Denis William Stevens CBE (2 March 1922 – 1 April 2004) was a British

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

specialising in

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750) or Ancient music (before 500 AD). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad Dates of classical ...

, conductor, professor of

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and radio producer.

Early years

He was born in

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

and attended the Royal Grammar School there. From that school, he won a scholarship to read modern languages at Jesus College, Oxford in 1940. During World War II, he served as a cryptanalyst in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. After the war, he returned to Oxford to complete his degree. From 1949 to 1954, he was a producer at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Third Programme. In 1951, together with John McCarthy, Stevens founded the Ambrosian Singers.

Career

Among his many other works, Stevens completed the task of producing the Supplementary Volume to the 5th edition of '' Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', which Eric Blom had not been able to complete by the time of Blom's death in 1959. The Supplementary Volume was published in 1961. He also contributed to '' The Stereo Record Guide'' through 1968. From 1964 to 1976, he was professor of musicology at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, New York and during this period often wrote collaboratively with others such as music critic Alec Robertson. In 1995, he was appointed as visiting professor at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the institution which now houses his extensive Monteverdi library. Best known for his work on early

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Italian composers, especially

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string instrument, string player. A composer of both Secular music, secular and Church music, sacred music, and a pioneer ...

, and for his pioneering concerts and recordings with the Accademia Monteverdiana (which he founded), Stevens was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 1984.

Bibliography

*Stevens, Denis. (1949). ''In nomine - Altenglische Kammermusik, für vier und fünf Stimmen''. Bärenreiter. *Stevens, Denis. (1951). ''The Mulliner Book - Eleven pieces for keyboard instruments''. Stainer & Bell. *Stevens, Denis. (1952). ''The Mulliner Book - A Commentary''. Stainer & Bell. *Stevens, Denis. (1957). ''Thomas Tomkins, 1572–1656''. Macmillan. *Stevens, Denis. (1961). ''Tudor Church Music, 1572–1656''. Faber & Faber. *Tallis, Thomas; Stevens, Denis. (1961). ''Five hymns - A Cappella, Volume 1''. Associated Music Publishers. *Tallis, Thomas; Stevens, Denis. (1961). ''Five hymns - Deus Tuorum Millitum (SAATB)''. Associated Music Publishers. *Tallis, Thomas; Stevens, Denis. (1961). ''Five hymns - Jam Christus astra ascenderat (SATTB)''. Associated Music Publishers. *Grove, George; Blom, Eric; Stevens, Denis. (1961). ''Dictionary of Music and musicians: Supplementary Volume''. St Martin's Press. *Robertson, Alec; Stevens, Denis. (1962). ''A History of Music''. Cassell. *Stevens, Denis. (1965). ''Altenglische Orgelmusik - Manualiter''. Bärenreiter. *Caldwell, John; Stevens, Denis. (1966). ''Early Tudor Organ Music, Volume 6''. Stainer and Bell. *Stevens, Denis. (1967). ''English Madrigals - For Four Voices''. Penguin Books. *Robertson, Alec; Stevens, Denis. (1969). ''Pelican History of Music, Harmondsworth, Volumes 1–3''. Penguin Books. *Stevens, Denis. (1970). ''English Madrigals - For Five Voices''. Penguin Books. *Stevens, Denis (ed.); et al. (1970). ''Music in Honour of St. Thomas of Canterbury (1118–1170), for Soloists, Choir, Organ Or Other Instruments''. Kent: Novello. *Yonge, Nicolas; Stevens, Denis. (1972). ''Musica Transalpina''. Gregg International. *Robertson, Alec; Stevens, Denis. (1973). ''The Pelican History of Music - Renaissance and Baroque''. Penguin Books. *Robertson, Alec; Stevens, Denis. (1977). ''Historia General de la Música. 1 - Antiguas Formas de Polifonía''. *Conforti, Giovanni Luca; Stevens, Denis. (1981). ''Musicology: A Practical Guide''. Pro/Am Music Resources. *Monteverdi, Claudio; Stevens, Denis. (1983). ''L' Orfeo: Favola in Música - Venice 1615''. Gregg International. *Marcello, Benedetto; Stevens, Denis; et el. (1985). ''Salmo decimoquinto: from Estro poetico-armonico, Vol. III - for alto voice, cello and basso continuo, Issue 15''. Grancino Editions. *Stevens, Denis. (1989). ''The Joy of Ornamentation - Rome 1593''. Schirmer Books. *Robertson, Alec; Stevens, Denis. (1990). ''Geschichte der Musik, Volume 1''. Pawlak. *Robertson, Alec; Stevens, Denis. (1993). ''Historia General de la Música - Volume 2''. Istmo. *Stevens, Denis. (1997). ''Early Music''. Kahn & Averill. *Stevens, Denis. (2001). ''Monteverdi in Venice''. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. *Arnold, Franck Thomas; Stevens, Denis. (2003). ''The Art of Accompaniment from a Thorough-bass: As Practised in the XVIIth & XVIIIth Centuries, Volume 1''. Courier Corporation.

References

External links

Obituary in The Guardian, 14 April 2004
at {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Denis 1922 births 2004 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford People educated at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British musicologists British expatriates in Myanmar British people in colonial India Monteverdi scholars BBC radio producers