ABSTRACT
The nineteenth century was very much a time of change in Oxford, as the relevant volumes of the new History of the University of Oxford show. This chapter identifies some of the changing contexts in which music played a role in nineteenth-century Oxford. Perhaps the work could be more confidently recommended by the Oxford authorities to their candidates, who would find contained in it Sir Frederick Ouseley’s vigorous refutation of the assumption that England lacked music. The main concern throughout the period of reform was the traditional absence of any residence requirement for the musical degrees. The impression given in the more literature is that Ouseley’s innovations, introducing a written degree examination, constituted the sole manifestation of music’s reformed status; and a single date is usually assigned to the process. An important factor in Oxford’s outlook on music was the possibility of links between music and theology.
