The history of medieval English music on record

The history of medieval English music on record
Edward Breen

Now that we have simple access to vast quantities of recorded music it is all too easy not to notice that many great albums have still to be invited to this digital party. Great swathes of our recorded history, which Tom Moore neatly described a few years ago in Early Music America as ‘Our disappearing LP legacy’, are waiting to be rediscovered and time is running out as many libraries find they just do not justify the shelf space. Such challenges make historical record collecting rather adventurous; it takes intrepid listeners on voyages through sound archives (physical and online), record shops and digital download sites. It follows therefore that we must ask ourselves why preserving old recordings is important. Are we merely attempting to ensure a future for our nostalgia? The answer, as I hope to demonstrate, [...]

For the full text of this article please refer to Early Music (Oxford University Press: Jun 2017).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/em/cax027

Research portal: King's College London

My PhD thesis is now available to download from the King's College London research portal and I am delighted to note that so many people are interested to read more about the work of David Munrow.

The Performance Practice of David Munrow and the Early Music Consort of London : Medieval Music in the 1960s and 1970s

This thesis focuses on the musical contribution of David Munrow and his Early Music Consort of London (EMC) to the so-called early music revival of the 1960s and 1970s. By exploring the notion of shared cultural space in performances of medieval music by leading ensembles of the time, this thesis seeks to isolate aspects of performance practice unique to the EMC.

An assessment of literary sources documenting the early music revival reveals clear nodes of discussion around Munrow’s methods of presenting early music in concert performance which are frequently classified as ‘showmanship’ with a focus on more scholarly performance practice decisions only evident in the post-Munrow period.

Close readings of these sources are undertaken which are, in turn, weighed against Munrow’s early biography to map out the web of influences contributing to his musical life. Having established David Munrow’s intentions in performance, this thesis uses techniques of performance analysis to question whether he and the EMC achieved such stated aims in performance, and identifies how different approaches are made manifest in recordings by other ensembles.

The findings, which seek to marry sonic analysis with reception history, are interpreted in the light of the New Cultural History of Music and reposition David Munrow, often seen as a showman who evangelized early music, as a musician who profoundly influenced the modern aesthetics and surface details of performance for subsequent generations of early musicians.

Original language: English
Awarding Institution: King's College London
Supervisors/Advisors
Dillon, Emma, Supervisor
Leech-Wilkinson, Daniel, Supervisor
Award date: 2015

Documents: 2015_Breen_Edward_95025532_ethesis
51 MB, PDF-document

Sacred Treasures of England

Sacred Treasures of England The London Oratory Schola Cantorum Boys Choir
Sony Classical 88985416362

The London Oratory Schola Cantorum Boys Choir sing weekly in the generous acoustic of the Brompton Oratory and the music on this disc reflects their dedication to Tudor repertoire. The top line largely dictates their overall sound and in Missa Euge Bone by Tye (c.1500-1573) the trebles exhibit a bright, joyful grain with a slight tendency to sharpness that portrays lofty phrases as immediate and readily communicative. Coupled with the men’s rich voices, they find great interest in the alternating upper- and lower-voiced textures that this mass favours. In the Gloria there is a fabulous transition from calm, homophonic texture in Jesu Christe to effusive, puppyish joy in Cum Sancto Spiritu…Amen. [...]

To read the full text of this article please visit www.gramophone.co.uk (June 2007)