Singing the Archives

Experience the audible history of the medieval music manuscripts in the University of South Carolina’s Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. Beginning in the Spring semester of 2023 under the direction of Associate Professor of Music History Sarah Williams, undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Music recorded historically-informed performances of plainchant manuscripts in the collection dating from the 13th through the 16th centuries. Read about their process of rehearsing, recording, editing transcriptions, creating performing editions for singers, practicing historical singing styles, and “re-learning” music in the project blog.