Éditions de l'Oiseau-Lyre (commonly referred to as L'Oiseau-Lyre) is a French music publishing company and a classical music

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

that specialises in Early and Baroque music. It was founded in 1932 as a publisher of scholarly editions of Early music that had never been previously published. Its specialist recording arm, developed from the 1960s onwards, grew into a specialist label that is now a part of

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

History

The company was financed and established in Paris in 1932 by Louise Dyer (later Hanson-Dyer), an Australian pianist and philanthropist. Dyer had settled in France two years earlier and energetically amassed a collection of manuscripts and printed music, lyrics and dissertations of the Early, Baroque and Classical music periods. "L'Oiseau-Lyre", the French name for the Australian

lyrebird A lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds that compose the genus ''Menura'', and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their impressive ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environ ...

, was chosen by her; the company logo was a representation of the (displaying male) bird's tail. Dyer's aim was to produce historical editions of European composers of the 15th to 19th Centuries. The first project was an ''Oeuvres complètes'' (Complete Works) of François Couperin. No expense was spared in scholarship or printing, and the resulting 12-volume collection was published in 1933, the 200th anniversary of the composer's death. She was appointed ''chevalier'' of the ''

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

'' in 1934 in recognition of this achievement. She moved the company to

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

in 1948 after a hiatus attributable to WWII. Louise died in 1962, and her (second) husband Jeff Hanson continued publication of fine editions, but moved the company's focus to producing high-quality recordings. Jeff Hanson died the following year but Margarita M. Hanson, his second wife, continued to run the publishing business until 1996. Under her guidance, the 25-volume ''Polyphonic Music of the Fourteenth Century'' was published, followed by the ''Magnus Liber Organi'' and ''Le Grand Clavier'' series, much with the substantial collaboration and financial assistance of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

.current publications of Éditions de l'Oiseau-Lyre
/ref> Margarita retired in 1995, and control of the company was passed to Davitt Moroney, a harpsichordist and music scholar who had been with the firm since 1981. Following Davitt Moroney’s departure in 2001,

Kenneth Gilbert Kenneth Albert Gilbert (December 16, 1931 – April 15, 2020) was a Canadian harpsichordist, organist, musicologist, and music educator. Biography Born in Montreal, Gilbert studied at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal under ...

became Président délégué, bringing the seven-volume Magnus Liber Organi series to conclusion. A number of new editions were also released, including Louis Couperin’s Organ works and revised reprints of earlier Oiseau-Lyre editions. Le
Éditions de l’Oiseau-Lyre
ended its presence in Europe in 2013, reverting to the parent holding, Lyrebird Press, at the University of Melbourne. The Hanson-Dyer collection is now in the Louise Hanson-Dyer Music Library at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Record Label

The recording arm of Oiseau-Lyre developed by Jeff Hanson produced an extensive catalogue of hundreds of LP records featuring rare and previously unrecorded Early and Baroque music, often performed by young artists. Oiseau-Lyre was the first record company to issue 33rpm LPs in France. The technical side of the recordings was handled by engineers from the Decca Recording Company. In 1970, Hanson sold the recording branch to Decca, which continued using the Oiseau-Lyre name as their specialised Early music label. Peter Wadland took over as label manager of L'Oiseau-Lyre and developed a recording partnership with the Academy of Ancient Music and Christopher Hogwood (

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest Eng ...

's theatre music, Mozart's complete symphonies,

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

's complete symphonies and piano concertos). Many noted Oiseau-Lyre recordings feature performances by artists on "

period instruments In the historically informed performance movement, musicians perform classical music using restored or replicated versions of the instruments for which it was originally written. Often performances by such musicians are said to be "on authentic ...

", including

fortepiano A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. Mo ...

recordings of the

Beethoven piano sonatas Ludwig van Beethoven wrote 32 mature piano sonatas between 1795 and 1822. (He also wrote 3 juvenile sonatas at the age of 13 and one unfinished sonata, WoO. 51.) Although originally not intended to be a meaningful whole, as a set they comprise one ...

played by

Malcolm Binns Malcolm Binns (born 29 January 1936) is a British classical pianist. Biography Malcolm Binns was born in Nottingham, England, in 1936. He studied music at the Royal College of Music in London from 1952 to 1956, including piano with Arthur Alexan ...

, and a number of

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

recordings by

The Consort of Musicke The Consort of Musicke is a British early-music group, founded in 1969 by lutenist Anthony Rooley, the ensemble's Artistic Director. Members of the group have included such well-known artists as sopranos Emma Kirkby and Evelyn Tubb, alto Mary Ni ...

and

Anthony Rooley Anthony Rooley (born 10 June 1944 in Leeds) is a British lutenist. Career In 1969, Rooley founded and directed the early music ensemble The Consort of Musicke, which continues to be one of the chief vehicles for his inspiration, among many o ...

References

External links

Catalogue of musical scores in the Éditions de l'Oiseau-Lyre at the University of MelbourneÉditions de l'Oiseau-Lyre recordings at Discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Editions De L'oiseau Lyre Music publishing companies of France Publishing companies established in 1932 1932 establishments in France Sheet music publishing companies Classical music record labels Early music record labels