Summary
From the emergence of plainsong to the end of the fourteenth century, this Companion covers all the key aspects of medieval music. Divided into three main sections, the book first of all discusses repertory, styles and techniques -- the key areas of traditional music histories; next taking a topographical view of the subject -- from Italy, German-speaking lands, and the Iberian Peninsula; and concludes with chapters on such issues as liturgy, vernacular poetry and reception. Rather than presenting merely a chronological view of the history of medieval music, the volume instead focuses on technical and cultural aspects of the subject. Over nineteen informative chapters, fifteen world-leading scholars give a perspective on the music of the Middle Ages that will serve as a point of orientation for the informed listener and reader, and is a must-have guide for anyone with an interest in listening to and understanding medieval music.

Details the life and works of the 16th-century composer. Part I offers an account of his early life and his relationship with the Catholic Church despite his involvement with the Elizabethan court. Part II examines his development as a composer, paying particular attention to the chronology of his works and his creation of the Elizabethan and Jacobean school of keyboard music. Includes music examples, illustrations, and a catalogue of works.

Dufay now stands unchallenged as the leading composer of the Middle Ages. Performances of his music are increasingly frequent, and most of it can be heard on commercial recordings, so it is time for a study of his life and work that attempts to show why he has found so much favour with performers and listeners today. Over the last 30 years and particularly over the last decade, an enormous burst of scholarly endeavour has added immeasurably to our knowledge of the subject. This book is primarily an attempt to assemble the most important of that information which was hitherto available only in the articles, dissertations and books produced in many parts of Europe and the United States. Includes 80 music examples, 12 pages of photographs, and three maps.

Denis Arnold's comprehensive study of the music of Giovanni Gabrieli ( c. 1555-1612), written in the context of the late 16th and early 17th centuries in Venice, covers Gabrieli's life from his formative years in Munich to his death in Venice. The book considers the whole range of Gabrieli's music as well as that of his contemporaries.

The Josquin Companion presents both the scholarly and general reader with the most complete and concentrated discussion ever published in English on the music of Josquin des Prez (c.1450-1521) - the greatest composer of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Not a standard,single-author life and works, the volume provides a basic survey of Josquin's music and of the many problems which attend it. Through a collaborative effort of distinguished scholars, it takes into account the most recent research on Josquin. Beginning with a summary of the latest developments inthe composer's constantly-changing biography and a discussion of his stature as a great man then and now, the Companion continues with chapters considering all the compositional genres employed by Josquin and offers wide-ranging surveys as well as close studies of individual pieces. Further chapters explore both traditional and untraditional analytical perspectives on Josquin's music, and suggest new avenues of research. A Worklist, Bibliography, and Annotated Discography (the first since the advent of the compact disc and the concurrent explosion of early music recording) endthe book. It is further enhanced by its own CD, containing pertinent selections specifically recorded for the Companion by The Clerks Group.

The work and posthumous reputation of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594) are unlike those of any composer in the Western tradition. This guide introduces students and scholars to the literature on Palestrina as well as the complicated history of the publication of his works.

Indexes motets in manuscripts and printed anthologies produced between 1475 and 1600. Includes most Latin-texted, non-strophic, polyphonic compositions apart from settings of the Ordinary of the Mass. Curated by Jennifer Thomas.

This is a database of information about worship books printed before 1601. RELICS now includes information on over 13,992 titles. This information is based upon personal inspections of books in most of the major research libraries of the United States and also libraries in a few selected European cities. Some additional information derives from published bibliographies and library catalogs.

