Hello there, and thanks for visiting the Renaissance English History Podcast. I’m your host, Heather Teysko, and I’m thrilled to be the HistoryPodcast Podcast of the Month for September. I’m so excited that you’re interested in the podcast!
On the site you’ll obviously find an archive of the shows, reading lists, listening lists, show notes, and lots of stuff like that. But I’ve also put together a special gift for all the HistoryPodcast visitors. It’s a special Spotify playlist of 16th century English choral music that I’ve put together, with notes on each piece, and why I chose it for the playlist.
For those of you who already know me, apologies for telling this story again, but my favorite lens through which to study history, especially Tudor history, is the music. I came to the history of this time period through singing the music, and it’s still my greatest love in the world.
Unlike other forms of artistic expression, every time we sing, listen to, or play a piece of music we are creating that work anew, and becoming part of the shared history of the work, as well as everyone else who has ever been part of it. With something as simple as singing, where your body is the instrument, it’s as if you are linked to the soul of the music, and indeed to the soul of the composer, and souls of everyone else who has ever sang the music, or heard it performed.
Books and paintings are amazing to experience, and moving on their own, but to me there is nothing else that creates this shared connection every time a piece of music is recreated or reinterpreted, and I love it.
I’ve put together a special playlist of some of my favorite pieces of music from the Tudor period, as well as notes that both give a quick history of the time period to set the context, and notes on each individual piece. Sign up below, and I can’t wait to hear what you think about the music! Feel free to tweet me (@teysko) and let me know!