Medieval folk rock,medieval rock ormedieval folk is a musical subgenre that emerged in the early 1970s in England and Germany which combined elements ofearly music withrock music. It grew out of theBritish folk rock andprogressive folk movements of the late 1960s.^[1] Despite the name, the term was used indiscriminately to categorise performers who incorporated elements ofmedieval,renaissance andbaroque music into their work and sometimes to describe groups who used few, or no, electric instruments. This subgenre reached its height towards the middle of the 1970s when it achieved some mainstream success in Britain, but within a few years most groups had either disbanded, or were absorbed into the wider movements ofprogressive folk andprogressive rock. Nevertheless, the genre had a considerable impact within progressive rock where early music, andmedievalism in general, was a major influence and through that in the development ofheavy metal. More recently medieval folk rock has revived in popularity along with other forms of medieval inspired music such asDark Wave orientatedneo-Medieval music andmedieval metal.

Medieval folk rock is characterised by three major elements used in various combinations. First, the playing of extant early music involving rock instrumentation. Second, the creation of original music that incorporates compositional features of early music, such as use ofmusical modes beyond those now considered major and minor keys. Third, the incorporation of the sounds of early music into rock songs, through vocal techniques, the use of additional instruments that characterise early music, or the simulation of early music sounds on rock instruments (for example, the use of a drone sound on an electric guitar).^[2] A final element that does not affect the nature of the music, but often accompanies it, is the adoption of perceived elements of 'medievalism' in lyrics, actions, dress or artwork.^[3]

Musicologists have noted an attempt to fuse popular music with elements of early classical music from the mid-1960s in Britain and America, which they refer to as baroque rock orbaroque pop.^[4] An interest in fusing the sounds of medieval and renaissance music with more popular forms was first evident in the Britishprogressive folk movement of the late 1960s. This was particularly clear in the important work ofThe Incredible String Band from their 1967 albumThe 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion (1967), which introduced both medieval andworld music elements into their music. These continued in the highly influentialThe Hangman's Beautiful Daughter (1968).^[5]

Also part of the progressive folk movement was guitaristJohn Renbourn, whose 1968 albumSir John Alot of Merry Englandes Musyk Thynge and ye Grene Knyghte began to display his interest in the medieval, containing a number of versions of early music songs, which would be dominant onThe Lady and the Unicorn (1970). From 1967 Renbourn was a member of the folk groupPentangle, and he took his interest in early music into the mix of influences (including blues, jazz, bluegrass, world music and traditional folk song) in the band.^[6] Coming from the more traditional end of the folk spectrum wereShirley andDolly Collins. They were the first artists to produce a complete album,Anthems in Eden (1969), that combined traditional folk songs with early music instruments, utilizingDavid Munrow's Early Music Consort, and early music remained a major preoccupation of their careers.^[7] Also from 1969Third Ear Band made use of medieval instruments alongside classical and eastern influences.

What laid the foundation for the transformation of these trends into a form of rock music was the release in 1969 of the London-based folk rock bandFairport Convention's albumLiege and Lief, which saw the clear inception ofBritish folk rock as fusion between electric rock music and traditional folk songs and styles.^[8] Fairport Convention occasionally incorporated elements of early music into their repertoire. However, their fusion of Englishfolk music with rock instrumentation was mostly focused on early modern and nineteenth-centuryballads anddance music. In contrast, the band formed by former Fairport memberAshley Hutchings asSteeleye Span in 1969, tended to explore a wider range of period music ranging back into the Middle Ages. They also utilized more diverse instruments, includingmandolins,recorders andoboes, besideselectric guitars,bass and later, drums. This was exemplified by their 1972 albumBelow the Salt, which contained several early music songs and from which they released thea cappella single of the sixteenth-centurycarol "Gaudete", which reached number fourteen in the UK singles chart, arguably the greatest mainstream success for medieval folk rock, as the band were occasionally described.^[9]

The process of 'electrification' set off by Fairport in the folk world, by which existing groups adopted a model of rock instrumentation, meant that several progressive folk performers of early music now joined a growing number of medieval folk rock bands. These includedPentangle, who electrified in 1970 for the albumCruel Sister, Third Ear Band, who from 1972 introduced electric guitars, basses and drums and, from 1976, with the release ofAmaranth, Dolly Collins produced an early music album for her sister Shirley that used both electric and traditional instruments.^[7]

