Revisiting The Music Of Medieval France

This book presents together a number of path-breaking essays on different aspects of medieval music in France written by Manuel Pedro Ferreira, who is well known for his work on the medieval cantigas and Iberian liturgical sources. The first essay is a tour-de-force of detective work: an odd E-flat in two 16th-century antiphoners leads to the identification of a Gregorian responsory as a Gallican version of a seventh-century Hispanic melody. The second rediscovers a long-forgotten hypothesis concerning the microtonal character of some French 11th-century neumes. In the paper "Is it polyphony?" an even riskier hypothesis is arrived at: Do the origins of Aquitanian free organum lie on the instrumental accompaniment of newly composed devotional versus? The Cistercian attitude towards polyphonic singing, mirrored in musical sources kept in peripheral nunneries, is the subject of the following essay. The intellectual and sociological nature of the Parisian motet is the central concern of the following two essays, which, after a survey of concepts of temporality in the trouvère and polyphonic repertories, establish it as the conceptual foundation of subsequent European schools of composition. It is possible then to assess the real originality of Philippe de Vitry and his Ars nova, which is dealt with in the following chapter. A century later, the role of Guillaume Dufay in establishing a chord-based alternative to contrapuntal writing is laboriously put into evidence. Finally, an informative synthesis is offered concerning the mathematical underpinnings of musical composition in the Middle Ages.

This book, first published in 2003, examines the relationship between poetry and music in medieval France.

Based upon newly uncovered archival evidence, this book establishes urban musical traditions of over twenty cities in late medieval France.

For many centuries, the Western imagination has pictured the medieval period as a kind of odyssey: a journey that took humankind to a strange country and ended in the Renaissance with its homecoming and the restoration of its inheritance. In this stimulating and provocative book, Christopher Page, Director of the acclaimed early music vocal group Gothic Voices, explores the kinds of generalizations that we habitually make about "the Middle Ages" and which, whether we know it or not, sustain the false image of a medieval odyssey. In chapters that proceed chronologically from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century, he examines what we suppose to be the serenity of medieval reflection on such matters as the "numerical" explanation of musical beauty, and he questions the modern tendency to regard Ars antiqua motets as music for "an intellectual elite." Turning to the Ars Nova and beyond, he discusses the relation between fourteenth century innovations and contemporary science. A final chapter explores the powerful influence of Johan Huizinga's classic The Waning of the Middle Ages upon musicology. Page's lively prose is full of provocative ideas, and is enriched by an uncommonly deep experience of medieval music.

This book is the first full-length study of the courtly love songs of the trouvère to address the central musical problems of the repertoire as a whole, embracing source studies, interpretation, historiography, and analysis. The argument of the book revolves around three axes, each of which is essential to the appreciation of the others: problems concerning the extant manuscript tradition; the crucial role of orality; and stylistic changes and plurality in the reperotire. For the first time, a full overview of the sources and notation is undertaken. This reveals the idiosyncrasies of individual manuscripts but, more importantly, it identifies two basic phases in the manuscript tradition. The study of melodic variants reveals the performance art that lies at the heart of the courtly grand chant; processes and techniques of variation are examined, bringing us to a closer understanding of the tenets of the melodic art of the early trouvères. A close study of select trouvères from the different generation reveals stylstic change and plurality, particularly in the melodic art which in some respects was less prescribed than the poetic texts. Consequently the courtly songs of the trouvères truly come alive in this book.

Publisher Description

Revisiting Music Theory: Basic Principles, Second Edition, surveys the basics of music theory and explains the terms used in harmonic and formal analysis in a clear and concise manner. Students will find Revisiting Music Theory to be an essential resource for review or reference, while instructors of introductory theory courses will find in these pages a solid foundation for cultivating musical thinking. Musicians of all kinds—amateur and professional alike—will find great value in augmenting and informing their knowledge of the art of music theory. The text covers the basic principles of music theory, including: • Musical notation • Key signatures and scales • Intervals, chords, and progressions • Melodic and harmonic analysis • Counterpoint and voice leading techniques • Musical forms and structures This second edition has been revised and reorganized to promote learning. Each section now includes an all-new selection of exercises, allowing readers to practice key skills and improve understanding. For students, instructors, and practicing musicians, Revisiting Music Theory offers an indispensable guide to the foundations of musical analysis.

Examines the legacy of the medieval poet composers of Northern France, the trouveres. For many years problems and difficulties concerning the surviving melodies, have prevented us from accessing these songs. This book addresses many of these problems, helping us develop an understanding of the repertoire.