Laudemus cum ermonia by Kathryn Wheeler

A two part medieval vocal piece arranged here for pipe and tabor and medieval fiddle (vielle). If you like my music and would buy me a cup of tea, support me at: https// Thank you! I first heard this piece on one of Misericordia’s CDs, played on pipes - and the two parts were so beautifully intertwined, it was genuinely hard to tell which was playing what. I wrote it down and then discovered, years later, that I had assumed one part was playing the lower notes, and the other the higher - not the case!! This sort of interweaving, by two voices of equal range, is called “binatim style“ (or cantus planus binatim) and is characteristic of Italian pieces from C13th to the end of the 15th century. Pieces such as this were found in plainsong manuscripts written for monasteries. They mostly consisted on monophonic (single line) chant, with the few polyphonic pieces (like this) kept for special occasions. In this case, Christmas Day!