[Sam Barrett]

It has long been known that poems from the De consolatione philosophiae by Boethius were sung in the Middle Ages.  But how to recover a song tradition recorded over a thousand years ago in mnemonic neumatic notations when performance traditions have fallen silent? A new website gathers together manuscript images (including some not previously in the public domain), explains reconstruction methods, and invites users to contribute:

https://boethius.mus.cam.ac.uk/

Research conducted at the University of Cambridge and extended in consultation with members of Sequentia resulted in the creation of a small number of reconstructions.  It remains to extend the process across all thirty-nine poems, drawing on expertise from a wider community to refine hypotheses and make unexpected connections in an area where systematic research methods can proceed only so far.

The website should be particularly interesting to those studying medieval performance practice as it contains newly made videos by members of Sequentia reflecting on their instruments, their physical interaction with them, and their approach to reconstruction.

The whole site is also designed to be used by teachers in the classroom, featuring an introduction to the Consolation of Philosophy, a \’how to\’ guide to reconstruction, explanatory material on reading neumatic notation, and discussion of the question of instrumental participation.  Further links are provided to a recently made CD with Sequentia, performances and reviews.  Specific classroom exercises will be added in coming weeks.

Discussion and comment is welcomed on the site.

With thanks for your consideration,

Sam

 

Dr Sam Barrett

Reader in Early Medieval Music

University of Cambridge

[Author]

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