These tracks were partly or wholly composed from sounds I designed from scratch using a variety of (mostly software) synthesizers. These included the SFG-01 (Yamaha), Sunrizer (BeepStreet), and FMMF (de la Mancha). 

Original Sound Designs

A selection of my tracks from this genre.

Franco-Flemish Renaissance Music

French Renaissance Music

Italian Renaissance Music

This compilation consists primarily of Renaissance music played or rendered on various kinds of synthesizers, the earliest being pieces I made in the 1980’s using the Yamaha CX5M music computer. In a few cases I also built the sound “from scratch” in software. For this playlist I have excluded all tracks that sound, at least to me, like recordings of acoustic instruments. Apart from that constraint, the tracks represent a variety of sonorities. I made these tracks, as an amateur, for my personal pleasure, and I am happy for others to use them for their own legitimate purposes. 

Renaissance Music on Synthesizers

A Neapolitan song, Di Berettino, by Giacomo Gorzanis (c. 1525 - 1578). I constructed the sound from scratch using a frequency modulation software synthesizer, FMMF, by de la Mancha. I quasi-performed the music in real time, using a program by Stephen Malinowski called Tapper. This can be thought of as a kind of specialized MIDI player, which plays each note (or chord) in a MIDI sequence in response to any keystroke on a computer or MIDI keyboard; thus one can control the tempo and dynamics of a MIDI playback in real time without having to worry about hitting the right notes.

Giacomo Gorzanis - Di Berettino

A Neapolitan song, Chiara piu che’l chiar sol, by Giacomo Gorzanis (c. 1525 - 1578). I constructed the sound from scratch using a frequency modulation software synthesizer, FMMF, by de la Mancha. I quasi-performed the music in real time, using a program by Stephen Malinowski called Tapper. This can be thought of as a kind of specialized MIDI player, which plays each note (or chord) in a MIDI sequence in response to any keystroke on a computer or MIDI keyboard; thus one can control the tempo and dynamics of a MIDI playback in real time without having to worry about hitting the right notes.

Giacomo Gorzanis - Chiara piu che'l chiar sol

Duet No. 6 in G major, from Nouvelle Methode pour la flute, by Francois Devienne (1759-1803). I played both parts on a Roland Aerophone AE-05.

Nouvelle Methode pour la flute

Devienne Duet No. 6 In G Major

This piece is attributed to Josquin des Prez (c. 1450 – 1521), a Renaissance composer of the Franco-Flemish school. The sound synthesis (using de la Mancha’s  FMMF frequency modulation software) and the MIDI realization are by Ray Blanchard.

Josquin Des Prez - Ile fantazies de Joskin

Il Ballerino by Giovanni Gastoldi. I played all three parts on a Roland Aerophone AE-05. The sound (patch, preset) was Synth Brass 1 from the Surge software synthesizer plugin, hosted by digital audio workstation REAPER.

Il Ballerino

Gastoldi Giovanni Il Ballerino

Arcangelo Corelli, Violin Sonata Opus 5 number 7 Sarabanda in D minor. Solo line played on an Roland Aerophone AE-05 by Ray Blanchard.

Violin Sonata Op 5 No 7 iii

Corelli Violin Sonata Op5 No7 iii Sarabanda

John Dowland’s  Lachrimae Pavane (1596), with Jakob van Eyck’s variations (c. 1644) in the second repeat of each section. The van Eyck variations do not always follow the Dowland melody or its original harmonies completely, so they have been applied phrase-wise rather than holus-bolus. The MIDI file was edited in SynthFont piano-roll view for increased expressiveness and realized with pan-pipes and harp samples.

John Dowland Lachrimae Pavane with Jacob van Eyck variations

Luys de Milán, Fantasia del quarto tono (marked compás apresurado, “hurried beat”), from The Libro de música de vihuela de mano intitulado El Maestro (1536), a book of compositions for the vihuela. I played this music in real time using two thumbs and two keys (D# left thumb, C# right thumb) on a MIDI keyboard, using Stephen Malinowski’s Tapper program to assign the right notes in the right order to my keystrokes before further processing. I saved the “computer mediated performance” as a MIDI file, which I then edited for flaws in tempo, velocity, and articulation, in piano roll view using Anvil Studio (for the first time). Finally, I converted the MIDI file to a WAV file using SynthFont, and thence to MP3 and AAC files using Audacity.

