La Ultime Estampie Real
The estampie (estampida, istanpitta, ets). Is a medieval dance and musical form which was popular in the 13th and 14th centuries.
The La ulitme Estampie Real was written down in the reign of King Philip IV of France (the fair). It comes in a manuscript of some of the earliest and most significant instrumental music that we have. Written some time between 1280 and 1310 at the latest by an anonymous musician, the manuscript source, is called “Manuscrit du Roi” or the Estampies et Danses Royales.
The manuscript in modern times was only re-discovered in the early 20C by Pierre Aubry, a French musicologist.
Although there are no instructions as to instrumentation, dynamics, speed etc. There are references at the time of such as by the text Leys d’Amors which says “Minstrel who plays the vielle has a new estampie”, which is a good clear indication that I am on the right track.
The contemporary music theorist and writer, at the time, Johannes de Grocheo (c1255 to c1320) said of estampie’s this;
“The estampie is a musical composition without words which has a complex melodic progression and which is divided into points (puncti). Because of its difficulty, it totally absorbs both the performer and the listener, and often distracts the minds of the rich from wicked thoughts”. That last bit very important as the 13th Century was the end of the Crusading period leaving a lot of skilled killers amongst the nobility.
In the structure the term Puncti, refers to a section of music a few bars long which is played twice. On the end of each Puncti an ending is added on one is an “open” ending (apertum) used the first time through, and one is a “closed” ending (clausum) to signify going onto another Puncti or new section.
In La ultime Estampie Real the open and closed endings are the same for each section (though this is not always the case in some estampie’s). So in listening through the piece try and see if you can hear the repeated endings, and this will help to anchor you to the piece, or you can just sit back and enjoy.
Here is the music for La ultime Estampie Real.