In contrast to Pentangle,Amazing Blondel, formed in 1969 and who composed their own music in a renaissance style, did not electrify. Nevertheless, because of their approach and use of original compositions, they are often described as medieval rock. Very similar in tone were bands like Forest, who from 1969 recorded their own compositions with modern acoustic and medieval instruments.^[10]

At the same time in Germany there were similar developments. Because of the association of folk music withNazism,Ougenweide, originally formed in 1970 as an acoustic folk group, although inspired by Fairport Convention and Pentangle, opted to draw exclusively onHigh German medieval music when they electrified, setting the agenda for future German folk rock.^[11] Several bands followed suit, including Parzival from 1971.^[12]

The growth of interest in early music in the academic and classical worlds was significant for the expansion of medieval folk rock.Gryphon, arguably the archetypal British band in the genre, was formed in 1971 byRichard Harvey and Brian Gulland, both graduates of theRoyal Academy of Music. Gryphon were originally an acoustic ensemble performing folk and medieval tunes. However, with the addition of guitaristGraeme Taylor and drummer Dave Oberlé, by the time of their first eponymously titled album in 1973 they had become a folk rock band that incorporatedbassoons andkrumhorns into their sound and were being marketed as 'medieval rock'.^[13] The same year saw other experiments that combined early music with rock instruments, including the one-off projectGiles Farnaby's Dream Band.^[14]

Often classified with Gryphon wereGentle Giant whose multi-instrumental members addedclavichord,harpsichord,violin andrecorder to the mix from their second albumAcquiring the Taste (1971), but this was all combined with classical and jazz elements and can be already considered asprogressive rock.^[15] In 1971, the year that Gryphon and Gentle Giant were founded, medieval music was one of the prevailing fashions in rock music, as evidenced by probably the most successful band of the momentLed Zeppelin in their amalgamation of blues-based rock with recorders and mandolins together with medieval themes onLed Zeppelin IV, most notably on 'Stairway to Heaven'.^[16]

The first half of the 1970s was a short-lived peak in popularity for medieval folk rock. Gryphon enjoyed some mainstream success when they played theNational theatre andOld Vic and supportedYes on tour. However, with line-up changes from about 1975 they began to drop their distinctive medieval sound and became increasingly a mainstream progressive rock band, before they dissolved in 1977. Similarly despite retaining elements of medieval music, bands like Gentle Giant rapidly moved off into further experimentation and were soon being classified under the more general category of progressive rock.

The only places where medieval folk rock was growing in the late 1970s were France and the Netherlands. In France, particularly fromBrittany, there were bands like Ripaille, formed for a highly regarded eponymous album in 1977, and Saga de Ragnar Lodbrock in 1979. In the same period the most enduring French folk rock bandTri Yann also moved into medieval territory. There were also a handful of bands in other European countries, including Thomas Flinter from the Netherlands from 1978 to 1980.^[17] However, although starting later most of these groups had disbanded or moved on at the start of the 1980s.

If surviving medieval folk rock bands shifted towards more mainstream progressive rock, progressive rock bands often included early music among their influences. Despite emerging from theBritish blues boom, the vocal style ofIan Anderson ofJethro Tull was often compared with a medievaltroubadour's, while the signature sound of hisflute, later combined with the keyboard and stringed instrumental skills of the band, lent itself to a medieval element of the music. This emerged most clearly with the albumMinstrel in the Gallery (1975) and later in the folk inspiredSongs from the Wood (1977).^[2] Medieval images and sounds are so prominent in the band's career that they have occasionally been classified as 'medieval progressive rock'.^[18]Yes took occasional flights into medievalism, perhaps because of their highly talented keyboard playerRick Wakeman, who in 1975 produced therock opera albumThe Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.^[19]

It is argued that progressive rock obtained its distinctive sound of modal harmony from medieval music.^[20] It was probably through progressive rock that early music influences found their way into earlyheavy metal, for example in the modal keys employed byBlack Sabbath from 1970 and in the Renaissance inspired songs of bands like theRitchie Blackmore foundedRainbow from 1974.^[21]

However, early music was only one of a range of influences on these bands, includingclassical,jazz andworld music, from which progressive groups selected and adapted. As the popularity of progressive rock declined in the face ofpunk rock,new wave andelectronic rock in the second half of the 1970s, early music tended to disappear as a major musical influence in rock, and while medieval and fantasy themes remained a feature of developing genre of heavy metal, there was little conscious attempt to replicate early music.