Luys de Milan - Fantasia del quarto tono

Tielman Susato (c. 1510-1570), Danse de Hercules, from Danserye of 1551. Played by Ray Blanchard on the Roland AE-20, recorded with overdubbing, and edited in MIDI format.

Danse de Hercules

Tielman Susato Danza De Hercules

Two allemandes by Renaissance composer, performer, and music publisher Tielman Susato.

Allemandes 6 and 7

Tielman Susato Allemandes 6 And 7

Claudin de Sermisy (c. 1490 – 1562), Ayez Pitié du Grand Mal.

Ayez Pitie du Grand Mal

Claudin de Sermisy - Ayez Pitie du Grand Mal

Well-known chanson, Doulce Mémoire, set as a bicinium by Pierre de Manchicourt (c. 1510 – 5 October 1564) a Renaissance composer of the Franco-Flemish School. I played both parts on an electric wind instrument, the Roland Aerophone AE-20. The visual images were generated using the AI image generator, Starryai.

Doulce memoire

Pierre de Manchicourt - Doulce Mémoire

Bicinium, Beata cujus brachiis, by Orlando di Lasso (c. 1532 – 1594). Tenor and bass recorder samples were made by Ray Blanchard from acoustic instruments in his own collection. The samples were played using an electronic wind instrument, the Roland AE-20.

Beata cujus brachiis

Orlando Di Lasso Beata Cujus Brachiis

Engels Liedt (English Song) by the blind Dutch composer and performer Jacob van Eyck (c. 1589-1657). This is one of relatively few duets in van Eyck’s Der Fluyten Lust-hof, which consists primarily of variations on then-popular melodies, etc., for unaccompanied recorder or flute. I played the piece on an electronic wind (Roland Aerophone) and recorded the MIDI (as opposed to audio) output; I then assigned the output to a Chinese flute patch/preset.

Jacob van Eyck Engels Liedt

Prins Robberts Masco by the Dutch composer and performer Jacob van Eyck (c.1590–1657). This is one of the few duets in van Eyck’s collection of themes and variations for recorder, Der Fluyten Lust-hof. Performed by Ray Blanchard using the Roland AE-20 as a MIDI controller.

Prins Robberts Masco

Jacob Van Eyck Prins Robberts Masco

Philis Schoon Herderinne by Jacob van Eyck. This is one of the few duets in van Eyck’s Der Fluyten Lust-hof, which consists primarily of variations on then-popular melodies for unaccompanied recorder. The images were generated with Starryai.

Philis Schoon Herderinne

Jacob Van Eyck Philis Schoon Herderinne

JS Bach, Two-Part Invention No. 4. Sound design using the ReCONSTRUCT Neural Synth plugin by AudioFusion. MIDI file edited for expression by Ray Blanchard.

Two-Part Invention No. 4

JS Bach Two-Part Invention No 4

Michael Praetorius, Bransle double. Sound design using the ReCONSTRUCT Neural Synth plugin by AudioFusion. MIDI file edited for expression by Ray Blanchard. Artwork generated using starryai.

Bransle double

Michael Praetorius Bransle Double

William Cornish (1465-1523), “Ah Robin, Gentle Robin.” Melody on a two-part canon ground. The original piece is a setting for three voices of a poem by Sir Thomas Wyatt. Computer-mediated real-time performance using Stephen Malinowski’s Tapper program. Recorded MIDI events assigned to various samples using Synthfont.

William Cornish - Ah Robin, Gentle Robin

Track made using MuseScore 2.0.2 with a Fluid soundfont and AudioReverb iPad app. Diferencias sobre “Guardame las vacas” by Luys de Narváez (1538) for vihuela, rendered here with clavichord patch. 

Luys de Narvaez - Diferencias sobre Guardame Las Vacas

Three-part secular madrigal by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Ahi, Che Quest' Occhi Miei 

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - Ahi, Che Quest' Occhi Miei

Courtly dance by Francisco de la Torre (1483–1504): Alta à 3 (Danza sobre La Spagna). MIDI rendered with the iOS vocoder app, iVoxel.

Ray Blanchard Performances & Realizations

Alta (Danza sobre La Spagna)

Francisco de la Torre – Alta (Danza sobre La Spagna)

I manipulated recordings of myself singing the syllables, Om, Done, and Bum, to make this track, using iVoxel (an iOS vocoder app). The music is attributed to Henry VIII of England.

