The Department of Music at the University of Southampton has been awarded almost £600, 000 to research, catalogue and create sound recordings of a genre of medieval music which hasn't been performed since the middle of the 13th century.
Supported by the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Sydney, the eScholarship group in the University of Sydney Library, the Dixson Library at the University of New England in Australia, and the National Centre for Early Music in York, Southampton will lead a project to study, recover and revive the conductus – vocal compositions which merge Latin poetry and music.
"We'll be examining manuscripts kept in archives across Europe for centuries and will bring information on them together, to create the first wide-reaching musicological study of the genre," comments Head of Music Research at Southampton, Professor Mark Everist.
The project called 'Cantum pulcriorem invenire' or 'to find a more beautiful melody', is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Results will take the form of a monograph published by Cambridge University Press; an online catalogue of the manuscripts – hosted by the eScholarship group in the University of Sydney Library; and selected works performed by world-class musicians, recorded for commercial release on the Hyperion label. Other recordings will be released online as research material.
Conductus were performed widely in the 13th century across Europe, but eventually fell out of fashion and haven't been heard for around 700 years," says Professor Everist.
He continues, "Our performances will bring to life this all but forgotten, yet highly significant genre of music, making it accessible to a 21st century audience."
As part of the project, researchers at the University of Sydney re-cataloguing the repertory of conductus will draw heavily from the unpublished work of the late Australian musicologist Gordon Anderson – a scholar of 12th and 13th century Latin poetry and music. Anderson was a Professor at the University of New England, and on his death papers and an extensive library was left to the institution, to which the project team have been granted access for the first time.
Work on the project begins in January 2011.
Notes for editors
1) The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship across a wide range of subjects in engineering, science, social sciences, health and humanities.
With over 22,000 students, around 5000 staff, and an annual turnover of almost £400 million, the University of Southampton is acknowledged as one of the country's top institutions for music, engineering, computer science and medicine. We combine academic excellence with an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to research, supporting a culture that engages and challenges students and staff in their pursuit of learning.
The University is also home to a number of world-leading research centres, including the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, the Optoelectronics Research Centre, the Centre for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease and the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute. www.soton.ac.uk
2) The University of Sydney is the oldest university in Australia. It was established in Sydney in 1850 and now has student enrolments close to 50,000. The University is unique among Australia's leading universities in the breadth of disciplines it offers, providing wide opportunities for personal development and cross-disciplinary study that delivers unique insights and breakthroughs.
The University has a long history of nurturing research and innovation in the areas of health and medical; science and technology; and humanities and social sciences. It continues to develop its reputation as an institution where pure and applied research and research training are conducted at nationally and internationally recognised standards, including research relevant to the economic, social and cultural well-being of Australia and the region.
The university has 170,000 alumni worldwide and is ranked 36 by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. www.usyd.edu.au
3) The University of New England is internationally recognised as one of Australia's great teaching, training and research universities. Founded in 1954, it was the first Australian university established outside a capital city, and has a history extending back to the 1920s. More than 75,000 people now hold UNE qualifications, with many in senior positions in Australia and elsewhere in the world.
UNE is located on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales (also known as 'New England') at the edge of the regional city of Armidale. While students from more than 50 nations study on campus, many more - taking advantage of UNE's recognised expertise as a provider of distance education - study from their homes elsewhere in Australia and around the world.
The University undertakes fundamental and applied research in many disciplines. Its scholars and scientists have established international reputations through their contributions in areas such as rural science, agricultural economics, educational administration, linguistics and archaeology. Collaborative research with other institutions includes working as a partner in six of Australia's national Cooperative Research Centres - three of them based on the UNE campus itself. www.une.edu.au
4) The National Centre for Early Music based in a medieval church in York, supports three of the UK's finest early music festivals, a nation-wide education programme and an increasing range of early music tours, competitions and initiatives. It is dedicated to promoting an understanding of the music of the past through historically informed performances; workshops; illustrated talks and lectures and an ever increasing education programme and learning resources. www.ncem.co.uk