The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7179 p904-936
22-29 December 2001

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Christmas miscellany summary

Staging a musical renaissance

Peter Jones, Edinburgh pharmacist and secretary of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Lothians branch, plays medieval stringed instruments — medieval fiddle and rebec — as a member of the 12-strong Edinburgh Renaissance Band.

Peter has a long-standing interest in music, having started learning to play the violin when he was seven years old. He joined the Renaissance band in 1978 after moving to Edinburgh from London two years earlier. He was introduced to the band by his wife, who had been one of its founder members in 1973.

The band gives between 20 and 30 performances a year in a wide range of settings, including its own concerts, performances for music societies, corporate events — it played for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Scottish sesquicentenary gala dinner at Stirling castle (PJ, 29 September, p445) — educational concerts and recitals. Open air performances are not unusual, with the band having played on board a replica of the Golden Hind when it sailed into Leith docks and in a procession through Edinburgh to mark the opening of the National Museum of Scotland extension in 1998.

Far from being dull, Peter says that medieval music can be very lively. "There is a perception that early music is stately and monotonous. This is far from the truth; there is a large repertoire of courtly music and a lot of what would have been the pop music of the 15th and 16th centuries. It's not all doleful tunes; there is a lot of bright and cheerful music."

Collaboration with the Edinburgh Early Dancers helps the renaissance band to interpret the music correctly, says Mr Jones. "If the dancers leap into the air it helps you know what you should be doing with the music while they do it."

Most medieval music comprises quite short pieces of three to four minutes in length. So concerts include about 20 pieces drawn from the band's wide repertoire. Each concert can also include a few pieces the band has not played before, so its repertoire is constantly growing.

The band has a collection of over 100 replica instruments — originals being both too expensive and generally too fragile to be played. Some are owned by members of the band, others belong to the band, having been bought using performance fees.

Having released a number of recordings on cassette tapes over the years — all sold out now — the band released its first CD last year and more are expected.