Taunder Naken

Henry VIII - Taunder Naken

This 800-year-old song was composed by Richard I of England when he was captured and held for ransom. I played the melody on an Akai EWI USB using a violin patch from ThumbJam.

N/A - From Web

Ja nuns hons pris

Richard I - Ja nuns hons pris

Anonymous pavan, "La Morte della Ragione," sequenced by Ray Blanchard on the Yamaha CX5M music computer

Anonymous - La Morte della Ragione

D'amour ie suis desherité by Claudin de Sermisy (c. 1490-1562). Akai EWI USB played by Ray Blanchard (with overdubbing). These are the words, according to one source (not verified): D'amour ie suis desherité et plaindre ie ne scay a qui hellas jay perdu mon amy soulette suis il malaisse.

Claudin de Sermisy - D'amour ie suis desherite

Tell mee, Daphne by Giles Farnaby, sequenced by Ray Blanchard on the Yamaha CX5M music computer. Source: Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.

Giles Farnaby - Tell mee, Daphne

Pavanne Passamaize by Claude Gervaise, sequenced by Ray Blanchard on the Yamaha CX5M music computer.

Claude Gervaise - Pavanne Passamaize

Donna Gentil by Giacomo Gorzanis (c. 1525 - 1578). Solo line played by Ray Blanchard on the Akai EWI USB.  Sequenced accompaniment.

Giacomo Gorzanis - Donna Gentil (trumpet solo version)

Fyre and Lightning from The First Booke of Canzonets to Two Voyces (pub. 1595), by Thomas Morley (c 1557-1602). Treble recorders played by Ray Blanchard. Sound editing with Audacity, using GSnap plug-in. Words: "Fyre and lightning from heaven fall, and sweetly enflame that hart with love arightfull, of Flora my delightfull, so faire but yet so spightfull."

Thomas Morley - Fyre and Lightning

Il Lamento from The First Booke of Canzonets to Two Voyces by Thomas Morley, sequenced by Ray Blanchard.

Thomas Morley - Il Lamento

Ricercar Primo Tono, attributed to Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, sequenced by Ray Blanchard.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - Ricercar Primo Tono

Pavane "Wenn durch Leiden" from Tielman Susato’s Danserye of 1551, sequenced by Ray Blanchard.

Tielman Susato - Wenn durch Leiden

Chanson “Doulce Memoire” by Sandrin AKA Pierre Regnault (c. 1490 – c. 1561). The outer voices were played by Ray Blanchard on the the Akai EWI USB; the inner voices were sequenced. The lyrics have been attributed to King Francois I of France. 

Sandrin (Pierre Regnault) - Doulce Memoire

Two-part invention #8 by JS Bach, sequenced by Ray Blanchard on the Yamaha CX5M music computer (c. 1988)

JS Bach - Two Part Invention 8

Two-part invention #13 by JS Bach, sequenced by Ray Blanchard on the Yamaha CX5M music computer (c. 1988)

JS Bach - Two Part Invention 13

Two-part invention #14 by JS Bach, sequenced by Ray Blanchard on the Yamaha CX5M music computer (c. 1988)

JS Bach -Two Part Invention 14

Two-part invention #15 by JS Bach, sequenced by Ray Blanchard on the Yamaha CX5M music computer (c. 1988)

JS Bach -Two Part Invention 15

Amour a pouvoir sur les dieux (original spelling, Amour ha pouuoir sur les dieus) by Jacques (or Jacob) Arcadelt, published by Adrian le Roy in his Cinqiesme Livre De Guiterre (1554).

The solo line was played by Ray Blanchard on the Akai EWI USB, using a viola patch and overdubbing three takes.

Jacques Arcadelt - Amour a pouvoir sur les dieux

Ach Gott, wem soll ich’s klagen by Matthias Greiter. All four lines were played by Ray Blanchard on the Akai EWI USB using flute and alto flute patches. These takes were superimposed over the same four lines sequenced for synthesized piccolo - resulting in a “bass piccolo” in the bottom line!

