28th Annual Student Research Conference
Et hymno dicto:
Bringing Medieval Music to a Modern Audience
Claire E. Drone-Silvers
Dr. Bridget Thomas, Dr. Rebecca Harrison, and Ms. Amanda Langendoerfer, Faculty Mentors
Pickler Memorial Library possesses several medieval Latin music manuscripts, dating from the 12th to the 17th centuries and ranging across various regions of Western Europe. However, despite what scholar David Hiley calls their "other-worldly character," one that exudes calm and beauty, these artifacts remain inaccessible to most modern audiences due to the alternate notation styles, textual short-hand methods, and the language barrier. In conjunction with the Special Collections department, I have chosen to transcribe, translate, and provide an audio recording of six of these manuscripts through intensive work with the original documents. I will provide a full assessment of these manuscripts in order to determine by whom and for what purpose they were created, as well as why these documents still have worth in the modern world. The guiding goal behind this project is to make these pieces more accessible to the public and to explore their deep contextual history.
Keywords: Latin, medieval chant, hymn, manuscript, music
Topic(s):Classics
Medieval Studies
Music
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 118-5
Location: OP 2117
Time: 9:00