Melnitsa
Melnitsa - is a Russian folk rock band. It was founded in 1999 by Natalia "Hellawes" O'Shea and Alexey "Chus" Sapkov around the remnants of a local folk band 'Till Eulenspiegel'.-Style:...
, The Dartz
The Dartz
The Dartz is a pop-folk band from Saint Petersburg, Russia. The band called their genre "pop-folk", meaning "popular, merry, modern, understandable, appealing, positive". The musicians are inspired by songs and dances of Europe: Irish, Scottish, Breton, Balkan, Spanish, Jewish, Scandinavian, and...
, Stary Olsa
Stary Olsa
Stary Olsa is a Belarusian medieval folk band. Stary Olsa play medieval Belarusian music of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.Stary Olsa is one of the few Belarusian bands enjoying popularity outside Belarus. The band has received numerous positive critical reviews.The band was founded in 1999 by...
, among others.