English Musical Renaissance and the Press 1 : Watchmen of Music, Paperback by Hughes, Meirion, ISBN 1138274496, ISBN-13 9781138274495, Brand New, Free shipping in the US The second half of the nineteenth-century witnessed a significant revival of interest in English music. Meirion Hughes argues that this ‘English Musical Renaissance’ could not have happened without the pivotal support of British music journalists who championed the idea of a national music.