Bruno Turner
Encyclopedia
Bruno Turner is a British musicologist, choral conductor, broadcaster, publisher and businessman.
of London. Turner has written frequently on early music
, performance practice
and the rival elements in singing. In the debate on the use of vibrato
in renaissance
choral music Turner has consistently advocated less vibrato, but not no vibrato. "Counterpoint is only one element in the music, there is expression too and you should allow your voice to be coloured and not sing like an automaton". Turner also writes as a reviewer for Early Music (magazine).
Archiv in the late 1970s was influential.
Life
The son of a motor spares magnate, Turner went on holiday to Sweden shortly after the Second World War. Discovering that their wallcovering industry (in effect, wallpaper for commercial premises) was unaffected due to the country's neutral status, Turner realised the potential in post-war England which he rightfully expected would experience a boom in building after the damage it had experienced at the hands of the Luftwaffe. On the spot, he bought vast amounts and had them shipped to England. Despite the fury of his father, Turner proved right in his evaluation and the stock was almost instantly sold out. Upon inheriting the company, Turner fully switched the ailing company from motor spares to wallcovering, thereby saving many jobs in a depressed part of London. Furthermore, having experienced a brief spell of unemployment in his youth, Turner sought to create a more humanitarian company where a job would be for life and worked and where redundancy was almost unknown.Mapa Mundi
With his cashflow secure from Turner Wallcoverings, Bruno also turned his attention to promotion of the arts as a commentator and writer and as a conductor. In 1977 he created Mapa Mundi, a company dedicated to publishing Medieval music, a venture that again proved successful.Musicologist and Conductor
Turner was a Catholic choirmaster until Vatican II, a radio broadcaster since 1958, and active as conductor and speaker. Turner is the founding conductor of Pro Cantione AntiquaPro Cantione Antiqua
Pro Cantione Antiqua of London are a British choral group who were founded in 1968 by Tenor James Griffett, Counter-tenor Paul Esswood, and conductor and producer Mark Brown. From an early stage they were closely associated with conductor and musicologist Bruno Turner...
of London. Turner has written frequently on early music
Early music
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
, performance practice
Historically informed performance
Historically informed performance is an approach in the performance of music and theater. Within this approach, the performance adheres to state-of-the-art knowledge of the aesthetic criteria of the period in which the music or theatre work was conceived...
and the rival elements in singing. In the debate on the use of vibrato
Vibrato
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
in renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
choral music Turner has consistently advocated less vibrato, but not no vibrato. "Counterpoint is only one element in the music, there is expression too and you should allow your voice to be coloured and not sing like an automaton". Turner also writes as a reviewer for Early Music (magazine).
Selected discography
The 6-LP set 'The Flowering of Renaissance Polyphony' (Geistliche Musik der Renaissance') issued on Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
Archiv in the late 1970s was influential.
- Ockeghem: Missa pro defunctis / Josquin Des PrezJosquin Des PrezJosquin des Prez [Josquin Lebloitte dit Desprez] , often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance...
- Déploration sur la mort d'Ockeghem. Pro Cantione Antiqua, London dir. Turner, Archiv Produktion 2533 145 [LP] - Gombert - JosquinJosquin Des PrezJosquin des Prez [Josquin Lebloitte dit Desprez] , often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance...
- Jheronimus VindersJheronimus VindersJheronimus Vinders was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active at Ghent. He was a minor member of the generation after Josquin des Prez, and he also composed a notable lament on the more famous composer's death.Next to nothing is known about his life, except that he was the...
Pro Cantione Antiqua, London dir. Turner, Archiv Produktion 2533 360 [LP] - Francisco de PeñalosaFrancisco de PeñalosaFrancisco de Peñalosa was a Spanish composer of the middle Renaissance.-Life:He was born in Talavera de la Reina in the province of Toledo. He spent most of his career in Seville, serving as the maestro di capilla, though he also spent time in Burgos, and three years in Rome at the papal chapel...
. The Complete Motets. Pro Cantione Antiqua. Hyperion.