Discovering Something New in the Medieval

UMD musicologist digs up old secrets of song.

By Sala Levin ’10 | Maryland Today

She may not have the brown fedora, khaki pants or whip, but even so, University of Maryland School of Music Professor Barbara Haggh-Huglo is in many ways the Indiana Jones of medieval musicology. She’s traveled from Belgium to Italy to Mexico searching archives and libraries for traces of forgotten centuries-old music, and has unearthed revelations that have changed what musicologists know about landmark composers.

Since publishing her first article in 1981, on German radio drama of the 1950s and ’60s, Haggh-Huglo has been exploring unknown corners of music history and theory, uncovering secrets about music and musicians that have rocked the musicology world. This spring, in a talk to the Belgian Academy of Sciences, she’ll present her groundbreaking research on a long-lived chant by a monumental composer, and push for an expansive series of concerts featuring that chant, choral music and pipe organ music across northwest Europe, which she hopes will direct funds toward the renovation of historic churches.

In recognition of the contributions Haggh-Huglo has made to her field, in November she was elected an honorary member of the American Musicological Society, the highest honor bestowed by the preeminent organization for musicologists, who study the history and theory of music.

Her interest in music and its history began early on. Haggh-Huglo’s father was a composer and music theorist who eventually became director of the University of Nebraska’s School of Music, and her mother was a trained singer. Her sister became a professional cellist, and while Haggh-Huglo played violin, her academic nature steered her toward musicology.

Read more in Maryland Today. 

Photos courtesy of Barbara Haggh-Huglo.