MIDI Files of Early Music Songs
A list of the best web sites hosting MIDI files for Early Music songs, mostly free downloads.
You can turn any of these files into free sheet music with easy-to-use sheet music software.
English Lute Songs - An extensive collection of early English lute music. The collections are listed on this first page. When you click a collection, the center facsimile will change to reflect the collection you've chosen. Then you can select from "The Book", "song texts" or "MIDI" links just below the facsimile. Selecting the "MIDI" link which will take you to a page of .mid (MIDI) files for the collection you've selected. Then, click on the song title to download the MIDI file.
Early German Organ Music - This small collection of less-well-known organ music has been provided by David Cooke. This music is easy to read and should be relatively easy to play.
In Nomine MIDIs - A well-done, educational site by David Cooke. Click on the graphic near the top of the page to download the musical theme as part of the explanation.
The Classical Archives - To find "early" music, select the "Periods" button in the second level of buttons, and select the time period you wish to browse. You'll see links for various composers, which will lead you to the MIDI files. This website has changed extensively, but has a tremendous number of fantastic MIDI files. MIDI files are now all free downloads, but you must find the specific work you are looking for and download the MIDI as follows:
- If you're not already a member (you can sign up for a free membership), click the "Become a member" link and enter your information.
- Find the particular work you’re looking for (do NOT use "MIDI" in any searches).
- Click the “MIDI” tab if there is one. If no "MIDI" tab is visible, then there are no MIDI files available for the work.
- Click on the “XX Midis” text.
- Click on the “Show sequences” text link to see the MIDI files that are available.
- Click the Download (or Add to Downloads) and the file is put in a cart called “My Downloads”.
- When you're done adding files (the MIDI files are free) to "My Downloads", click
the "My Download button at the top of the page to go to your selected files and
download them.
English Baroque MIDIs - These baroque works are provided here by David Cooke.
MIDI Files of Renaissance Music - A well-organized and informative site, with nicely sequenced files by Alain Naigeon. The MIDI files are organized in an alphabetical listing by composer. Simply scroll down the page a bit to see the extensive list of available works, and download them by clicking the song title.
MIDIs from the Mulliner Book - This site contains selections from a workbook of keyboard pieces composed by an unknown 16th century English organist. The arrangements here have been collected by David Cooke.
Pompadour's Early Music - This is an attractive web site that has a wealth of information about early music, as well as nicely done MIDI files from the 16th through the 18th centuries. The MIDI files are arranged chronologically by the birth date of the composer.
Antiqua Musica - French renaissance music - This site is in French, but contains some song files that are not found elsewhere. To get to the files, scroll your mouse over the alphabet at the top of this page to go to the composers whose last name begins with the letter. The song files are then listed on the page with the composer's name. The left-hand icon beside each title is the link for the .mid file, and the file can be downloaded by clicking that icon.
English Madrigals - This is the opening page to a number of English madrigals available in MIDI. This page lists composers, with links to their individual pages where the MIDI files may be found and easily downloaded. Just click the word "MIDI" beside the title of the song you wish to download.
Madrigal MIDI Files - The few madrigals on this page owned by Kelson Vibber are especially well done, with words included in the MIDI files.
The Internet Renaissance Band - This nicely-done site of early music MIDI files by Curtis Clark has renaissance, medieval, and carol sections, as well as original compositions by Curtis himself. Click on the type of music you are interested in to access the MIDI files.
English Renaissance Music - This page is done by Jeff Lee. " The MIDI files on this page were transcribed from facsimiles of original printed sources of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, obtained from the University Microfilms collections of early English books. Editorial interpretation of the works has been limited to correcting obvious printing errors, deducing the values of blurred or otherwise illegible notes, selecting note durations when transcribing from lute tablature, and so forth."
Fichiers Renaissance MIDIs - This French website has a well-done collection of MIDI files, arranged alphabetically by composer. Simply click the title to download the MIDI file.
The Baroque Period Composers at The Classical Midi Connection - This page lists all the composer's links from the Baroque period that are contained in The Classical Midi Connection archive.
Early Music at MidiWorld - This web page has MIDI files for early music from a variety of origins. Composer, country, title, and the contributor are all listed with the sequence.
Early Music Midi Files - This is a small collection of nicely voiced sequences, along with some good information about the composers and pieces.
The Purcell Project - This collection of MIDI files of Henry Purcell's music includes some interesting information about the pieces that David Harvey has sequenced.
Pieces from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book - These files were sequenced by Randy Ralph and Christopher Ralph. If you use Notation Musician or Notation Composer to work with these files, you'll find the automatic "Split hands" command recommendation very useful.
Ancient Greek Music - An interesting site, which "... contains all published fragments of Ancient Greek music which consist of more than a few scattered notes. All of them are recorded under the use of tunings whose exact ratios have been transmitted to us by ancient theoreticians (of the Pythagorean school, most of them cited by Ptolemaios).
With the shutdown of GeoCities, a number of excellent webpages which hosted MIDI files have been lost. If you know of the new location for a website that once was here, please let us know about it!














