“Quill and Pixel: Chansonniers and their Modern Readers”
A lecture by Dr. Jane Alden, Associate Professor of Music at Wesleyan University

Where: MIT Lewis Music Library, 14E-109

When: Monday, November 15, 2010, 5:00 pm

Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts were often beautiful, exceptionally crafted, and extraordinarily expensive items, and the modern facsimiles that seek to reproduce the originals can have the same qualities and drawbacks. By contrast, the Internet has brought images of many of these amazing artifacts to a wide audience at no cost. Yet the expensive, physical publications are still in wide demand by collectors and libraries. Dr. Jane Alden, Associate Professor of Music at Wesleyan University, will discuss this seeming paradox in her lecture, “Quill and Pixel: Chansonniers and their Modern Readers.” Dr. Alden will discuss ways in which today’s technology has changed our relationship to original manuscripts (especially 15th-century French songbooks) and what role published facsimiles may play in the future.
This event is free and open to the public.