Alumni
early music represents "treasure" for musicologist
Honey Meconi’s (’74 B.A. Music) work could be described as a never-ending treasure hunt. Even when she finds “treasure,” she keeps on searching, certain there is more for her to discover. Her experiences at Penn State inspired her to embark on this unique hunt, an international adventure that has exposed her to people and places she never thought she would experience.
As a musicologist specializing in early music (works from before 1600), Meconi has traveled to libraries and archives throughout the United States and Europe to uncover pieces of music that have been “lost” for hundreds of years. Her work involves transcribing (putting into modern, usable notation) and publishing pieces of early music that have not been performed since the 15th or 16th century. Through her writings, she also highlights other pieces that had already been put into modern notation, but had been ignored or overlooked.
Since her first exposure to early music as a freshman at Penn State, Meconi has been fascinated by works from the period and has devoted her career to revealing those long-lost pieces to listeners of today. She is currently professor of music at the University of Rochester and professor of musicology at Eastman School of Music, one
of the constituent colleges of the university. She previously served on the faculty at Rice University. In addition to numerous publications in prestigious early music journals, she is the author of Pierre de la Rue and Musical Life at the Habsburg-Burgundian Court (Oxford University Press, 2003) and editor of Early Music Borrowing (Routledge, 2004) and Fortuna desperata: 36 Settings of an Italian Song (A-R Editions, 2001). She earned her Ph.D. in musicology at Harvard University and was a Fulbright Fellow, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow and Fellow at the Villa I Tatti in Florence.
Meconi’s research currently focuses on the composer Hildegard (1098–1179), one of the few female composers of the early period. She is working on a book on Hildegard’s music and in 1993 initiated The Hildegard Project, a long-term undertaking to perform all of her works. In 1998, Meconi organized a conference on the composer, “Constructing Hildegard: Reception and Identity, 1098–1998.”
Meconi became interested in Hildegard while at Harvard when she was asked to serve as music director of the composer’s musical play, Ordo virtutum. After her introduction to Hildegard, she decided to do a concert of the composer’s music with the early music ensemble she directed. The concert was a huge success, with standing room-only crowds. “That was a very auspicious beginning, to say the least, and since I’m writing a book about her music, I decided to go ahead and perform everything at least once. I’m now more than half-way to that goal,” explains Meconi.
Growing up, Meconi never planned on a career in music, despite being a talented singer. Ironically, it was her singing ability that led to her introduction to early music. As a member of the Chapel Choir and the Penn State Singers during her freshman year, she got to sing many pieces from the early period. “It was a spectacular introduction to some absolutely gorgeous music, and it led me to think there might be lots of great pieces of early music I didn’t know about.”
Her choir director, Raymond Brown, and advisor, Harry Perison (Penn State’s only musicologist at the time), served as important mentors to Meconi during her time at Penn State. Through her involvement with the choir, she had the opportunity to perform with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at the reopening of Heinz Hall in 1971 and later at Carnegie Hall. She also traveled with the choir to Europe the summer after her senior year, her first trip abroad.
Meconi’s positive experiences as an undergraduate help her to instill an appreciation for early music in her students today. She teaches undergraduate courses in Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music history in the University of Rochester’s music department, and Ph.D. seminars in musicology at the Eastman School. She also sometimes teaches courses on opera, women and music, or Shakespeare and music, which attract students in many different majors.
Meconi juggles a busy teaching and research schedule. In addition to The Hildegard Project and her book on the composer, she is working on a book on the manuscripts of the Habsburg-Burgundian Court. She also currently serves on the board of directors of the American Musicological Society. Once Meconi completes her work on Hildegard, she plans to focus her research on illuminated—meaning supplemented by decoration or illustration—music manuscripts.
As a scholar, Meconi says one of the most fulfilling aspects of her career is “making order out of chaos.” For example, her book on Pierre de la Rue, for whom available information was previously incomplete and contradictory, is now the go-to resource on the composer. Although she loves to learn for the sake of learning, she says she also thrives on sharing her knowledge and making it useful to others. “… It’s been incredibly gratifying as I’ve watched students, performers, other scholars and the general public benefit from the knowledge I have acquired over the years.” –AMM
landscape architecture centennial celebration
Landscape architecture education at Penn State—one of the oldest programs in the country—turns 100 in 2007, so mark your calendars for a celebration to take place April 27–29, 2007. Events will include a gala on April 28 in the stunning Mount Nittany Club in the south end of Beaver Stadium—with a couple surprise appearances planned! Take advantage of the weekend celebration to see the LEED Gold-Rated Stuckeman Family Building for the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Go to www.larch.psu.edu/news/Anniv_100.htm for more information.
