English Choral Practice, 1400–1650 (Cambridge Studies in Performance Practice, Series Number 5)

This is the first book to survey the performing practices in English choral music in the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, including the period of the English Reformation. The essays, all written by specialists in the field, consider in depth such areas as the growth and development of the 'church' choir, related issues of vocal tessitura, performing pitch, the systems of pronunciation appropriate for Latin- and English-texted music, and the day-to-day training of choristers. There is also an investigation of the local circumstances under which many of the important manuscripts of the period were compiled, which reveals an unsuspectedly close interrelationship between domestic music and music for the church. In addition, a study of surviving sources reveals that they give little more than a general guide as to their composers' and copyists' intentions. "This is the first book to survey the performing practices in English choral music in the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, including the period of the English Reformation. The essays, all written by specialists in the field, consider in depth such areas as the growth and development of the 'church' choir, related issues of vocal tessitura, performing pitch, the systems of pronunciation appropriate for Latin - and English-texted music, and the day-to-day training of choristers. There is also an investigation of the local circumstances under which many of the important manuscripts of the period were completed, which reveals an unsuspectedly close inter-relationship between domestic music and that for the Church. In addition, a study of surviving sources reveals that they give little more than a general guide as to their composers' and copyists' intentions. Although the standing of English composers of the period has long been recognized, the conditions under which their music was performed have not hitherto attracted focused scholarly scrutiny. This volume will thus make a welcome addition to the literature"--Page 4 of cover This book surveys the performing practices in English choral music in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, including the period of the English Reformation. The essays consider in depth such areas as the growth and development of the church choir In respect of the choral music of the church services in England, the fifteenth century witnessed a revolution in performance practice which established fundamental premises that have endured to the present day.