Medieval polyphony in technicolour

Abstract

The editorial board of Early English Church Music has celebrated the publication of its 50th volume by producing a lavish colour facsimile of Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, Ms.473. Familiarly (and appropriately, as Susan Rankin shows) known as the Winchester Troper, the manuscript contains a tonary together with a repertory of alleluias, Proper and Ordinary tropes, sequences, proses, and organa for the Mass and Office of the Old Minster, Winchester. Rankin dates the main copying of the manuscript to the 1020s and 1030s on the basis of palaeographical evidence, and traces subsequent layers of emendation and addition through to the early 12th century. The value of the facsimile speaks for itself. The openings are reproduced in high-quality colour photographs at life-size (with two openings reproduced per page of the large-format book, but with sufficient white space between them that there is no visual confusion). This would, even without any introduction, be a hugely valued resource for scholars in the field as well as being appreciated by those who value sumptuous presentations of beautiful medieval artefacts.