Professor David Smith

Professor

School: Humanities and Social Sciences

David J. Smith is Professor and Head of Music in the Department of Humanities and is responsible for developing the exciting new degree programme in Music at Northumbria University. His research is situated in the Early Modern, specialising in English instrumental music of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries . He has expertise in the scholarly, critical editing of music, and as a performer has several recordings to his name.

David moved to Northumbria University in September 2018 from the University of Aberdeen, where he served as Head of Music and was Master of Chapel and Ceremonial Music. He studied at the University of Oxford, where he was organ scholar at St Peter’s College and then the first John Brookman Graduate Organ Scholar at Wadham. Before taking up a position at Aberdeen, he spent a year as an associate lecturer in Music at the University of Surrey.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

David's research is centred around English instrumental music of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. In particular, he has developed research expertise in the editing of music for scholarly editions, and has reflected on methodological questions relating to his own editions of music by Peter Philips (1560/61-1628) and Richard Dering (c.1580-1630) for Musica Britannica. He was Principal Investigator for the AHRC-funded grant, 'Digital directions for collected editions: keyboard music by British musicians before c.1700' (2021-2022).

David considers music in the cultural context of its time, distinguishing traditions of domestic keyboard practice from professional ones, and arguing for a reappraisal the keyboard culture of seventeenth-century England. Moving away from old notions involving the influence of one composer on the next, he sees the production of instrumental music as relying on networks of composers, scribes and players which interconnect with broader religious and social networks. Much of David’s research is caught up in the religious and political turmoil of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries which resulted in English Catholic composers such as Peter Philips (1560/61–1628) and Richard Dering (c.1580–1630) living and working on the Continent.

David has a longstanding interest in historical performance practice, and considers the critical editing of music to be very closely related to issues of performance when it takes into consideration the role of scribe-players on the texts that have come down to us.

David performs the music he has researched, including Exiled, a recording on which he plays keyboard works by Peter Philips alongside consort music performed by internationally acclaimed Rose Consort of Viols, who are joined by the Choir of King's College, Aberdeen, in some motets which David directs.

Postgraduate Supervision

Previous research students of mine have worked on topics ranging from the revival of music in the worship of the Catholic Church in Scotland, 1789-1829, to the organ music of J.S. Bach, to the secular vocal music of Cornelis Verdonck (1563/4-1625).

Current PhD students are working on tonal design in organs by Harrison & Harrison, Arts Council policy in relation to Enlightenment principles and sixteenth-century music theory. In 2025, he will be lead supervisor for a fully-funded Northern Bridge studentship on the Tudor organ, in partnership with Newcastle Cathedral and the Royal College of Organists.

I welcome PhD projects in the broad areas of

Early English instrumental music (keyboard, lute, consort)
Keyboard music
Scottish music
SAchoilarly/critical editing of music

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Editing English Consort Music: Past, Present and Future, Smith, D. 19 Sep 2024, In: The Viola da Gamba Society Journal
Between text and act: fresh perspectives on the significance of single- and double-stroke ornaments in William Byrd's keyboard music, Smith, D. 31 Dec 2023, Byrd Studies in the Twenty-first Century, Clemson, SC, USA, Clemson University Press
Authorship and Identity in Early English Keyboard Music, Smith, D. 31 Oct 2023, Authorship and Authorial Identity in Historical Keyboard Music, London, Taylor & Francis
Aspects of Early English Keyboard Music Before C.1630, Smith, D. 14 May 2019
Continuity, change and the emergence of idiomatic organ repertoire in seventeenth-century England, Smith, D. 21 Jun 2018, Studies in English Organ Music, London, Taylor & Francis
Exiled: Music by Philips and Dering, Smith, D. 11 Dec 2017
Philips and Dering: Consort Music, Smith, D. 2016
Networks of music and culture in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries: A collection of essays in celebration of Peter Philips's 450th anniversary, Smith, D., Taylor, R., Dokter, J. 28 Nov 2013
Peter Philips, Complete Keyboard Music, Smith, D. 1999

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Participating in a conference, workshop, ...: DigME: Creating a Sustainable Future for the Monumental Edition by Addressing the Right Questions 2025
Participating in a conference, workshop, ...: Future of Scholarly Editing Themed Panel 2024
Participating in a conference, workshop, ...: Creating Music Editions 2024
Participating in a conference, workshop, ...: CORSICA 2024
Membership of network: EarlyMuse (External organisation) 2023
Participating in a conference, workshop, ...: Consortium MUSICA2 de Huma-Num 2023
Oral presentation: Sweelinck’s Keyboard Music as Keyboard Practice 2021
Oral presentation: Crossing Boundaries: Scottish Dance Tunes in England 2019
Editorial work: Taylor & Francis (Publisher) 2013
Editorial work: Scottish Music Review (Journal) 2012

PGR Supervision

Harry Sullivan The Post-Reformation English Organ: Practice-led Research on its Changing Repertoire and Use, 1525-1649 Start Date: 01/10/2025 End Date: 17/10/2025
Harry Sullivan The Post-Reformation English Organ: Practice-led Research on its Changing Repertoire and Use, 1525-1649 Start Date: 01/10/2025

Further Information

Performance

As a harpsichordist and recorder player, David co-founded AB24, a trio of musicians performing baroque music in a colourful range of instrumental combinations. He gives recitals as an organist, specialising in improvisation and early keyboard music from England and the Netherlands.

Editorships

Co-founder and General Editor of Ashgate Historical Keyboard Series

Editor of Scottish Music Review

Board Memberships

Chair of Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities, Panel B (2016–18)

The Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM)

Council Member and Director (2015–2021)
Executive Committee (2010–2012)
ISM Governance Working Party (2010–2012)
Regional Councillor for East Scotland, Director and Trustee of Members Fund (2004–2007; 2008–2010)
Member, Council of Management and Trustee, North East of Scotland Music School (2012–18)

Board Member and Trustee of Grampian Youth Orchestra (2011–18)

Advisory Board, Electronic Locator of Vertical Interval Successions (ELVIS): The First Large Data–Driven Research Project on Musical Style (2012–14)

Member of the Elphinstone Institute Advisory Board (2011–2013