Monastic music that survived Henry VIII’s dissolution brought back to life

The University of Exeter chapel choir, rehearsing rare monastic music from the Buckland Book. Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian

Almost five centuries ago a community of monks in the West Country of England gathered to sing, imploring their God to help them endure the challenges of medieval life.

Thanks to an extraordinary discovery of music that survived Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries in the early 16th century, the songs created by the Buckland Abbey monks were ringing out again across the hills and woods of the Tavy valley in Devon this weekend.