School of Arts and Creative Technologies
Gilly French
MA by research
Thesis
Thesis Title & Description
The life and works of Edmund Hooper, the first designated Organist of Westminster Abbey.
- Supervisor: Prof Jo Wainwright
My aim is to present scholarly editions of a broad selection of Hooper’s anthems and to assess his historical position in relation to his contemporaries. In addition to transcriptions and an accompanying critical commentary, it will include a biographical selection and others on church music of the time, the available sources, and performance practice.
Biography
Biography
My first masters’ degree was in physical chemistry, in the early 1980s, and I have since taught in secondary schools in Gloucestershire and London. Alongside I have continually pursued in-depth musical activities, being the founder and artistic director of an internationally-renowned specialist opera company as well as a singer and choral conductor. My interest in early English church music has arisen out of the work of Floreat, a small consort which I founded in 2016 and both sing in and direct.
Research
Research Interests
English Church Music