The melodic theme appear to be identical to that used in the anonymous bicinium, “Se dire ie l'osoye,” which I have recorded on a separate track. The words to Greiter’s piece are as follows: “Ach Gott, wem soll ich’s klagen das heimlich Leiden mein; mein Buhl ist mir verjaget, des bringt mir schwere Pein. Muss ich mich von dir scheiden, tut meinem Hertzen weh; ich schwing mich über die Heide, ich seh dich nimmer mehr.”

Matthias Greiter - Ach Gott, wem soll ich's klagen

La plus des plus is a chanson by Josquin des Prez (c. 1450 – 1521), a Renaissance composer of the Franco-Flemish school. This MIDI realization, using oboe, English horn, and bassoon samples, is by Ray Blanchard.

Josquin Des Prez -  La plus des plus

From Il primo libro de balli (1578). Midi realization by Ray Blanchard using various sampled instruments.

Giorgio Mainerio - Schiarazula Marazula

Alma Perche T'Affliggi by Giacomo Gorzanis (c. 1525 - 1575). I rearranged this piece, which I previously recorded on another track, to utilize a very nice flute patch that I found among my collection, downloaded from the Internet, of sampled acoustic instruments.

Giacomo Gorzanis - Alma perche (flute trio)

La Bernadina is a chanson by Josquin des Prez (c. 1450 – 1521), a Renaissance composer of the Franco-Flemish school. This MIDI realization, using alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone samples, is by Ray Blanchard.

Josquin des Prez - La bernadina

This track is based on Thomas Tallis’s four-part setting of his psalm tune, “Why fum'th in fight the Gentiles spite, in fury raging stoute,” for Archbishop Parker’s Psalter (1567). This piece has been re-worked by various composers and arrangers. My changes were minimal. In the first section, I simply dropped the lowest line, in the second section I left the parts as is, and in the third section I doubled a few of the parts. This MIDI realization used a sampled flute, a sampled string quartet, and several sampled pipe organs.

Thomas Tallis - Third Mode Melody

“O la, o che bon echo!” (the “Echo Song”) by Orlando di Lasso (also known as Orlandus Lassus, Roland De Lassus), c. 1531-1594. This piece is a canon for antiphonal choirs. The text depicts a person arguing with his or her echo, or pretending to do so. Musically, the echo effect is produced by having the second choir sing more softly than the first. I have rendered this track with electric piano samples and have attempted to augment the echo effect with stereo panning and different amounts of reverberation for the two groups of voices.

Orlando Di Lasso - Echo Song (O la, o che bon echo!)

“Amour partes je vous donne la chasse” by Guillaume le Heurteur (mid 16th century). MIDI realization used the same sampled flute for both parts, which rarely overlap in range.

Guillaume Le Heurteur - Amour partes

This is a piece for lute by Adrian Le Roy (c. 1520-1598). The title means “the mouse.” I have transposed it into a higher register and realized the MIDI data with sampled pan pipes. The unceremonious ending perhaps reflects Le Roy’s impressions of miceness and the ways of mice.

Adrian Le Roy - La Souris

This frequently played pavane, Belle qui tiens ma vie, is from Thoinot Arbeau’s Orchésographie, a study of late sixteenth-century French Renaissance social dance. I constructed the track using acoustic, synthesized, and sampled instruments. In the first repeat, I experimented with two pieces of freeware for the first time. One program, by Stephen Malinowski, is called Tapper. This can be thought of as a kind of specialized MIDI player, which plays each note (or chord) in a MIDI sequence in response to any keystroke on a computer or MIDI keyboard; thus one can control the tempo and dynamics of a MIDI playback in real time without having to worry about hitting the right notes. I connected Tapper with a virtual cable to the other freeware, a frequency modulation software synthesizer, FMMF, by de la Mancha. I used FMMF to build a serviceable harpsichord-ish sound. I overdubbed this with a recorder line, which I played on an acoustic (plastic) sopranino recorder and recorded using my laptop microphone. For the second repeat, I used SynthFont, which is donationware, and which I like a lot.

Thoinot Arbeau - Belle qui tiens ma vie

I am an amateur musician with a particular interest in performing or otherwise producing Renaissance music by electronic means. In my posted tracks, I have used acoustic instruments (recorders), an electronic wind controller (Akai EWI USB), and step-time sequencing, in various combinations. Many of my tracks were produced in the late 1980’s with the Yamaha CX5M music computer, but they were never published in any form until 2011.

Ray M. Blanchard

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