Czech Medieval Music Band, gothic music reenactment

Elthin - Czech Medieval Music Band, gothic music reenactment

ELTHIN - Czech Medieval & Renaissance Band

We are a professional Czech ensemble specialized in music from the Middle-Ages and Renaissance, founded in 2006. We are regularly performing in the context of historical festivals and private events in the Czech Republic and abroad (Slovakia, Germany, Sweden, France).

Medieval music performance

Although the exact reconstruction of Medieval music as it was played back then is nearly impossible, we focus on performing this repertoire faithfully, basing our interpretation on research, using preserved sources like enrollments and original illuminations that survived the years.

Quite naturally, our members play on replicas of ancient instruments based on iconographies, including Medieval and Renaissance lutes, gittern, recorders, shawm, bagpipes, harp, hurdy-gurdy, Medieval fiddles, early Renaissance viol and drums. During our performances, we also wear hand-made Medieval costumes based on paintings from the second half of the 14th century.

While we have at heart to constantly expand our knowledge about Medieval music and performance, we are also committed to bringing these beautiful pieces that we love to the ears of today’s audience.

Repertoire

Our Medieval repertoire consists of both secular and ecclesiastical songs, dated from the 12th to the 16th century. It includes a wide sourced selection of European pieces from the Middle-Ages and early Renaissance like Cantigas de Santa Maria, Carmina Burana, Piae Cantiones, Codex Franus, Cantional of Jistebnice (the Jistebnice Hymn book), Cancional of Vyssi Brod, Codex Specialnik and many others. Our more specific Czech Medieval repertoire covers the eras of Charles IV, Jan Hus and the last Premyslids. All the songs are performed in their original language such as Latin, Occitan, Galician, Provencal, Old English, Old Czech and German.

In the autumn of 2017, we started focusing on Renaissance and Early Baroque pieces, which led us to expand our collection considerably by performing music from the 16th and 17th centuries as well. This repertoire includes not only compositions by well-known masters (P. Attaingnant, T. Arbeau, T. Susato, M. Praetorius, J.Playford…) but also Czech folk songs and other traditional songs.

Digital platforms and other projects

A large number of videos from our live performances are listed on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Elthinmusic.

And all our studio recordings are available to stream or purchase on all the digital platforms: https://spoti.fi/3NFiW2J

In 2022, we were chosen to take part in the shooting of a Danish commercial for the Tuborg beer, directed by Keith McCarthy, available to watch here: https://bit.ly/3OzEQpJ

Offer of medieval or Renaissance performance

We offer performances of Medieval and early Renaissance music, with or without a sound system. The best thrill of historical music is achieved by playing without a sound system, which is kindly recommended. If the context, however, does require a sound system, please contact us to get our stage plan prior to the event. We perform at Medieval festivals, feasts, fairs, celebrations, weddings, fencing and dancing meetings, living history events and other various occasions. All the performances also include a short presentation of the pieces performed and of the instruments.