Following a panel discussion - 'Bitch, bint, and maid: exploring sexist language in the dictionary' hosted by Oxford University Press to mark this year's International Women's Day, we got together with Eleanor Maier, Executive Editor on the Oxford English Dictionary, and Professor Helen Taylor, Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Exeter, to carry on the conversation. The conversation was hosted by Ella Percival, Head of Communications for OUP's Academic Division and all-around dictionaries enthusiast.
 
Eleanor Maier is a lexicographer for the Oxford English Dictionary. She is responsible for the dictionary’s revision group who revise, update, and expand OED content to make sure entries give the clearest, most accurate account of a word's meaning, history, and development.

Helen Taylor is Emeritus Professor of English, University of Exeter, Honorary Fellow of the British Association of American Studies, and Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow 2016-18. She has taught English and American Literature at the universities of Bristol, West of England, Warwick and Exeter (where she was Head of the School of English). She has published widely on English and American literature and culture, and has directed and curated many literary festivals. She was the first Director of the Liverpool Literary Festival. Publications include Scarlett's Women: Gone With the Wind and its Female Fans, The Daphne du Maurier Companion, and Circling Dixie: Contemporary Southern Culture through a Transatlantic Lens. Her latest book is Why Women Read Fiction: The Stories of Our Lives.

Ella Percival is Head of Communications for OUP’s academic publishing. She has worked closely with the Oxford Languages team over a number of years and has observed first-hand the way in which issues of language and gender can be incredibly emotive and spark wide-ranging debate with the general public.

© Oxford University Press

Sexism and language in the dictionary and beyond

Barry B. Powell reads the first 100 lines of The Iliad by Homer in the original Greek. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and author of a new verse translation of The Iliad.

The Iliad, Book I, Lines 1-100, in Greek

This simple setting of words by Tennyson reflects a different side to McGlade's compositional style, without sacrificing any of her trademark characteristics. The largely homophonic vocal lines move as one, with clarity and poise in abundance, creating a bed of sound over which the cello gently glides.

More on the OUP site

The Oak - Becky McGlade

Barry B. Powell reads Book 1, Lines 1-105, from the original Ancient Greek language version of The Odyssey by Homer. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and author of a new verse translation of The Odyssey. 

The Odyssey, Book 1, Lines 1-105, in Ancient Greek

Commissioned by the English Montreal School Board Chorale for its 40th anniversary, ‘Be like the bird’ sets an English translation of a text by Victor Hugo. Quartel uses lyrical melodies and rising sequences that reflect the uplifting message of the words, supported by a glittering piano accompaniment. A passage from the original French text is set to the same melody, before interweaving with the English text as a countermelody.

Be like the bird - Sarah Quartel

In the last episode of Season 7, Liba Taub introduces the science of ancient Greece and Rome and details the link between poetry, philosophy, and science.

A PDF transcript for this episode can be found here: https://oxford.ly/3NbXoNU

Learn more about Ancient Greek and Roman Science: A Very Short Introduction here: https://oxford.ly/3T4YUoV

Liba Taub is Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, in the Department of the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, and Director and Curator of the Whipple Museum of the History of Science.

Subscribe to The Very Short Introductions Podcast on:
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© Oxford University Press

Ancient Greek and Roman Science - The Very Short Introductions Podcast - Episode 79

On this episode of The Side Comment, Ulinka Rublack discusses the life and legacy of German Renaissance painter Albrecht Dürer. In her new book Dürer’s Lost Masterpiece: Art and Society at the Dawn of a Global World, she tracks the turning point in the artist's career when he stopped painting altarpieces after falling out with a Frankfurt merchant over a commission.

Ulinka Rublack is a professor of history at Cambridge University and St John's College, Cambridge, and a Fellow of the British Academy. Her work as a historian and her book "The Astronomer and the Witch" (OUP, 2015) were recognised with Germany's most prestigious prize for historians, the Deutsche Historikerpreis. Rublack has published widely on sixteenth- and seventeenth-century culture as well as on methodological concerns. Her books are translated into six languages, and her book on Kepler inspired an opera, a film, a novel, musicals, and theatre plays

Learn more about "Dürer's Lost Masterpiece: Art and Society at the Dawn of a Global World" here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/drers-lost-masterpiece-9780198873105

Listen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hQZ5p5UNGY

The Side Comment Crew:
Executive Producer: Steven Filippi
Host: Sarah Butcher

Music: Filaments by Podington Bear is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Inspiring/Filaments

© Oxford University Press

Ulinka Rublack on the Lost Masterpiece of Albrecht Dürer - Episode 41 - The Side Comment

Forty years ago, in March 1984, the National Coal Board, backed by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, announced the closure of 20 coal mines in Britain. The National Union of Miners responded with a nationwide strike that would last almost a year.

On this audio edition of Moments in History, we will be discussing the 40th anniversary of the miners’ strike with three eminent historians, exploring the causes, the socio-political ramifications, and the wider reverberations left in the wake of the miners’ strike.

