Friday, February 26, 2016

John Schofield and Wren's St Paul's Cathedral




John Schofield, our authority on everything archaeological and architectural about St Paul's Cathedral in the 17th century, will publish his definitive study of Wren's cathedral from Oxbow in September 2016. 

Together with his St Paul's Cathedral Before Wren, these two books contain the definitive account of the Diocese of London's cathedral for our time and for generations to come.

Schofield's work is of course the basis for all our claims to architectural accuracy and authenticity in both the Virtual St Paul's Cathedral Project and the Virtual Paul's Cross Project.

We are all deeply grateful to Schofield for his support and assistance, and for his untiring efforts on behalf of these projects. 

Schofield will soon also publish his study of the Deanery at St Paul's in the 17th century, based on his extensive research in the London Metropolitan Archives. 

More on that when it appears! 

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

David and Ben Crystal Discuss Original Pronunciation




Linguist (and author of the Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation, forthcoming from the Oxford University Press) David Crystal and his son the actor Ben Crystal (see image below of Ben recording Donne's Gunpowder Day sermon for 1622) were recently featured in an extended conversation about Original Pronunciation on BBC Radio 4, on the Word of Mouth program.
















Go here -- http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06ycr4v -- for their conversation about the theory and practice of Original Pronunciation Early Modern English.

The program is very informative, and includes lots of examples of their work.

The Virtual St Paul's Cathedral Project is honored to have David and Ben as part of our Production Team.