The Damian Webb Archive
Father Damian Webb (1918–1990) recorded and photographed children's songs, street dances and games across England, Scotland, Mediterranean Europe and Africa from the 1960s to the 1980s.
The Museum acquired Webb’s archive in 1996 on loan from Ampleforth Abbey, and was formally gifted the collection in 2008.
Access to this collection is suspended until further notice.
Sound Galleries
Musical torchlit trails at the Pitt Rivers Museum
On Friday November 23rd 2012, the galleries of the Pitt Rivers Museum were plunged into evening darkness and bathed in Bayaka music and sound from the Central African Republic. Visitors were given torches to explore the galleries that were transformed into a rich forest soundscape with sung fables, snatches of laughter, beautiful variations on harps and flutes, and the stunning polyphonic singing of Bayaka women. Hidden surprises included mini projections from the rainforests and a visualiser designed by Nathaniel Mann, the PRM's Embedded Composer in Residence. The evening was filmed By Mike Day of Intrepid Cinema as part of the Reel to Real project, and complemented the Oxford City-wide Christmas Light Night organised by Oxford Inspires. A four hour playlist of Bayaka music from the PRM's sound collections, originally recorded by Louis Sarno, was curated on the evening by Nathaniel Mann and Dr Noel Lobley. The event was streamed online, and was watched live in the Central African Republic by Louis Sarno and some of the Bayaka community.