We welcome Jörg Arnold, author of "The British Miner in the Age of De-industrialisation: A Political and Cultural History," Natalie Thomlinson, co-author of "Women and the Miner’s Strike, 1984-1985" with Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite, and Stephen Brooke, author of "London 1984: Conflict and Change in the Radical City," to discuss the strike and contextualize Britain in the 1980s.

You may have access to the full books on Oxford Academic through your institution. Sign in and start reading today.

The British Miner in the Age of De-industrialisation: A Political and Cultural History by Jörg Arnold: https://academic.oup.com/book/51718 

Women and the Miner’s Strike, 1984-1985 by Natalie Thomlinson and Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite: https://academic.oup.com/book/47096 

London 1984: Conflict and Change in the Radical City by Stephen Brooke: https://academic.oup.com/book/55815 

Follow OUP History on X for more #MomentsInHistory content: https://twitter.com/OUPHistory 

This episode was produced by Steven Filippi and Jack Dugan. You may also watch it on YouTube at Oxford Academic: 

© Oxford University Press

Moments in History: The UK Miners' Strike 1984-1985

On this episode of The Side Comment, T.V. Paul discusses five essential questions about India's economic, military, and soft power rise in the past 30 years, and how it will shape the outcome of this spring's election.

T.V. Paul is James McGill Professor of International Relations in the Department of Political Science at McGill University, Montreal and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He served as the President of the International Studies Association (ISA) for 2016-17. He is also the Founding Director of the Global Research Network on Peaceful Change (GRENPEC). His books include "The Warrior State: Pakistan in the Contemporary World" (2013) and "Globalization and the National Security State" (with Norrin M. Ripsman, 2010), and he is the lead editor of "The Oxford Handbook of Peaceful Change in International Relations" (2021).

Learn more about "The Unfinished Quest: India's Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi" here: https://oxford.ly/3IS2AEf

Listen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkVMgwJ4oe4

The Side Comment Crew:
Executive Producer: Steven Filippi
Host: Sarah Butcher

Music: Filaments by Podington Bear is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Inspiring/Filaments

© Oxford University Press

T.V. Paul on India's 2024 General Election - Episode 42 - The Side Comment

Come Back Like the Sea sets words from Sara Teasdale's poem 'Ebb Tide', in which the author uses the metaphor of the ocean's tide to symbolize life's inevitable ups and downs. The music captures the text's sea imagery and strong sense of yearning with a captivating opening soundscape that includes improvised sea sounds from the Basses, melodic lines that ebb and flow like the tide, and an expressive piano accompaniment that weaves throughout the work.

Come Back Like the Sea - Katerina Gimon

This short work by Marques L. A. Garrett sets a beautiful and poignant text by Paul Laurence Dunbar that tells of the healing effects of music and how our own music-making can spread joy to those around us. The warm chordal texture and stirring harmonies bring to life the beautiful narrative of the poem.

The Lesson - Marques L. A. Garrett

Hazzard's enchanting Sanctus, setting text from the Latin Mass, captures the feeling of a rushing current throughout. Though the energy often pulsates below the surface, it bursts through at the zestful exclamations of 'Hosanna!' where Hazzard introduces complex metres, body percussion, and a balance of slow-building swells and sudden dynamic changes. Suitable for concert use, this piece features imaginative text-setting and driving rhythms that create an engaging experience for singers and listeners alike.

Sanctus - Matthew Lyon Hazzard

A Birthday sets a poem of the same title by Christina Rossetti. Chydenius reflects the vivid imagery in the text of the verses through beautiful vocal lines with swirling countermelodies. The choruses set the words 'my love is come to me' in a powerful antiphonal texture.

A Birthday - Jussi Chydenius

Written in an a cappella style with scat accompaniment, A Tree is a Song is a joyful celebration of the connections and affinity found in nature and how wisdom and knowledge can be passed on 'as a melody from tree to tree'. McDowall's setting of Heather Lane's text embodies the theme of connection as the parts imitate and respond to each other, sharing in the heartwood's song.

A Tree is a Song - Cecilia McDowall

This is a compelling setting of words by American writer and civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson that speaks to the way the power of song can help to overcome dark times. Garrett brings the powerful text to life through dynamic and textural contrasts, a passionate melody, and imaginative harmonies.

The Gift to Sing - Marques L. A. Garrett

Dhire-dhire sets a 'dohe' (couplet) by the fifteenth-century Indian mystic poet Kabir on the topic of patience. Esmail explores the soundworld of the Hindustani classical tradition, with characteristic vocal ornamentation in the solo lines, and the score includes both devanagari script and a transliteration, for ease of reading.

Dhīre-dhīre - Reena Esmail

'Voice on the Wind' sets an inspiring text, written by the composer, about the empowerment of singing. With a catchy melody, imitative scat singing, and a driving hand drum accompaniment, this piece has all the hallmarks of Quartel's innovative style.

Find out more

Sarah Quartel: Voice on the Wind

These performances are a selection from OUP's anthology, The Oxford Book of Easy Flexible Anthems. The book enables church choirs of all types and sizes to have at their fingertips easy music, flexibly scored, for every occasion. The Oxford Book of Easy Flexible Anthems includes more than 65 new flexible arrangements of modern classics and traditional favourites with a focus on ease of learning and of performance. Perfectly suited to mixed voice, unison, upper-voice and male-voice choirs, choirs with few men, small choirs, and all other groups. Discover brand new pieces by composers including Malcolm Archer, Alan Bullard, Bob Chilcott, Cecilia McDowall, Sarah Quartel, and John Rutter.

