David Munrow
| David Munrow | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 August 1942 |
| Origin | Birmingham, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 15 May 1976 (aged 33) Chesham Bois, England |
| Genres | Early music |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, broadcaster |
| Instruments | Recorder, shawm, crumhorn, dulcian |
| Years active | 10 |
| Labels | EMI, Argos and Archiv |
| Associated acts | Early Music Consort of London |
David John Munrow (12 August 1942 – 15 May 1976) was a British musician and early music historian.
Munrow was born in Birmingham and both his parents taught at the University of Birmingham. His mother Hilda Ivy (née Norman) Munrow (1905-1985) was a dance teacher, and father Albert Davis "Dave" Munrow (1908-1975) was a lecturer and physical education instructor who wrote a book on the subject.
Munrow attended King Edward's School until 1960. He excelled academically and was noted for his treble voice. He was lent a bassoon and returned in about a fortnight able to play it remarkably well.
In 1960 he went to Peru, teaching English under the British Council student teacher scheme. He returned with Bolivian flutes and other obscure instruments. Whilst reading English for his master's degree at Pembroke College, Cambridge, he noticed a crumhorn on a friend's wall, which prompted him to commence an independent study of early musical instruments. From his starting position as a pianist, singer and bassoonist he taught himself many old instruments. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company as a bassoonist but soon played instruments of Shakespeare's time. Although he displayed talent on a wide variety of instruments, he had a particular lasting influence as a recorder player. His English style of discreet, controlled expression contrasts with the greater tonal flexibility of the Continental style espoused by the Dutch recorder player Frans Brüggen and others.
By 1967 he was a lecturer in early music at the University of Leicester, having married Gillian Veronica Reid the previous year. With Christopher Hogwood he formed the Early Music Consort, each of whose core members was an expert on their particular instruments. Sometimes other professional musicians were employed when necessary, such as Nigel North and Robert Spencer, both highly regarded lutenists. From 1968, he toured the world, unearthing obscure instruments in every country he visited. He commissioned reconstructions of instruments related to the cornett and rackett from, amongst others, Otto Steinkopf. Two television programmes made him a household name: The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970) and Elizabeth R (1971), and he also scored the feature film adaptation of the former, Henry VIII and His Six Wives, in 1972.
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