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Chant Manuscripts

Partner(s): Susan Boynton - Music Department

Medieval manuscripts, oftentimes secured tightly in library preserves, are being digitized and scholarly research is being brightly lit up with images, audio, and digital analysis on this site. Supported by a Hybrid Learning Award from Columbia University's Office of the Provost. The media is available to the web-connected world thanks to the students' digital exhibits.

Professor Boynton's graduate seminar, Historical Musicology in the Medieval Ages, is centered around 14th-century medieval manuscripts with a particular focus on Western Manuscript 097 which is held in Columbia University's Rare Books and Manuscripts Library (RBML).

The digital photographs of the manuscript allow for unconstrained viewing access not only for the class but also for those interested in chant manuscripts on the web. The class will be contributing to this community by developing online exhibits with these digital copies in a searchable, organized manner. The exhibit features carefully vetted metadata content, in-depth analysis of Western Manuscript 097 & Plimpton 034, translations from Latin into English, audio chants, and a system for collecting additional manuscripts.

Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL) educational technologists and media producers recorded the Columbia-produced performance at the Church of Notre Dame. The work of the class was placed on the Omeka platform, a content management system often used by libraries and museums for digital exhibits.

Access: Public
Status: Active

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