Joscelyn Godwin
Encyclopedia
Joscelyn Godwin is a composer
, musicologist
and translator, known for his work on ancient music, paganism and music in the occult.
He was educated as a chorister at Christ Church Cathedral School
, Oxford
, then at Radley College
(Music Scholar), and Magdalene College, Cambridge
(Music Scholar; B.A., 1965, Mus. B., 1966, M.A. 1969).
He moved to the U.S.
in 1966 to undertake post-graduate work in musicology
at Cornell University
, where he gained his Ph.D. in 1969 with a dissertation on "The Music of Henry Cowell
". He then taught at Cleveland State University
for two years before moving to Colgate University
Music Department in 1971.
Amongst his work is the first complete English language
translation (1999) of one of the first illustrated printed texts, the incunabulum
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
(1499).
He continues to teach in the music department at Colgate University, where he often teaches semester-long courses delving into the life and work of a single composer.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, musicologist
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
and translator, known for his work on ancient music, paganism and music in the occult.
He was educated as a chorister at Christ Church Cathedral School
Christ Church Cathedral School
Christ Church Cathedral School is a Prep and Pre-Prep, fee-paying boarding and day school for approximately 140 pupils based in Oxford, England. Steeped in music and history, the School was founded by Henry VIII in 1546 to provide choristers for Christ Church Cathedral and College. Now a Church of...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, then at Radley College
Radley College
Radley College , founded in 1847, is a British independent school for boys on the edge of the English village of Radley, near to the market town of Abingdon in Oxfordshire, and has become a well-established boarding school...
(Music Scholar), and Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
(Music Scholar; B.A., 1965, Mus. B., 1966, M.A. 1969).
He moved to the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1966 to undertake post-graduate work in musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, where he gained his Ph.D. in 1969 with a dissertation on "The Music of Henry Cowell
Henry Cowell
Henry Cowell was an American composer, music theorist, pianist, teacher, publisher, and impresario. His contribution to the world of music was summed up by Virgil Thomson, writing in the early 1950s:...
". He then taught at Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University is a public university located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 when the state of Ohio assumed control of Fenn College, and it absorbed the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1969...
for two years before moving to Colgate University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
Music Department in 1971.
Amongst his work is the first complete English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation (1999) of one of the first illustrated printed texts, the incunabulum
Incunabulum
Incunable, or sometimes incunabulum is a book, pamphlet, or broadside, that was printed — not handwritten — before the year 1501 in Europe...
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili , called in English Poliphilo's Strife of Love in a Dream, is a romance said to be by Francesco Colonna and a famous example of early printing...
(1499).
He continues to teach in the music department at Colgate University, where he often teaches semester-long courses delving into the life and work of a single composer.