Come, Holy Spirit, Creator Blest  — arr. Michael Bedford

Before the Ending of the Day — Kerry Andrew

Christ the Lord is Risen Again! — Alan Smith

Listen to complete performances of a selection of Oxford’s sacred and secular choral works published in 2014. This playlist features works by many of our high-profile composers as well as music by composers who may be new to you. We know that choral directors find our top-class recordings to be a real help when choosing repertoire; these are conducted by Bob Chilcott, and engineered and produced by John Rutter.

OUP Choral Highlights 2014

Music To Hear (SSA) — Bob Chilcott

Listen to complete performances of a selection of Oxford’s sacred and secular choral works published in 2013. This playlist features works by many of our high-profile composers as well as music by composers who may be new to you. We know that choral directors find our top-class recordings to be a real help when choosing repertoire; these are conducted by Bob Chilcott, and engineered and produced by John Rutter.
Oxford is perhaps best known as a publisher of outstanding choral music for all types of choirs.

Choral highlights 2013

Come Back (from 'Sun, Moon, Sea, and Stars') — Bob Chilcott

I Remember— Sarah Quartel

For SATB and organ.
With a newly written text by Angier Brock, this compelling anthem by Cecilia McDowall is a welcome addition to the traditional Easter repertoire. Easter Light explores a variety of styles and colours, from organ solos suggestive of the song of the Eastern meadowlark to a meditative section in the manner of plainchant.
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/9780193415713

Unknown album (23/03/2017 14:50:19)

Easter Light — Cecilia McDowall

For SATB unaccompanied with hand drum.
This piece sets a joyful text celebrating the beauty found all around us. Characterized by tight harmonies and a dynamic hand drum line, the buoyant 7/8 metre drives the piece forward. Lush harmonies colour the hymn-like B section as the text evolves into a call for strength despite the troubles that may come.

Sing, My Child — Sarah Quartel

For SATB unaccompanied.
Following a collaboration with Katie Melua on her 2016 album 'In Winter', Bob Chilcott has made a choral arrangement of this traditional Ukrainian carol, first introduced to the English-speaking world as 'Carol of the Bells'. Here the original is presented in Ukrainian and English.

Unknown album (23/03/2017 15:24:59)

The Little Swallow (Shchedryk) — arr. Katie Melua and Bob Chilcott

For SSAA unaccompanied 
This a cappella setting of evocative words by E. Pauline Johnson is immediately appealing, with its playful, swinging syncopations and dancing scat accompaniment.

The Birds' Lullaby — Sarah Quartel

For SSA and piano
Grow is a warm and heartfelt setting of words by the composer that celebrate human personal growth, comparing this to the season change from winter to spring. A rocking piano part underpins the eminently singable vocal lines, and a scat section draws the piece to a reflective close.

More Choral Highlights 2018

Grow — Sarah Quartel

For SATB unaccompanied
I will be with you sets a reflective text by the composer with a message of enduring solace. Lush harmonies, with predominantly homophonic passagework, coupled with flowing and cascading lines in every voice part make for a tranquil musical experience.

I will be with you — Sarah Quartel

for SATTBB unaccompanied
'Victimae paschali laudes' is an atmospheric arrangement of the plainsong melody for this Latin text for Easter Sunday. Lawson employs interjections of 'alleluia' within the main text as an expression of the triumph of life over death.

Victimae paschali laudes - Philip Lawson

The global message of this piece is movingly conveyed with pop-like harmonies and simple and accessible vocal lines. The large range of dynamics should be carefully observed, and the crescendos and diminuendos carefully paced. The word ‘know’ is repeated several times: be careful not to move to the ‘ooh’ part of the diphthong until the end of the note. Make sure the middle section is taken quickly enough, and explore a different vocal colour: a darker and richer sonority is needed here.

This we know – Sarah Quartel

A flower remembered – John Rutter

A Bell-Chime – Alan Bullard

Sumer is icumen in – Anon arr. Alan Bullard

There alway something sings – Sarah Quartel

Chimes – Oliver Tarney

Spring (Sound the Flute) – Edmund Jolliffe

Scarborough Fair – Trad. arr. Michael Higgins

For SA and piano  
'See the light'  sets a text by the composer inspired by the Hawaiian story 'The Bowl of Light'. With its uplifting melodies and energetic rhythms, this accessible piece explores the light in each person and creates a sense of community, while the sparkling piano accompaniment supports the voices with its repeating figures.

Unknown album (11/03/2020 15:40:37)

See the light – Sarah Quartel

For SATB and organ or brass ensemble  
This rousing arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Glory' (Slava, Op.21) brings this popular Russian anthem to a wider audience. The original Russian text is replaced by a hymn by the arranger that is particularly suitable for Easter, as well as general use. A brass ensemble accompaniment is also available.

Glory – Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, arr. Terry Price

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