Role Musician Name David Munrow | Labels EMI,Argos,and Archiv Years active 10 | |
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Genres Pre-Classical, or Early Music Occupation(s) Musician, and broadcaster Albums Music of the Gothic Era Similar People James Bowman, Neville Marriner, Philip Pickett, Alfred Deller, Raymond Leppard | ||
David munrow
David John Munrow (12 August 1942 – 15 May 1976) was a British musician and early music historian.
Contents
- David munrow
- The courtly art of the trouv res david munrow the early music consort of london 1976
- Biography and career
- Personal life
- Death
- Legacy
- Selected discography
- Awards and recognitions
- References
The courtly art of the trouv res david munrow the early music consort of london 1976
Biography and career
Munrow was born in Birmingham and both his parents taught at the University of Birmingham. His mother Hilda Ivy (née Norman) Munrow (1905-1985) was a dance teacher, and father Albert Davis "Dave" Munrow (1908-1975) was a lecturer and physical education instructor who wrote a book on the subject.
Munrow attended King Edward's School until 1960. He excelled academically and was noted for his treble voice. He was lent a bassoon and returned in about a fortnight able to play it remarkably well.
In 1960 he went to Peru, teaching English under the British Council student teacher scheme. He returned with Bolivian flutes and other obscure instruments. Whilst reading English for his master's degree at Pembroke College, Cambridge, he noticed a crumhorn on a friend's wall, which prompted him to commence an independent study of early musical instruments. From his starting position as a pianist, singer and bassoonist he taught himself many old instruments. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company as a bassoonist but soon played instruments of Shakespeare's time. Although he displayed talent on a wide variety of instruments, he had a particular lasting influence as a recorder player. His English style of discreet, controlled expression contrasts with the greater tonal flexibility of the Continental style espoused by the Dutch recorder player Frans Brüggen and others.
By 1967 he was a lecturer in early music at the University of Leicester, having married Gillian Veronica Reid the previous year. With Christopher Hogwood he formed the Early Music Consort, each of whose core members was an expert on their particular instruments. Sometimes other professional musicians were employed when necessary, such as Nigel North and Robert Spencer, both highly regarded lutenists. From 1968, he toured the world, unearthing obscure instruments in every country he visited. He commissioned reconstructions of instruments related to the cornett and rackett from, amongst others, Otto Steinkopf. Two television programmes made him a household name: The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970) and Elizabeth R (1971), and he also scored the feature film adaptation of the former, Henry VIII and His Six Wives, in 1972.
Munrow's two contributions to film music were for British directors:
During his relatively short life, Munrow released over fifty records, some of which are now available on CD. In addition to his recordings with the Early Music Consort, he recorded with Michael Morrow's Musica Reservata, Alfred Deller and The King's Singers. Munrow recorded Bach and Monteverdi many times, but his widest influence was in the Medieval and Renaissance periods. His three-record set with the Early Music Consort The Art of the Netherlands, issued in 1976 (EMI SLS5049), was particularly influential in popularising the genre.
On BBC Radio 3 he presented Pied Piper, a multi-ethnic, centuries-spanning spread of music from Monteverdi to the Electric Light Orchestra rock group. Munrow also had dealings notably with The Young Tradition and Shirley and Dolly Collins.
Apart from his regular radio slot and other programmes, he appeared on television, most notably on BBC 2 in a series entitled Ancestral Voices in a London studio, and on ITV Early Musical Instruments, filmed on location at Ordsall Hall in Salford. He also wrote one book entitled Instruments of the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. Originally, this accompanied a record set of the same name.
Personal life
Munrow's personal interests were travel, sailing, jazz and antiques. He was also a linguist. In addition, he wrote some articles on music, especially for his own recordings.
Death
In 1976 Munrow committed suicide by hanging himself while in a state of depression; the recent deaths of his father and father-in-law, to whom he dedicated his sole book, are thought to have contributed to his decision to take his own life. He had, however, attempted suicide by drug overdose the previous year.
Legacy
Munrow perhaps did more than anyone else in the second half of the 20th century to popularise early music in Great Britain, despite a career lasting barely ten years. This was underscored when the Voyager space probe committee selected one of his recordings to be carried on it as part of the Voyager Golden Record.
Munrow left behind him not only his recordings but a large collection of musical instruments. The Munrow Archive at the Royal Academy of Music holds a collection of his letters, papers, TV scripts, scores, musical compositions and books. The collection is accessible to the public. The online catalogue of the British Library Sound Archive reveals his many recording entries, and those of many other notable people.
Information about the life and work of David Munrow can be found in obituaries about him in 1976 (particularly the OUP journal Early Music), and in the following sources: a detailed piece in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography by Christopher Hogwood; The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians; The Art of David Munrow, a record set with a biography by Arthur Johnson, the producer of Pied Piper and on the old vinyl sleeve of the Renaissance Suite.
Selected discography
Awards and recognitions
Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance: