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'Voice-parts and voice-types in Tudor England'
‘What part syngest thou? Qua voce cantas?’ John Stanbridge (1463-1510), master of Magdalen College School in Oxford and author of several innovative pedagogical books, taught his young pupils to ask that question. It is still a relevant question today. Tudor voice-parts and voice-types (both before and during the Reformation) have attracted some controversy in recent generations. This study addresses the issue from a less conventional angle. Rather than starting with questions of sounding pitch, transposition, or vocal production, it draws on a wide range of documents to revisit the five standard English voice-parts (bass, tenor, contratenor, mean/medius, treble/triplex) in what might be called ‘anthropological’ or ‘ethnographic’ terms, as specialised functions and roles exercised by participants in a complex musical culture. This approach, I would argue, also equips us to think more freely about practical matters of pitch and transposition as Tudor singers experienced them in their working lives.
Date:
4 December 2025, 17:00
Venue:
Faculty of Music, St Aldate's OX1 1DB
Venue Details:
Online
Speaker:
Kerry McCarthy
Organising department:
Faculty of Music
Organiser:
Margaret Bent (Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
events@music.ox.ac.uk
Part of:
All Souls Seminars in Medieval and Renaissance Music
Booking required?:
Required
Booking url:
https://music.web.ox.ac.uk/event/25-12-04-all-souls-seminars
Cost:
Free
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Laura Howorth
