The Shawm

This is the first in-depth survey of the oboe during its Golden Age, tracing the history of the instrument from its invention through its many mutations as it adapted to the changing demands of composers. The author describes in detail the instruments, players, makers, and composers, as well as how and where it was played, and who listened to it.

This book describes instrumental music and its context in German society of the late middle ages - from about 1350 to 1520. Players at that time improvised, much like jazz musicians of our day, but because they did not use notated music, only scant remnants of their activity have survived in written sources, and much has been left obscure. This book attempts to reconstruct an image of their music, discussing the instruments, ensembles, and performance practices of the time. What emerges from this study is a fundamental reappraisal of late medieval culture. A musical life is reconstructed which was not only extraordinary in its own time, but which also laid the foundations of an artistic culture that later produced such giants as Schütz, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven.

The living practice of Daoist ritual is still only a small part of Daoist studies. Most of this work focuses on the southeast, with the vast area of north China often assumed to be a tabula rasa for local lay liturgical traditions. This book, based on fieldwork, challenges this assumption. With case studies on parts of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces, Stephen Jones describes ritual sequences within funerals and temple fairs, offering details on occupational hereditary lay Daoists, temple-dwelling priests, and even amateur ritual groups. Stressing performance, Jones observes the changing ritual scene in this poor countryside, both since the 1980s and through all the tribulations of twentieth-century warfare and political campaigns. The whole vocabulary of north Chinese Daoists differs significantly from that of the southeast, which has so far dominated our image. Largely unstudied by scholars of religion, folk Daoist ritual in north China has been a constant theme of music scholars within China. Stephen Jones places lay Daoists within the wider context of folk religious practices - including those of lay Buddhists, sectarians, and spirit mediums. This book opens up a new field for scholars of religion, ritual, music, and modern Chinese society.

Performance practice is the study of how music was performed over the centuries, both by its originators (the composers and performers who introduced the works) and, later, by revivalists. This first of its kind Dictionary offers entries on composers, musiciansperformers, technical terms, performance centers, musical instruments, and genres, all aimed at elucidating issues in performance practice. This A-Z guide will help students, scholars, and listeners understand how musical works were originally performed and subsequently changed over the centuries. Compiled by a leading scholar in the field, this work will serve as both a point-of-entry for beginners as well as a roadmap for advanced scholarship in the field.

Music both influences and reflects the times in which it was created. In the Middle Ages, the previous Dark Ages, the Crusades, and the feudal system all impacted the types and forms of music in the period. Charlemagne standardized the church mass and promoted the Gregorian chant, to the point of threatening excommunication if any other were performed. Musical notation — the staff line — was developed during the period. The troubadours of France, Meistersingers of Germany,the Cantus Firmus of Italy, and the instruments that played the music are all included in this thorough guide to music of the middle ages. Topics include: the British Isles, Dance Music, Eastern Europe, France, Germanic Lands, Harps, Italy, the Low Countries, Spain, and more.