In Praise of Early Music Radio, UK
by Nick Fritsch
Every now and then, someone does something
completely on their own with internet technology, with only
a rough idea of how to go about it, and with virtually no thought
of as to how it will turn a monetary profit, that turns out
to be something absolutely extraordinary. Such a venture is
Early Music Radio UK, the web-based, 24/7 independent streaming
‘radio’ station whose playlists are exclusively
made up of music from recordings of Medieval, Renaissance, and
Baroque periods, (and later music performed on period instruments)
seasoned with a zesty pinch of Shakespearean and other spoken
recitation thrown in for good measure.
The venturer in this case is a gentleman named Steve Foulds.
Foulds is a father of five (soon to be a grandfather) who lives
with his wife Jenny about thirty miles north of London in Hertfordshire.
He is a professional building surveyor for a Hertfordshire affordable-housing
provider, and also a musician with an eclectic range of musical
influences. His first exposure to early music came when he studied
classical guitar in his teens, and had to learn a few early
pieces for that instrument. He traces the genus of his lifelong
love for early music to this experience, though he goes on to
explain that he then “spent the next twenty or so years
playing semi-pro in rock and country bands!”
Over the next decades, Foulds amassed a sizable collection of
early music recordings on vinyl LPs. One of Steve’s heroes
was the late David Munrow, and his LP collection featured many
recordings by that groundbreaking early music pioneer. Then,
as happens to most of us, life intervened and in time his LP
collection gradually took a back seat to later acquired compact
discs that mostly reflected other musical passions. Only two
years ago, while cleaning out his garage, he rediscovered the
early music vinyl collection he had amassed over so many years,
at earlier stages in his life. Where others might simply have
argued with themselves whether or not to donate or sell the
LPs, or if he should drag them into the living room for a fresh
round of rediscovery, Steve first did the latter, but later,
after thinning the collection to the recordings he really valued
and wanted to hear repeatedly, (primarily those of early music),
he somehow jumped to the radical idea of starting his own web-based
radio station.
Rather than talking himself out of this fleeting, possibly half
insane brainstorm, he set about actually doing just that. With
only a rudimentary foundation in the technical, legal, or myriad
of other challenges this was certain to involve, Foulds then
took every step in this complex process one ladder-rung at a
time, making sure to never look down along the way. In March
2009, he secured his domain name, and only then learned from
Britain’s PPL and PRS (the organizations that govern the
mechanical and performance rights for music in the UK), that
he was not allowed to just play his record collection in any
manner he might want, and that he was required to purchase costly
and complex licences from those organizations and faithfully
follow stringent sets of governing rules for publicly performing
copyrighted music. Then, he encountered numerous disappointments
and setbacks regarding the convoluted and often frustrating
process of securing reliable hosting for streaming high quality
audio in a manner that functions as well and as consistently
as the best and most listened-to, high-end services on the internet.
Foulds attributes much of his initial success in meeting the
daunting technical challenges he has faced in getting his station
up and running to the expertise of his daughter Vicki’s
fiancé, Stu, who fortunately happens to be an IT professional
…
“I have a great deal of affection for Stu - and he, a
great deal of patience with his future father-in-law. With a
brain the size of a planet, he uncomplainingly explained to
me, in what it seemed were words of single syllables, the mysteries
of the binary universe and how it all related to my insignificant
position in the grand scheme of things. He also knocked up -
in a matter of seconds, my very first web page.”
Early Music Radio, UK commenced web-casting in Easter Week 2010,
and has been engaged in a non-stop process of growth and improvement
ever since. The international audience has begun to grow dramatically
as well. Says Foulds, “… already, I have made many
new friends around the world, who just like me, enjoy listening
to the same sort of beautiful music.” The website offers
several different streaming options, including Real Player,
Winamp and iTunes, and all seem to function flawlessly. One
notably impressive aspect is the service he obtains from Wavestreaming.com
in particular, that allows Early Music Radio UK to play seamlessly
in high fidelity through iTunes. I have yet to encounter even
one momentary “hiccup” or glitch in the streaming
process. The audio quality is excellent and the streaming is
as, (or possibly more) consistently reliable as even some of
NPR stations I routinely listen to via Internet. The onscreen
index system conveniently IDs every track as it is played (or
at least as much as fits in a single line of text - which is
generally enough). In fact, once one starts listening to Early
Music Radio UK, its ease of use, high quality and reliability
quickly make it a permanent fixture in one’s music-listening
life.
EMR UK’s play-list is top notch, including a broad and
wonderful wealth of performances by such Early Music titans
as Emma Kirkby, Anonymous Four, René Jacobs, The Kings
College Choir, Thomas Binkley, Paul Odette and others, but also
contains recordings by many somewhat less well known collegiums,
cameratas and cathedral choirs, performing all manner of renaissance
polyphony, monody, madrigal singing and more. Spending an evening
or an entire day with the wide range of early music played Early
Music Radio UK offers an incredibly rich, commercial free, musical
experience that is a godsend for those who love the genre.
In addition to the enjoyment of being able to partake of a wide
selection of history’s greatest music whenever the mood
strikes, some of the excitement and inspiration I also personally
get listening to Early Music Radio, UK. comes from knowing that
this was all accomplished by the sheer will of one dedicated,
tenacious individual, whose driving focus was simply to find
a way to share and explore his love of this great music with
others. No business plan, no particular expertise, no multiple
re-workings of proposals or meetings with hired consultants
- just an unshakable desire to accomplish what he set out to
do - no matter what! Precisely what the future will hold for
Steve Foulds’ adventure in web radio, is still not altogether
clear. However Foulds, ever the pragmatic optimist, is not concerned:
“As for the outlook going forward, I don’t really
know. I’m not doing this for profit - I doubt I’ll
break even in the foreseeable future. However, it’s great
fun and whilst it remains so, I’ll be here, growing the
play-list and adding new features to the station - just as long
as I can get to grips with the technology.” Ralph Waldo
Emerson said, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead
where there is no path and leave a trail.” For me, and
I suspect for many others as well, Early Music Radio UK is a
most agreeable and welcome stroll down such a brand new trail.
Nick Fritsch, President, Lyrichord Discs,
New York
December 2010
©2010 Nick Fritsch
http://www.earlymusicradio.co.uk
Contact Steve Foulds: studio@earlymusicradio.co.uk
