Verified source report

The connoisseur of the crumhorn, the showman of the shawm: the brilliance of early music pioneer David Munrow

Six decades ago, Munrow’s passionate and persuasive advocacy for early music opened audience’s eyes and ears – and took the rackett on to primetime TV. Fifty years after his early death, we look back at an inspirational and influential musician In March 1968, a 25-year-old musician strode on to the stage of London’s Wigmore Hall with a collection of unusual instruments. He proceeded to entertain the audience with tongue-in-cheek descriptions of a shawm, a crumhorn and a rackett – the first time they’d ever been seen, let alone heard, on the Wigmore stage – and he played them with breathtaking virtuosity. That concert , the London debut of the Early Music Consort , was greeted with delight, which set the pattern of things to come. With all the bravura of the 1960s, David Munrow erupted into the world of early music and transformed what had been a minority interest into popular listening.

Illustrated culture, style, film, music, and arts source file

Vinita Duniphin Culture Source report

What happened

According to The Guardian’s source item, The connoisseur of the crumhorn, the showman of the shawm: the brilliance of early music pioneer David Munrow, Six decades ago, Munrow’s passionate and persuasive advocacy for early music opened audience’s eyes and ears – and took the rackett on to primetime TV. Fifty years after his early death, we look back at an inspirational and influential musician In March 1968, a 25-year-old musician strode on to the stage of London’s Wigmore Hall with a collection of unusual instruments. He proceeded to entertain the audience with tongue-in-cheek descriptions of a shawm, a crumhorn and a rackett – the first time they’d ever been seen, let alone heard, on the Wigmore stage – and he played them with breathtaking virtuosity. That concert , the London debut of the Early Music Consort , was greeted with delight, which set the pattern of things to come. With all the bravura of the 1960s, David Munrow erupted into the world of early music and transformed what had been a minority interest into popular listening.

Context

The development sits in VINI’s Culture file for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-05-12T06:30:16+00:00.

What to watch

Open questions include whether primary sources issue follow-up statements, whether local or market impacts become clearer, and whether additional reporting changes the timeline or adds material context.

Source

Primary source: The connoisseur of the crumhorn, the showman of the shawm: the brilliance of early music pioneer David Munrow via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

This source-cited VINI report links to the original publisher record. VINI does not republish third-party article bodies without rights clearance. 1 source listed.

Source links

The connoisseur of the crumhorn, the showman of the shawm: the brilliance of early music pioneer David MunrowThe Guardian - 2026-05-12T06:30:16+00:00

Reader comments

Moderated discussion

Account access

Comments are open to authenticated approved accounts, screened for spam and abuse, and published only after newsroom moderation unless editors change the story control.

Loading comments.