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