Sound the Trumpet: Alfred Deller, Stour Music and the Early Music Revival
by Christine Headley, published by Bachlovers Press. 464 pages, with more than 70 illustrations
Without counter-tenor Alfred Deller, the Early Music Revival would have been very different. In this book, Christine Headley explores the background to early music, Deller’s life and career, the story of Stour Music and the parallel evolution of the Early Music Revival from the world of Arnold Dolmetsch and Nadia Boulanger, through Gustav Leonhardt, Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Class of 1973 to the wide range of ensembles performing today.
The book was reviewed by Early Music America, and in Early Music in February 2021, though you need your own access to the latter website to read it.
As well as a rich narrative, the book features themed chapters on Purcell’s Come, Ye Sons of Art (the work which made Deller’s name in 1947), Dowland songs, Handel’s Messiah and Tallis’s ‘Spem in Alium’ as well as the counter-tenor voice, John Ward (who contributed so much to Stour Music visually), and the venues used by the festival.
Mark Deller writes: ‘I am delighted to commend this carefully researched book, which not only records Alfred’s pioneering work in reviving the lost art of the counter-tenor voice, and the development of the Stour Music festival over the past fifty-seven years, but also provides a snapshot of the whole early music revival in England in the second half of the 20th century and beyond.’
If you want to order a print book online from the UK, please send £27 to Christine’s account, sort code 60-83-71 account number 19342013. An ebook costs £10 and an A5 book of the illustrations to accompany it £8. Please also email bachlovers@chps.co.uk with details of your address so we know where to send it. If you are outside the UK, please email us first to find out current postage costs. However, we sometimes go on holiday for several weeks without access to Bachlovers’ emails, so don’t worry if there is a lapse of time – you might prefer to find out if we are home before you send the money. Cheques payable to Christine Headley, please, as Bachlovers is too small for its own bank account; please email if you need our address.
The book is not stocked by wholesalers who supply good bookshops and libraries. If you ask your favourite bookshop for a copy, they might be able to get their wholesaler to order one from us. The ISBN is 978 1 9164640 0 1. If enough people ask, the wholesalers may decide to stock it. We are always happy to supply copies ourselves.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christine grew up in Ashford, where her parents were founder patrons of Stour Music. She spent most of her working life in and around publishing, latterly as a freelance providing editorial services, particularly indexes, to publishers. Between 1982 and 1985 she worked for European Music Year.
Christine has two grown-up daughters and, after more than twenty years in Gloucestershire, now lives in a flat overlooking the Dover Strait. For more information about her working life, see chps.co.uk.
Email bachlovers@chps.co.uk
This page was most recently updated on 4 June 2026
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