The Castle Minstrels

The Castle Minstrels

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Location Midlothian
Starting from £744
4 Reviews

The Castle Minstrels add the spirit and atmosphere of the medieval age to any space.

  • Highlights
  • Offering gentle music for a wedding ceremony, or the sound of a loud, medieval dance band
  • Extra musicians available to create a bigger line-up
  • Can also run a 'medieval ceilidh', teaching some simple dances to all

About


The Castle Minstrels, based in Edinburgh, have been performing for events, weddings and corporate functions since 2001. The group comprises of accomplished multi-instrumentalists with period medieval instruments including lutes, harps, vielles (fiddles), shawms, bagpipes and percussion, so they can provide gentle music for a wedding ceremony, or the sound of a loud, medieval dance band.

The Castle Minstrels have extensive experience in all types of events and are very flexible in their approach, allowing them to fit into any situation. Being able to play both ‘soft’ medieval music on lutes, harps and fiddles, and also ‘loud’ on shawms and bagpipes (all performers are multi-instrumentalists) gives a great range of options to suit the place, time and occasion.

The Castle Minstrels can supply a troupe of up to six performers all of whom play instruments and perform period dances and can also run a 'medieval ceilidh' (when there are four or more performers), teaching some simple dances to all.

This variety makes The Castle Minstrels a great option for wedding ceremonies, dinner music, drinks receptions and outdoor events. A sumptuous feast for the ears and the eyes.

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Repertoire


Medieval Repertoire

  • Cantigas de Santa Maria from Spain
  • Instrumental dances from France and Italy
  • Toubadour and Trouvere
  • Italian Trecento including Landini and anonymous pieces from the Rossi Codex
Line-Up

  • Duo - a mix of medieval lutes, harp and medieval fiddle
  • Trio (standard) - a mix of lutes, harp, fiddle, shawm, bagpipes and percussion
  • Quartet - a mix of lutes, harp, fiddle, percussion and medieval 'loud' band of multiple shawms, bagpipes and percussion

4 Reviews

Top reviews

Emma Rogers

Event: Wedding
Location: Northumberland
5/5

Absolutely fantastic! The Castle Minstrels went above and beyond for us at our Medieval themed Wedding. They are so talented and really completed the day. They were fantastic to deal with and did what we asked of them and so much more! All the guests loved them and loved the dancing they taught us. It was timed and pitched exactly right every second they were there. We can't thank them enough. We would hire them again in a heartbeat. Thanks so much!


Jonathan Sadler

Event: Wedding
Location: Northumberland
5/5

They were simply outstanding!! They made contact a few weeks before hand and were transferred the fee. On the day they were faultless and exceptional. Despite hosting many weddings, both castles staff said that they had never experienced anything quite the same and they really brought the castles and the wedding to life. They were very accommodating with the two venues and the delays due to the weather and general excitement and stayed on half an hour longer to perform the caelhi. ALL of my guests spoke highly of The Castle Minstrels and the dancing got most of them on their feet. We could have listened and danced for so much longer and we will be definitely finding an excuse to book them again!!


Philip Slade

Event: Wedding
Location: Aberdeen
5/5

We asked The Castle Minstrels to provide music at our wedding. We wanted something in keeping with the age of the castle and The Castle Minstrels were perfect. The music was wonderful and fitted in perfectly, it was just the right level, loud enough so it could be heard throughout the castle, but not so loud that people couldn't talk. The feedback received from our guests was over whelmingly positive, everybody enjoyed it and agreed it fitted the ambience. Our 13 month old boy was even dancing to it. We were very happy. They even posed for photos with us, which was nice.


Alexandra

Event: Wedding
Location: Peebles-shire
5/5

Thank you so much for playing at our medieval themed wedding. To us, the band was always going to be the most important part to bring the atmosphere together and we could not have hoped for more. You were professional, courteous, flawless and so helpful especially prior e.g. to choose the music to walk down the isle. You knew exactly how to pace the music, how to be in the foreground but also background at the best times and seemed to require absolutely no direction, even though you had never been at the venue before. It was like you had always been there! The dancing you taught us all was such a laugh that everyone was talking about it for weeks and you can tell by all the smiles in the pictures that the guests just got so into it. You really made our day perfect and we could not recommend you enough.


    Pricing

    We give you a bespoke price based on the exact location of your event. The pricing below is based on a central location for your area so you have an idea of what your price will be. The exact price will be given in the booking process after you’ve provided the location details.

    Foreign Locations
    • Europe £1,116
    • Rest of the world £1,488
    North East
    • Durham £868
    • East Yorkshire £868
    • Leeds £868
    • North Yorkshire £868
    • Northumberland £806
    • South Yorkshire £930
    • Tyne and Wear £868
    • West Yorkshire £868
    • Yorkshire £868
    North West
    • Cheshire £868
    • Cumbria £868
    • Lancashire £868
    • Liverpool £930
    • Manchester £868
    • Merseyside £930
    Scotland
    • Aberdeen £868
    • Ayrshire £806
    • Dumfriesshire £868
    • Dundee £806
    • East Lothian £744
    • Edinburgh £744
    • Fife £744
    • Glasgow £744
    • Inverness £868
    • Lanarkshire £744
    • Midlothian £744
    • Perth £806
    • Stirlingshire £744
    • Sutherland £930
    • West Lothian £744
    West Midlands
    • Gloucestershire £992
    • Herefordshire £992
    • Shropshire £992
    • Worcestershire £992
    • Worcestershire £992

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    The Castle Minstrels?

    The Castle Minstrels
    Or call 01270 501 164

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