The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-09-22
.BRITA|N'S MUSIC
RANK IS RAISED

HMM ~ nhlOLD
London, Sept 21-Recent large dis
coveries of Fifteenth. Sixteenth and
Seventeenth century English music are
expected to revolutionize the English
musical tradition. 1t has been the &C
cepted supposition that the English
are not musical people, that their
achievements in literature far trans
cend their achievements in music and
that for the greatest music one must
look to the Italians or the Germans.
1t is now certain that the prestige of
English literature. which reaches its
height in the monumental names of
Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth,
Tennyson, is equalled if not surpassed
by English musical achievement.
A similar situation would be at
hand in English literature if the
works of Shakespeare and a score of
others had been lost for centuries and
had just now been discovered in ran
dom manuscripts lying inches deep in
dust on the shelves of out of the way
libraries.
The works of England's Shakes
peare of music have been discovered.
AS a. result not only is English music
infinitely the richer but a priceless
contribution has been made to the
worlds musical wealth. The lowly
English musical tradition has sud-
great musical traditions of Italy and
Germany.
Deciphered Ancient Manuscripts.
How this change has been brought
| about is one of the most astonishing
stories which the world of aesthetics
has ever heard.
The story is told by DR.. Richard
Runciman Terry, who is chairman of
an editorial committee which is pre-
! pairing for publication the vast wealth
nf ENy1cy iSI1 mn 10 WI ha
now been brought to light. With him
| are DR.. E. H. F'ellowes, a minor canon
at the Chapel Royal at Windsor; DR..
| P. C. Buck. professor of music at Dub
lin University and musical director at
Harrow, and the Rev. A. Ramsbot-
! tom, NJ. A. of the famous Charter
house School.
This committee is engaged in de-
| ciphering the quaint musical notation
| of the old manuscripts it has discover
ed and in completing the scores for
publication by the Oxford University
Press. Two editions are to be pub
lished, one a quarto edition, giving the
| newly discovered masses, magnificats,
| anthems and madrigaS without
abridgment, and a popular edition em-
| bodying selections from the old music
| of the largest popular interest.
The series of publications is ex-
| pected to cover several years. begin
! ming early next year. and in order to
| University Press has been guaranteed
against loss during the first five years
of publication by the Carnegie United
| Kingdom Trust. This endowment
which is duplicating in the United
| Kingdom the vast philanthropy of the
| late Andrew Carnegie in the United
States, has it's seat at Dunfermline
Scotland, near Skibo Castle, the Car
negie home.
The movement, which has culmi-
| mated in the organization of DR.
Terry's committee and its backing by
the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust
had it's inception in a long endeavo1
on the part of DR.. Godfrey Arkwright
an authority on early English music
and DR.. Terry to get at the ancient
musical scores which they had reason
to believe were lying hidden abou
i England.
, Records Are Searched.
II It was their theory that English
music during the Tudor times was a:
great as English literature and tina
the Reformation, which proved {
cataclysm to manuscripts of Tudor
music, has left far worthier works
than the poor survivals which wer'
) generally supposed to represent tn
best music of the Tudor period.
1t was a commonplace of Englisf
| musical history that before the pro
= duction of instrumental music in tn
, late Sixteenth and early Seventeenth
Z centuries there had been a large, ant
, supposedly lost, output of vocal music
Some of this vocal music had survived
( in the most fragmentary form; it wa
written in separate part books. tn
bass in one book, the alto in another
ETC., and in many cases where on
= part book had survived another par
. book was supposedly lost. Even tn
paft books which had survived wer
/. in an obsolete. notation upon whicl
no treatises existed in English.
: In fact, in the famous Old Hal
, manuscript, the most valuable of tn
I many which DR.. Terry had succeeded
e in discovering the music. which i
. written on vellum. is of a notation ut
terly undecipherable by the amateu
= musician OF today. This manuscript
which dates back. to 1850. has bee
= written by hand in Latin character
a and with beautiful Illuminated initials
How the Discoveries Began
q Convinced that before Palestine
the great Italian master of the Six
= tenth century, began to write, Their
d existed Furnishing musical traditio
n workers set about to continue tn
work which DIR. Arkwright had begu
- in 1891 and had been compelled t
d discontinue for lack of funds. The
C knew that Tails, Byrd, Tye and Mel
- becke, early English musicians abor
whom little has been known until re
- Gently, had produced a great amour
10 of music and that far more of it mu:
IA have escaped the catc1ysm of the Re-
l. formation than was generally suppos
ed. They began systematic ransacl
ing of certain old libraries. cathedra
- and colleges in England looking fe
d old musical manuscripts.
l. They found their greatest results
l. the British Museum in the Bodleia
Library at Oxford. and those
Christ Church, Oxford, Peterhou,
and Magdalene Colleges at Cambrids
University and Lambeth Palace. Som
I ~, orrccriptc ,otahl those