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The Place of the Organ in the Medieval Parish Church

Church organ

The Place of the Organ in the Medieval Parish Church

By Martin Renshaw

Journal of the British Institute of Organ Studies, Vol.37 (2013)

Church organ

Introduction: When first challenged in early 2008 to find out about the state of the organ in late medieval England, this author, perhaps naturally, thought that a search for the medieval organ should start with written sources. Thanks to the administrative structures developed by Henry VII and his ministers, England was a country where record-keeping had become important. The survival of documents from more than 500 years ago however is likely to be very patchy and the range of possible sources broad, but the first stage in tracking down surviving documents for parish churches and a substantial number of colleges and monasteries up to the 1640s has now been completed. Serendipity has brought other sources of contemporary comment on organs to attention and, though rare, other clues have been discovered through mentions in later books on related subjects. About three hundred churchwardens’ accounts have been examined, with about forty more to be seen in local record offices.

Using this documentation along with other published work, a list of eight hundred existing parish churches with a priori evidence of organs has been drawn up, forming the basis for exploration of medieval churches for physical evidence of liturgical musical arrangements, including organs. It is hoped that this article — the report of a work in progress – will inform and enable a systematic and more complete survey by a wider group of enthusiasts.

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