David Fallows (born 20 December 1945) is an English

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

specializing in music of the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and early

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

, as well as the

performance practice Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of classical music, which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of the musical era in which ...

of music. He is a leader in fifteenth-century music studies, particularly secular song,

Guillaume Dufay Guillaume Du Fay ( , ; also Dufay, Du Fayt; 5 August 1397(?) – 27 November 1474) was a French composer and music theorist of the early Renaissance. Considered the leading European composer of his time, his music was widely performed and repr ...

, and

Josquin des Prez Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez ( – 27 August 1521) was a composer of High Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he was a central figure of the ...

, both the subject of landmark biographies Fallows has written.

Biography

Fallows was born in

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.BA from Jesus College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, his Masters of Music from

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King G ...

, and his Ph.D. (1978) from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

.Rosemary Williamson; He is an early music performer as a

viol The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...

player and continuo

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

ist, performing with the Studio der frühen Musik, Musica Mundana, and Musica Reservata. He taught at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

starting in 1976, where he is now Emeritus Professor of Musicology. Visiting appointments include

University of Wisconsin, Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universiti ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

and the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hi ...

. He received the Dent Medal in 1982, became

Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is t ...

in 1994, a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # ...

in 1997, a Corresponding Member of the

American Musicological Society The American Musicological Society (AMS) is a musicological organization which researches, promotes and produces publications on music. Founded in 1934, the AMS was begun by leading American musicologists of the time, and was crucial in legitim ...

in 1999, and an Honorary Member of the

Royal Musical Association The Royal Musical Association (RMA) is a British scholarly society and charity. Founded in 1874, the Association claims to be the second oldest musicological society in the world, after that of the Netherlands. Activities include organizing and sp ...

in 2012. From 2002–2007, he was president of the

International Musicological Society The International Musicological Society (IMS) is a membership-based organisation for musicology at the international level, with headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. It seeks the advancement of musicological research through international coopera ...

. His contributions were honoured with a

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the ...

, ''Essays on Renaissance Music in Honour of David Fallows: Bon jour, bon mois, et bonne estrenne.''Fabrice Fitch and Jacobijn Kiel, editors, ''Essays on Renaissance Music in Honour of David Fallows: Bon jour, bon mois, et bonne estrenne.'' (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2011).

Work

David Fallows's work has been called "pioneering" on the lives of composers and of the ensembles that performed music, and having covered "just about every aspect of fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century music." Among Fallows's first publications was, "Ciconia padre e figlio" (Ciconia: father and son; 1976), which theorized that the current biography of Johannes Ciconia was primarily that of his father, and that the composer himself was born about thirty-five years later. This theory has become the accepted biography of the composer. Also during his doctoral studies he reconstructed the origins of the important fourteenth-century polyphonic manuscripts in

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the ...

("L'origine du MS. 1328 de Cambrai"). His 1978 dissertation, " Robert Morton's Songs" was among Fallows's first works on English Renaissance music and fifteenth-century song, repertories that have concerned him throughout his life (including in his 2014 Musica Britannica volume on English song, 1380–1480). These studies formed the basis for his comprehensive ''A Catalogue of Polyphonic Songs, 1415–1480'' (Oxford 1999). A major article on the life of

Johannes Regis Johannes Regis (French: ''Jehan Leroy''; – ) was a Netherlandish composer of the Renaissance. He was a well-known composer at the close of the 15th century, was a principal contributor to the Chigi Codex, and was secretary to Guillaume Dufay. ...

(1989) also had a transformative impact on the understanding of the composer. His 2009 study of the life and works of

(Brepols) has been praised for understanding the conflicting information recently unearthed about the composer as well as presenting new hypotheses and understanding of the composer's music in light of new discoveries. Fallows's 1982 monograph ''Dufay'' is the principal reference work on the life and works of the composer

. He has edited and introduced facsimile publications of the Songbook of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, the manuscript

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, Canon. Misc 213, the Chansonnier Cordiforme, and others. As senior consulting editor for

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

, Fallows contributed many major articles along with many small articles on musical diacritics (tempo and expression marks) and miscellany such as "Spoof Articles."David Fallows, "," in ''The

New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'', 2nd Edition (London: Macmillan, 2001).

References

External links

Research page at University of Manchester
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fallows, David 1945 births Living people People from Buxton Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Alumni of King's College London International Musicological Society presidents University of California, Berkeley alumni English musicologists Josquin scholars Du Fay scholars