New music inspired by old Hispanic chant

Countless composers have turned to the Middle Ages for inspiration, a practice described by Pugh and Weisl as ‘medievalism.’ Multiple strategies have been developed, ranging from use of existing medieval melodies to being inspired by medieval art or architecture. In what is perhaps the most familiar approach, composers use identifiable musical signposts that signify –to modern audiences –an imagined medieval sound. For example, in much music by Tavener, the medieval past is arguably evoked through recognisable modern signifiers rather than building on concrete aspects of medieval Greek chant. Use of such signifiers relies on listeners recognising stereotyped ideas of medieval music. Many of the prevailing strategies adopted by composers since the 19th century are explored in detail in the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Music and Medievalism. In the present article, we discuss an example of recent practice-based research falling under the umbrella of ‘creative medievalism.’ The works discussed here were generated through collaborative research undertaken by a composer and a group of medievalists