Oxford Events, the new replacement for OxTalks, will launch on 16th March. The two-week OxTalks freeze period starts on Monday 2nd March. During this time, there will be no facility to publish or edit events. The existing OxTalks site will remain available to view during this period. Once Oxford Events launches, you will need a Halo login to submit events. Full details are available on the Staff Gateway.
One of the most significant sets of environmental events of the Medieval and Early Modern periods was a collection of climatic changes often known as the “Little Ice Age” lasting roughly from 1200 to 1680. The Little Ice Age changed the soundscape with its own distinctive sounds. It also brought about changes in the appointment and design of interior spaces, including those where worship took place. A secondary impact involved the production of musical instruments, including Stradivari violins. Tapestries, carpet and banners provided warmth and colour during the harsh winters, but also promoted a “drier” acoustic space better suited for polyphony. We will examine these and other factors that contributed to the transformation of sacred song in the fourteenth though sixteenth centuries.