This volume celebrates the work of David Fallows, one of the most influential scholars in the field of medieval and Renaissance music. It draws together articles by scholars from around the world, focusing on key topics to which Fallows has contributed significantly: the life and works of Guillaume Du Fay and of Josquin Desprez, archival studies and biography, sacred and secular music of the late mediaeval and Renaissance period, and reception history. Studies include major archival discoveries concerning the identity of the composer Fremin Caron; a reconsideration of the authorship of works within the Josquin canon, notably Mille regretz and Absalon fili mi; a fresh look at key works from Dufay's youth and early maturity; accounts of newly discovered sources and works; and an appraisal of David Fallows' contribution to the early music performance movement by Christopher Page, former director of Gothic Voices. The collection also includes two newly published compositions dedicated to the honorand. Contributors: Rob C. Wegman, Jane Alden, Bonnie J. Blackburn, Honey Meconi, Gianluca D'Agostino, Andrew Kirkman, Jaap van Benthem, Margaret Bent, James Haar, Alenjandro Enrique Planchart, Jesse Rodin, Lorenz Welker, Kinuho Endo, Joshua Rifkin, Thomas Schmidt-Beste, Richard Sherr, Peter Wright, Fabrice Fitch, Tess Knighton, Warwick Edwards, Adam Knight Gilbert, Markus Jans, Oliver Neighbour, Anthony Rooley, Keith Polk, John Milsom, Jeffrey J. Dean, Eric Jas, Peter Gülke, Iain Fenlon, Barbara Haggh, Dagmar Hoffmann-Axthelm, Leofranc Holford-Strevens, Andrea Lindmayr-Brandl, Esperanza Rodríguez-García, Eugeen Schreurs, Reinhard Strohm.

During the lifetime of Guillaume Du Fay (c. 1400-1474) the motet underwent a profound transformation. Because of the protean nature of the motet during this period, problems of definition have always stood in the way of a full understanding of this crucial shift. Through a comprehensive survey of the surviving repertory, Julie Cumming shows that the motet is best understood on the level of the subgenre. She employs new ideas about categories taken from cognitive psychology and evolutionary theory to illuminate the process by which the subgenres of the motet arose and evolved. One important finding is the nature and extent of the crucial role that English music played in the genre's transformation. Cumming provides a close reading of many little-known pieces; she also shows how Du Fay's motets were the product of sophisticated experimentation with generic boundaries.

Magic enjoyed a vigorous revival in sixteenth-century Europe, attaining a prestige lost for over a millennium and becoming, for some, a kind of universal philosophy. Renaissance music also suggested a form of universal knowledge through renewed interest in two ancient themes: the Pythagorean and Platonic "harmony of the celestial spheres" and the legendary effects of the music of bards like Orpheus, Arion, and David. In this climate, Renaissance philosophers drew many new and provocative connections between music and the occult sciences.

In Music in Renaissance Magic, Gary Tomlinson describes some of these connections and offers a fresh view of the development of early modern thought in Italy. Raising issues essential to postmodern historiography—issues of cultural distance and our relationship to the others who inhabit our constructions of the past —Tomlinson provides a rich store of ideas for students of early modern culture, for musicologists, and for historians of philosophy, science, and religion.

The Renaissance was not a spontaneous cultural explosion, but rather an evolution and cross-fertilization of artistic, philosophical, and scientific principles. This reference presents and examines the rich and varied world of music in Renaissance Europe. Giulio Ongaro offers an advanced technical knowledge of music, presented accessibly in a multidisciplinary approach. After an introductory essay on the cultural backdrop of the Renaissance, narrative chapters provide an overview of Renaissance music, recreate the lives of Renaissance musicians, describe the different genres of music, and explain the relationships between Renaissance music and dance. Coverage also includes musical instruments from the period and the business of music publishing during this period. These chapters synthesize music theory, history, and culture into a comprehensive narrative on music throughout Continental Europe and the British Isles. Illustrations, chapter bibliographies, a timeline, and a subject index complete the volume.

In many ways, this is a companion volume to Music from the Age of Shakespeare in its accessible, interdisciplinary examination of music history. Ongaro's volume on Renaissance Music synthesizes music theory, history, and culture into a comprehensive narrative on music throughout Continental Europe and the British Isles.

From the series examining the development of music in specific places during particular times, this book looks at European countries at the time of the Renaissance, concentrating on Italy. It is to be published in conjunction with a television series.