William Lyons on David Munrow

Director of The Dufay Collective, William Lyons, celebrates the life and work of one of his musical heroes - early music specialist, historian, multi-instrumentalist, broadcaster and pioneer David Munrow, who took his own life in 1976 during a state of depression at the age of just 33.Munrow perhaps did more than anyone else in the second half of the 20th century to popularise early music in Great Britain, despite a career lasting barely ten years. This was underscored when the Voyager space probe committee selected one of his recordings to be carried on it as part of the Voyager Golden Record. He left behind him not only his recordings but a large collection of musical instruments. The Munrow Archive at the Royal Academy of Music holds a collection of his letters, papers, TV scripts, scores, musical compositions and books, which is accessible to the public.