Early Modern Songscapes
The "Early Modern Songscapes" website mapped changes in music and lyrics across space and time with a focus on "ayres," songs that emphasize the clear communication of text and that typically include instrumental accompaniment. The website contained, Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) and Music Encoding Initiative (MEI) editions of a selected corpus of early modern songs, together with audio and video recordings of those songs in performance. It was a resource for teachers, researchers, and practitioners provides insight into the movement of song across diverse textual and performance contexts.
The project represented all songs included in the first book of Henry Lawes's Ayres and Dialogues, printed in 1653, which exemplifies the period's synergy between poetry and music. In engaging with this collection, the Early Modern Songscapes project prioritized encounters with the fragmentation and ephemerality that characterized the song culture of this period—providing multiple versions of individual songs (including in recording) and emphasizing how a particular song might have appeared in various guises and contexts ranging from the household to the stage.
The project was directed by researchers from University of Toronto, University of Maryland, and University of South Carolina and co-developed by University of Toronto Scarborough and University of Maryland.
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The variant pop-up annotations for editions can only be viewed when the viewer is set to full screen (using the 'monitor' icon in the top left of the viewer). These annotations are present in the following editions: "Come heavy Souls," "Theseus, O Theseus," and "Venus, redress a wrong."
If an audio or video file is displaying an error when clicked to play, refresh the Web Archive page using the circular arrow icon in the top left of the viewer. If this does not work, wait a minute and try again. It may take a couple of attempts depending on the size of the file.