Musica dei Donum

Francis Steele studied at Magdalen College, Oxford then began a singing career spanning nearly three decades, during which Francis sang with and furnished editions for the foremost British ensembles.

"To choirs with a serious interest in polyphonic music of the Gold Age, the volumes of this enterprising series will indeed be a 'Gift from God' . . . Singing such music in a resonant acoustic can be utterly exilharating." - The Organ, March 08

"Such publications are better if prepared by experts with knowledgeable specialists in mind. Better still if they include background texts, translations and are easy to read and use. And irresistible if well produced and attractively priced. A new series of early music scores from Oxford University Press, Musica Dei Donum, meets all these criteria and others, making them a very welcome addition to early music lovers' bookshelves." - www.classical.net

"Series editors Sally Dunkley and Francis Steele - names familiar from the personnel lists in many a CD liner booklet - bring a wealth of scholarly and practical experience to this enterprising new imprint from OUP and the result . . . is an edition that combines academic probity with practical functionality and is useful for all kinds of contexts: amateur or professional; liturgical or concert performance . . . The outstanding innovation, however, is the inclusion of running translations . . . This is so excellent an idea that one wonders why it has not been universally applied before." - Rebecca Tavener, Choir & Organ, March 08

"In Francis Steele and Sally Dunkley's OUP editions we perhaps for the first time have a 21st-century take on the performance edition . . . this edition offers subtly phrased advice and helpful pointers while retaining a clear score that is a delight from which to sing . . . This is a superb edition edited sensitively and with great thought. I look forward to many more additions to the series." - Jonathan Wikeley, Music Teacher, August 08

"Aside from the fact that this series introduces fabulous pieces suitable for good choirs who have sung everything from The Oxford Book of Tudor Anthems and the other collections, this edition challenges good choirs to sing better, which can only be a good thing." - Jonathan Wikeley, Music Teacher, June 09