Some current research by staff of the Department of Music

A

Bernice Mitchell is engaged in researching law-court records from London in the first half of the 18th century, for the light they throw on the city's professional music world of the time. While the materials are familiar to legal researchers, this is thought to be the first time that their relevance to the history of music has been recognised. One objective of the research is to provide guidance on access to the materials and on their interpretation, in the expectation that more scholars will be encouraged to investigate this fascinating resource. To date, Mitchell 's research has concentrated on the opera houses, and the documents have yielded considerable new insights into numerous issues, including their management, contracts with singers, musicians and composers, their working conditions, and performance fees. Mitchell is about to broaden her research, to include a detailed comparison between the 18th- and 21st-century conditions in which opera houses flourished - or not, as the case may be.

B

James Rowe's project is being carried out in collaboration with London's Science Museum. Visitors are asked to participate in a series of experiments designed to yield information about the effect of music on the perception of time passing, and so far, more than 800 people have taken part. Participants listen to a piece of music, and are then asked about its duration and their responses to it, including enjoyment and familiarity. They are also asked about personal details, including their musical preferences and level of musical training, if any. Preliminary findings indicate that people who enjoy the music think it lasted longer than those who dislike it. In a follow-up experiment, visitors are asked to memorise a list of random words while listening: this appears to have the effect of shortening the perceived duration of the music. Some of the findings are in line with current theories in psychology about the perception of time, while others appear to contradict them. The results of the research will be published next

year.

C

The topic that Colin Saunderson has chosen for his current research is the creative milieu of Paris in the early 20th century when musicians, painters, sculptors, intellectuals and many others contributed to a ferment of creativity that left its mark on all concerned. Although the topic has already been well researched, a recently discovered archive of unpublished letters is proving a mine of information on the response of the common man and woman - the concert audiences - to the immense creativity they observed. It is also adding some surprising detail on the mannerisms of several famous musicians. The research takes into account amateur music-making at that time, and the use of music in plays. Saunderson hopes the volume he is engaged in writing will provide a more nuanced view of that world than many of the existing studies. One section will quote extensively from the letters, with the extracts presented on a month-by-month basis. The intention is that this will give the reader a sense of history unfolding in front of their eyes.

D

Ray Hutchinson has published numerous books and  articles on the physical and psychological demands of music-making, and in his latest research, he is focusing on how musicians manage the daily challenge of making ends meet, and the influence of career insecurity on their way of life. Many of those who are not on the payroll of a permanent orchestra or music college Iive a hand-to mouth existence, all too often forced to supplement their meagre and sporadic income by working in ways that will allow them to take time off when the musical engagements come in; for example, Hutchinson interviewed a professional flautist whose bread-and-butter job, rather incongruously, is as a butler who can be hired by the day! Hutchinson's aim is not only to discover the survival strategies that musicians employ, but also to share tips and resources, in order to help them to maximise their professional opportunities.