Medieval folk rock virtually disappeared in the early 1980s. Some rock performers did continue to produce medieval style music, particularly groups emerging from the German electronicKosmische movement, includingEstampie, who from 1985 sang lyrics in medieval German and Latin, and members of which went on to foundQntal in 1991. Neither of these bands used guitars and both avoided the 'medieval rock' label.^[22] They are often associated with theneo-Medieval music ofDark Wavegoth subculture that flourished in the 1980s, producing acts including the Australian duoDead Can Dance and from AmericaFaith and the Muse. This genre is extremely difficult to classify, but is usually characterised by reliance on electronic music and (particularly female) voices mixed with medieval acoustic instruments.^[23]

Important in the revival of hybrid genres of early music was the rise of interest inmedievalism in general and medievalre-enactment, medieval markets andrenaissance fairs in particular, from the late 1980s in Germany and America.^[24] This period saw the creation of a number of acoustic medieval folk bands, particularly in Germany, many of which played markets and fairs. These includedCorvus Corax, from 1989,In Extremo from 1995,Schandmaul from 1998,Saltatio Mortis from 2000, andFaun from 2002. There are still a vibrant medieval folk rock scene on German medieval festivals, and bands likeSchandmaul andFaun have gained popularity beyond the medieval scene.

Corvus Corax began the metal side projectTanzwut from 1996 and from 1998 In Extremo moved from acoustic to a heavy metal sound. Together withhard rock and heavy metal outfitSubway to Sally (founded in 1992), who shifted from folk towards German medieval music in 1995, these bands are usually seen as the founders of the GermanMedieval metal subgenre.^[25]

While these bands moved off into heavy metal music, in roughly the same period a number of performers emerged who mixed early music and acoustic instruments withsoft or hard rock, relying heavily on the network of medieval markets and renaissance fairs.Ritchie Blackmore, having dropped musical clues to his interest in early music throughout his career, took the surprising step of forming the renaissance focused rock bandBlackmore's Night with vocalistCandice Night in 1997. Blackmore is usually careful to describe his music as 'renaissance rock', which is more accurate as a description of the source of his inspiration, but also distinguishes it from other forms of medieval based music.^[26] The Canadian/American band "Elflore" is following in the footsteps of Blackmore's Night with Renaissance Rock. They are very new to the scene and are currently working on their first album. Other performers who produce medieval electric music include the California-based Avalon Rising andCirculus from England, both of which describe their music, among other things, as medieval folk rock.^[27]

There was a revival of medieval folk rock of sorts in England in the late 1980s. Shave the Monkey from 1988 managed to use British and European folk festivals to support a career that continued until 2003.^[28] The more progressive cult band the Morrigan formed in 1985, but they were unable to release their first album until 1996.^[29] Wider acceptance for these performers had to wait until the 'folk resurgence' of the 1990s.^[30] More recently there have been indications of a return to an interest in medieval folk rock among established folk rock musicians. Since 1986Maddy Prior, formerly of Steeleye Span, has toured and recorded with the acoustic early music groupThe Carnival Band.^[31] GuitaristRichard Thompson joined recorder playerPhilip Pickett for an album of early music mixed with rock,The Bones of All Men (1998), and has toured with his show1000 Years of Popular Music (2003) which included thirteenth-century rounds and baroque versions of modern pop songs.^[32]

In 2018 performance poet and multi-instrumentalist Attila the Stockbroker launched his band Barnstormer 1649, combining early music and punk using many period instruments alongside a punk rock backline. They released an album 'Restoration Tragedy' in September 2018 and are currently active and touring.

• Medieval folk rock

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