As noted in the introduction, there isn't much surviving instrumental material from most of the medieval period, mainly a few dances. However, with the eventual genre of instrumental transcriptions, especially keyboard transcriptions, an actual instrumental repertory does begin to take shape. And there're additional pieces as well that seem to have been conceived for keyboards of this sort (or maybe harp, etc.). Some of this music would also have been played on organ, but for this program anyway, that instrument is avoided.
The three different instruments here also contribute different sonorities, and so contribute to the variety of the program. But mostly I enjoy the program per se & especially the idiomatic playing. The tuning is also explicitly Pythagorean, which is especially welcome in e.g. the Buxheim pieces — since there's often been a fascination with performing them in mean-tone, mean-tone having originated around the same time.... However, Pythagorean tuning (almost the "opposite" of mean-tone, despite the historical sequence...) sounds so much more idiomatic to me, including for most fifteenth century music.
So despite limited interest in keyboard music from this era for me in the past (or rather, basically as context for broader programs...), this release ended up motivating a new section here.... I don't know that there's really enough repertory to support more items, but I guess we'll see.... For now, this has been a consistently enjoyable album by a previously unknown musician.
Todd M. McComb Updated: 11 December 2025