A community of monks in the West Country of England composed music in the early 16th century that reflects the challenges of their life. Recent discovery of this music, found in the Buckland Book at the British Library, includes chant text and notation. The pieces contrast with traditional mournful monk chants through their bright and joyful polyphony. Historian Prof James Clark highlights the scarcity of surviving medieval English music, making this finding significant in understanding the last generation of monks at Buckland Abbey.
The themes are heavy the threats from disease and crop failures, not to mention powerful rulers but the polyphonic style is bright and joyful.
Clark found the music while researching Buckland Abbey for the National Trust, discovering some leaves of parchment containing pieces of chant text and notation.
Though there were 800-plus monasteries in medieval England, you can count almost on one hand pieces of music that survived.
The Buckland Book was discovered in the British Library, and in its back were leaves containing previously lost music from the early 16th century.
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