Elthin are a professional Czech ensemble specialized in music from the Middle-Ages and Renaissance, who were founded in 2006. They regularly perform in the context of historical festivals and private events in the Czech Republic and abroad (Slovakia, Germany, Sweden, France). Although the exact reconstruction of Medieval music as it was played back then is nearly impossible, they focus on performing this repertoire faithfully, basing their interpretation on research, using preserved sources like enrolments and original illuminations that survived the years.
The members of the group play on replicas of ancient instruments based on iconographies, including Medieval and Renaissance lutes, gittern, recorders, shawm, bagpipes, harp, hurdy-gurdy, Medieval fiddles, early Renaissance viol and drums. During the performances, they also wear hand-made Medieval costumes based on paintings from the second half of the 14th century. The band say that: “While we have at heart to constantly expand our knowledge about Medieval music and performance, we are also committed to bringing these beautiful pieces that we love to the ears of todayβs audience.”
Their Medieval repertoire consists of both secular and ecclesiastical songs, dated from the 12th to the 16th century. It includes a wide sourced selection of European pieces from the Middle-Ages and early Renaissance like Cantigas de Santa Maria, Carmina Burana, Piae Cantiones, Codex Franus, Cantional of Jistebnice (the Jistebnice Hymn book), Cancional of Vyssi Brod, Codex Specialnik and many others. Their more specific Czech Medieval repertoire covers the eras of Charles IV, Jan Hus and the last Premyslids. All the songs are performed in their original language such as Latin, Occitan, Galician, Provencal, Old English, Old Czech and German.
In the autumn of 2017, they started focusing on Renaissance and Early Baroque pieces, which led them to expand their collection considerably by performing music from the 16th and 17th centuries as well. This repertoire includes not only compositions by well-known masters (P. Attaingnant, T. Arbeau, T. Susato, M. Praetorius, J.Playfordβ¦) but also Czech folk songs and other traditional songs. In 2022, they were chosen to take part in the shooting of a Danish commercial for the Tuborg beer, directed by Keith McCarthy.
