Music in Twentieth-Century Oxford: New Directions

The first book length study of musical education and culture in twentieth century Oxford.

Music has always played a central role in the life of Oxford, both in the city and the university, whether through the great collegiate choral foundations, the many amateur choirs and instrumentalists, or the professional musicians regularly drawn to perform there. Oxford, with its collegiate system and its centuries-long tradition of musical activity, therefore presents a distinctive and multi-layered picture of the role of music in urban culture and university life.

While college and university life dominate the volume, the collection also draws attention to the city's musical life, underlining music's unique ability to link 'town and gown'. Volume chapters tackle varied subjects such the Oxford Bach Choir, music in the city churches and the major choral foundations. The volume also tells the story of the development of the University's Music Faculty, music in the women's colleges, and the University Opera Club. Special attention is given to prominent Oxford composers, including Edmund Rubbra, Kenneth Leighton and Robert Saxton. The University College Musical Society and the Oxford and Cambridge Musical Club, which served as a kind of laboratory for such significant figures as Ralph Vaughan Williams and Walford Davies, also feature prominently. The volume will be indispensable reading for scholars and students of music in twentieth-century Britain, as well as those interested more generally in the history of Oxford's thriving cultural life in the university, its colleges and the city.