William Byrd at Lincoln: A Symposium

Please find the Call for Papers below. We will update this event for those who wish to attend with more information once the details are ready.

William Byrd at Lincoln: A Symposium Commemorating the 400th Anniversary of the Composer’s Death 3-4 July 2023, Lincoln Cathedral Call for Papers 2023 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd. Lincoln Cathedral was Byrd’s first known place of employment. While in Lincoln, Byrd worked as Organist and Master of the Choristers from 1563-72, married his wife Julian, who came from a Lincolnshire family, and had his first children. Even after his departure, Byrd continued to receive payments for the continued provision of new music to the cathedral. Lincoln Cathedral is hosting a festival of events on the weekend of 30 June-4 July 2023 and invites the academic community (in its broadest sense) to a symposium that will take place on 3-4 July, in conjunction with Byrd-themed choral services and the dedication of a new memorial to Byrd at the final Evensong. The organisers welcome proposals from any aspects of Byrd’s life, times, and music - and from any disciplinary perspective - but would particular encouraging suggestions on the following topics:

• Byrd’s early career and employment at Lincoln Cathedral, and his recruitment of choristers from the region
• The musical, liturgical and religio-political context of Lincoln Cathedral and surrounding areas in the 1560-70s
• Byrd’s early compositions
• Byrd’s liturgical music for the Elizabethan Church during his time at Lincoln or afterwards
• Byrd’s organ and keyboard music
• The wider socio-cultural context of Lincoln in the 1560-70s
• Music, liturgy, and theology, especially in the early Elizabethan Church
• The musical and theological reception of Byrd’s music at Lincoln Cathedral or beyond, from the sixteenth century to the present day
• Early modern prints or manuscripts from the library of Lincoln Cathedral

Possible formats include:

• Individual 20-minute papers
• Lecture recitals of 30 minutes
• 90-minute panels of 2-3 papers
• Roundtables of 90 minutes

Proposals should consist of two pages. On page one please include:

• The name, contact details, and institutional affiliation (if any) of all participants
• A brief 80-100 word bio for each participant
• Details of any audio-visual or logistical requirements, including any accessibility needs

On page two please include:

• For individual papers or lecture-recitals, the title of the paper/recital plus an abstract of no more than 250 words
• Proposals for panels, a panel title, a panel overview of no more than 150 words, individual paper titles, and paper abstracts of no more than 250 words
• For roundtables, a session title and an overview of no more than 500 words describing the nature of the roundtable and the contributions of each of the proposal participants
• Please do not include any identifying information on page 2

Proposals should be submitted to Katherine.butler@northumbria.ac.uk by 30th June 2022