174: Niels Berentsen (1300-1500 Polyphony | Improvising Vocal Counterpoint)

I talk to Professor Niels Berentsen about the beginnings of improvised counterpoint, the reconstruction of incomplete music by Johannes Ciconia, computational analysis of counterpoint, teaching 15th/16th century canon, improvisation in the classroom at the Haute école de musique, the long history of improvisation models, and more. Niels has taught the theory and performance of medieval and Renaissance music at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague since 2011. He received his PhD from Leiden University in 2016. Since 2018 he is professor of improvised counterpoint at the Haute École de Musique de Genève (Switzerland). As a researcher, Niels has investigated techniques of polyphonic improvisation in the 1300-1500 period.