Marc Lewon

St. Hugh's College

Supervisor: Professor Reinhard Strohm

Provisional thesis title:
Sources and Practices of Instrumental Music in 15th Century Central Europe

Research Interests

The instrumental music of the Middle Ages is still a sort of “problem child” for musicologists and performers alike. Apart from a handful of monophonic, textless pieces from the fourteenth century, we only get an insight into what is a colourful and widespread instrumental practice with the emergence of keyboard tablatures in the fifteenth century. A number of primarily German vocal sources of Central European origin, however, hint at instrumental ensemble practices and the use of instruments with voices. My point of departure is a case study of the Lochamer-Liederbuch, a mid-fifteenth century source that showcases many aspects of playing instruments as an ensemble, soloistically, and combined with voices. Based on this research I intend to unravel different strands of instrumental treatment that can be traced through other sources and thus be solidified as established practices of Late Medieval instrumental music. As a side issue, I will look at notational characteristics of these seemingly “peripheral” sources, both in the notation of clearly instrumental works or voices, and of vocal pieces transmitted in the same context. These aspects that can differ strongly from the “mainstream” Western notation convey important information concerning the relationship between arranger, performer, and scribe as well as the distribution, performance, and function of the music notated.

Publications (Selection)

'Der gesungene Gedichtsvortrag – Eine musikalische Hypothese über die Lieder Walthers von Klingen, article in: Walther von Klingen und das Kloster Klingental in Wehr, ed. by Stadt Wehr, Ostfildern (Jan Thorbecke Verlag) 2010, pp. 131-145.
'Das Lochamer-Liederbuch in neuer Übertragung und mit ausführlichem Kommentar', ed. by Marc Lewon, 3 vol., Brensbach (Verlag der Spielleute) 2007/2008/2010.
'Agricola et ung bon joueur de luz – Agricola and the Lute', in: Quarterly of the Lute Society of America, vol. XLIII,
No. 4, November 2008, pp. 7-21.

Forthcoming Publications (Selection)

'Oswald von Wolkenstein: Die mehrstimmigen Lieder', article in: Oswald von Wolkstein – Ein Handbuch, ed. by Ulrich Müller et al., 2011.
'An Edition of the Frankfurt Neidhart Fragment: Facsimile, Transcription, Translation, and Edition', ed. by Marc Lewon, Brensbach (Verlag der Spielleute); scheduled for 2011.

CDs (Selection)

'La contenance angloise – English Style in 15th century', Ensemble chant 1450 (Christophorus, 2010).
'Sotto l’imperio del possente prince', Ensemble Perlaro (PANclassics, 2010).
'Oswald von Wolkenstein – Songs of Myself', Andreas Scholl & Shield of Harmony (Harmonia Mundi, 2010).

Forthcoming CDs (Selection)

'Les fantaisies de Josquin”', with Ensemble Leones (recorded February 2010, forthcoming with PANclassics).
'Neidhart – Stories from the Vale of Tears', with Ensemble Leones (recorded in April 2010, forthcoming with NAXOS).