MUSC 220: Medieval Music: Women, and Performance (HC)

"The Companion to Medieval and Renaissance Music is a fascinating new survey of the music and culture of Europe from the beginning of the Christian era to 1600. With almost 50 essays on the social, historical, theoretical, and performance contexts of the music and musicians of the period, prepared by 45 contributors, including such internationally known scholars and performers as Reinhold Strohm, Christopher Page, Margaret Bent, Bruno Turner, Thomas Binkley, and Paul Hillier, the Companion offers fresh perspectives on the musical styles, research sources, and performance practices of the medieval and Renaissance eras." "The book is divided into six parts. Part I, "The Music of the Past and the Modern Ear," examines the quality of medieval and Renaissance compositions, the English a cappella heresy, medieval recording history, medieval performance practices, and fundamental questions of authenticity. Part II, "Aspects of Music and Society," discusses mainstream and provincial music and the dissemination of ideas in the Middle Ages, the critical role of endowments in the flourishing of sacred polyphony, women's history and early music, and the medieval conception of the "true musician." Part III, "Questions of Form and Style," covers vocal and instrumental genres, and techniques of composition; it includes striking essays on chant, monophonic song, early Western polyphony, mass polyphony, polyphonic song, keyboard music of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the medieval fiddle, and Renaissance wind ensembles. Part IV, "Using the Evidence," explores medieval music iconography, music in Italian Renaissance painting, archival research, and the challenge of orally transmitted music. Part V, "Pre-Performance Decisions," examines the medieval modal system; the role of the editor; and Renaissance pitch, underlay, and pronunciation. Part VI, "Performance Techniques," discusses such performance problems as vernacular pronunciation, tuning, tempo, reconstructing lost voices, and instrumental accompaniment. The Companion also features an extensive glossary, a chronology, end-of-chapter bibliographies, and 50 illustrations."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

'The chapter by Howard Mayer Brown and Keith Polk on instrumental music is a fine survey of a tricky topic' -Early Music Review'Groundbreaking chapter by Andrew Hughes on chant composition' -BBC Music MagazineThis entirely new volume of NOHM reflects scholarship and performative experiences of late-medieval music in the second half of the 20th century. . It addresses important subject areas that were omitted or undervalued in the previous series: Muslim and Jewish Music, (c.1000-c.1500), liturgical office chant (c.1300-c.1500), dance music (c.1300-c.1530), instrumental music (c.1300-c.1520), Polyphonic music in Central Europe (c. 1300-c.1520), music theory of the 14th and 15th centuries, humanism and the 'rebirth' of the arts. The book offers solid foundational knowledge in these fields as well as new interpretations and many new documents.

A history of Renaissance music focused on the music itself and the social and institutional contexts that shaped musical genres and performance.   This book provides a complete overview of music in the 15th and 16th Centuries.  It explains the most significant features of the music and the distinguishing characteristics of Renaissance composers (in Europe and the New World).  It includes a large integrated anthology of 94 musical examples, as well as illustrations of musical instruments, notation, and ensembles.

Music in the Age of the Renaissance, written by one of the country's leading scholars, brings to life the musical styles and genres that mark this humanistic period of artistic and scientific revolution. In his compelling treatment of how the music was developed and transmitted, Professor Leeman Perkins grounds his narrative firmly in political, religious, social, and cultural history, opening a window onto the lavish courts, magnificent churches, and thriving urban centers in which music played such a vital role. The latest, best, and most comprehensive survey of Renaissance music to appear in over forty years.

Focused foremost on the music and then on the social, political, and economic forces that combined to produce it, this book is the ideal undergraduate textbook for music history classes covering the period from c. 1400 to c. 1600. Atlas’s graceful, accessible prose illuminates musical concepts and historical details. A clear format and comprehensive content make Renaissance Music a true teaching and learning text, crafted to meet the needs of today’s students discovering this music and its history for the first time.