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Cambiata
formed to bring the Renaissance to life through music in
eastern Pennsylvania. We have been introducing
audiences of all ages to the sights and sounds of Europe's
royal courts and rural hamlets since 1993.
How
It All Started
Cambiata began as a recorder consort in the
mid-1980s, performing concerts and at festivals for
nearly a decade. Ruth Maletz and Ilse Stoll Zinnes
are founding members, and Sara Cox and Bill Thatcher
joined in 1993 creating the ensemble of today.
Since creating the current ensemble, we have added a
variety of colorful Renaissance instruments, such as
lute, harpsichord, krumhorns, gemshorns, viola da gamba,
vielle, and Renaissance guitar. We continue to
perform throughout the region at festivals, children's
concerts, church services, weddings, and more.
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About
the Music We Play
Music has been a key component in human cultures
throughout history, and the role music played in the
lives of men and women in Renaissance Europe is no
exception. In the royal courts, music made the pomp and
pageantry possible; in the churches, it brought the
beauty and serenity of the spiritual world to Earth.
But
much of the music was made in the homes of regular folks
who, unlike today, didn’t have CD players or MTV to
entertain them. In 16th- and 17th-century Europe,
cutting-edge technology was the printing press, an
invention that prompted mass production and distribution
of printed music. Armed with a shelf of music and a chest
of instruments, families and friends in the newly
emerging middle class could entertain themselves for
hours and develop their musical skills in the process.
Some of the music printed then and that still survives
was a single melody line to which players improvised
harmony and used whatever instruments were at hand. The
resulting sound is as unique and fresh today as it was
400 years ago.
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