Jeremy Noble (musicologist)
Jeremy Noble's most important scholarly work exists almost entirely in unpublished research notes. His colleague Stanley Sadie acknowledged that "only a fraction of his research has been published." Yet Sadie still called Noble an important participant in late 20th-century musicology. Noble was born in London on the 27th of March 1930 and died on the 30th of June 2017. For most of that span, he led two parallel careers. One was as a Renaissance musicologist of considerable private knowledge. The other was as a music critic his peers described as "acute and often acerbic." Why someone of his intelligence published so little while earning such deep professional respect is the central question of his life. The answer begins with his family background and a path that led through military service to an Oxford education.
His father James Noble was the son of South African missionaries. His mother Avis had roots in Cornwall's farming communities. Noble attended Aldenham School before a brief stint in the Intelligence Corps during the Allied occupation of Austria.
He then entered Worcester College at the University of Oxford, reading Greats from 1949 to 1953. Music became a serious interest during those Oxford years. By the 1950s, Noble was publishing essays on English Renaissance and Baroque music. Those essays covered British music theorists active from 1100 to 1700 and English church music from 1400 to the English Reformation. His interests then broadened to include 16th and 17th-century Venetian music as well. That curiosity eventually settled on one Renaissance composer above all others: Josquin des Prez.
In 1994, the New Josquin Edition began publication, and Noble had earned his place on its editorial board through years of substantial archival research. He wrote the music section of Josquin's entry for Grove Music Online, a reference formerly published as The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. With the scholar Gustave Reese, Noble co-authored the chapter on Josquin in The New Grove High Renaissance Masters.
The Telegraph's obituary later noted that anyone in the field of Renaissance music was in Noble's debt for groundbreaking work. His research notes on the composer, the same account added, would fill several volumes if ever organized. Noble's Josquin scholarship ran alongside his career as a music critic, which had begun at Gramophone magazine.
At the BBC Third Programme, Noble spoke with a voice colleagues described as melodious and refined, among his most attractive characteristics as a broadcaster. He became a critic for The Times in 1960, working alongside William Mann and Andrew Porter. Noble stepped away from criticism twice to take up academic fellowships. The first ran at Birmingham University from 1963 to 1966, the second at the University at Buffalo from 1966 onwards. During that period he also held a fellowship at the Harvard Institute for Renaissance Studies from 1967 to 1968.
A post at The Sunday Telegraph followed from 1972 to 1976. He then returned to the University at Buffalo and remained there until his retirement in 1995. That retirement brought him back to London. Noble was gay, a dimension of his life he kept entirely private throughout his career.
The Telegraph's obituary described Noble as loyal and kind, a stout believer in Enlightenment values and Western civilisation. He had no long-term partner. Noble was personally convinced that anyone could share in those values, given "a little patience and goodwill." That belief is the final thing the Telegraph set down about him.
Common questions
When was Jeremy Noble born and when did he die?
Jeremy Noble was born in London on the 27th of March 1930 and died on the 30th of June 2017. He worked throughout his life as both a musicologist and a music critic.
What was Jeremy Noble's main area of scholarly research?
Jeremy Noble specialized in early English music, 16th and 17th-century Venetian music, and particularly the biography and work of the Renaissance composer Josquin des Prez. He conducted substantial archival research on Josquin and served on the editorial board of the New Josquin Edition, which began publication in 1994.
What did Jeremy Noble contribute to Grove Music Online?
Jeremy Noble wrote the music section of Josquin des Prez's entry for Grove Music Online, formerly published as The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. He also co-authored the chapter on Josquin with the scholar Gustave Reese in The New Grove High Renaissance Masters.
Which newspapers did Jeremy Noble write music criticism for?
Jeremy Noble was a critic for The Times from 1960, working alongside William Mann and Andrew Porter, and later held a post at The Sunday Telegraph from 1972 to 1976. He also wrote for Gramophone magazine and spoke on the BBC Third Programme.
What academic fellowships did Jeremy Noble hold?
Jeremy Noble held fellowships at Birmingham University from 1963 to 1966, the University at Buffalo from 1966 until his retirement in 1995, and the Harvard Institute for Renaissance Studies from 1967 to 1968.
Why is Jeremy Noble considered significant to Renaissance musicology despite publishing relatively little?
The Telegraph's obituary noted that anyone working in Renaissance music was in Noble's debt for groundbreaking work, and that his unpublished research notes would fill several volumes if organized. His colleague Stanley Sadie credited the breadth and depth of his knowledge and his generosity toward fellow scholars as defining qualities.
All sources
2 references cited across the entry
- 1Noble, (John) JeremyStanley Sadie — Oxford University Press — 2001
- 2NewsJeremy Noble, musicologist – obituary1 August 2017