Almost five centuries ago, a community of monks in the West Country of England gathered to sing and implore their God to help them endure the challenges of medieval life.
Thanks to an extraordinary musical discovery from the 15th century, the songs created by the Buckland Abbey monks filled the hills and woods of the Tavy Valley in Devon this weekend.
The themes are heavy – disease, crop failures, and powerful rulers – but the polyphonic style is bright and joyful, contrary to expectations of mournful chants associated with monks.
Prof James Clark, a University of Exeter historian, said, “It’s an extraordinary rich, textured sound. They’re all singing together but following different melodies. It’s a sort of melodious cacophony of sound.”
Clark discovered the music while researching Buckland Abbey for the National Trust. Only one book, held in the British Library, was known to exist.
Clark found parchment leaves containing pieces of chant – text and notation – at the back of the book. He said, “Those leaves contained pieces of chant. Though there were 800-plus monasteries in medieval England, you can count on one hand pieces of music that survived.”
The bulk of the book was written in the 15th century, but Clark was able to date the music to the early 16th century. He said, “That made it especially exciting because it transports us to that last generation of monks of the medieval English tradition that had been there for a millennium.”
Derkeham, an organist and choirmaster, was hired to improve the singing of the dozen monks who lived at Buckland and the local boys brought in to sing the treble parts.
Clark said the music was a response to cultural change, aiming to impress patrons and keep up with the times.
Derkeham remained at the monastery for more than 15 years, until it was closed and he was pensioned off.
The text is dark, calling out to an Old Testament God for protection, defense against avenging angels, and expressing despair.
Clark said, “This helps us return to an understanding that medieval religion was a sensory experience. If we’re going to do these people who died 500 years ago some sort of justice as historians, we’ve got to understand the world as they saw it and experienced it.”
The book has been loaned to Buckland by the British Library and can be viewed at the abbey.
