Richard Freedman

Biography

Freedman first came to Haverford in 1986, and since that time has been responsible for all of our courses in the History of Music and Ethnomusicology. Before 1986 he was lecturer in the College of General Studies and in the Music Department at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned both M.A. and Ph.D in the History and Theory of Music. His undergraduate studies were completed at the Faculty of Music of the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada.

Research

Freedman's scholarly career has focussed on the music of Renaissance France and Italy--works by composers such as Josquin, Lassus, Marenzio, and Le Jeune, considered for what they reveal about changes in musical practice and the cultural contexts in which they were produced and heard. He has extensive experience with archival and early printed sources, and often travels to European libraries to continue his work. In 1992-1993 he was a Visiting Scholar at Wolfson College, Oxford University, and has contributed papers to conferences in Belgium, England, France, and Germany. Freedman's essays have appeared in The Musical Quarterly, Journal of Musicology, Early Music History, Journal of the Royal Musical Association, Notes, and Music and Letters.

He has also written articles for the revised edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music; essays for a facsimile series of Rennaissance music issued by the Centre de musique ancienne in Tours, France; and done editorial work for the Masters and Monuments of Renaissance Music series issued by the Broude Trust.

Freedman's most recent project has been a book-length study of the Renaissance composer Orlando di Lasso. The Chansons of Orlando di Lasso and their Protestant Listeners: Music, Piety, and Print in Sixteenth-Century France was recently published by The University of Rochester Press/Boydell and Brewer as part of the Eastman Studies in Music series.

Courses: Fall 2008, Haverford

Courses: Spring 2009, Haverford