The sound of monastic music will be heard in a Devon Abbey for the first time in nearly 500 years in August.

It follows the discovery of a piece of music in a 15th-century book which had been housed in the British Library since 1753. The Buckland Book was originally part of Buckland Abbey but after the building closed it’s unclear what happened to it. It wasn't until it came into the possession of the Harley family in the 1720s that it was sold to the Library. It has now been loaned back to the abbey.

The discovery of the rare monastic music was made by a historian at the University of Exeter during a research project. Now the National Trust, which owns the abbey, has worked with the University to prepare the music for its first performance since medieval times.

National Trust music historian Daisy Gibbs believes the music, which is a "plainchant" may have been used in response to a Tudor "sweating sickness" or other threat. 

She said: "The pieces found in the book ask for God's mercy, forgiveness and protection from harm.

"They share a real feeling of anxiety and fear. It looks as though they were once sung as a complete sequence, perhaps to help the monks through a crisis of some kind.

"We still have work to do to find out exactly how unusual this collection is."

The music will be performed at Buckland Abbey by the University of Exeter’s Chapel Choir as part of a new exhibition.

Michael Graham, the university's director of chapel music, said: "Although the music is written down using the same notation that's still used in the modern Catholic Church, it doesn't give any instructions about rhythm or dynamics, so we had to make decisions about how the pieces should sound.

"This is one of the most interesting, and also most challenging, parts of performing music that's over 500 years old.”