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Books > Music > Theory of music & musicology > General
Musica ficta is the practice of sharpening or flattening certain notes to avoid awkard intervals in medieval and Renaissance music. This collection gathers Margaret Bent's influential writings on this controversial subject from the past thirty years. Bent analyses what scholarship has produced in the last thirty years, and corrects and clarifies her own positions.
Shortly after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's death, his widow Constanze
sent a manuscript copy of one of his most beloved operas, Die
Zauberfloete, to the court of the Elector of Cologne. It was
eventually published by Nicolaus Simrock in 1814 as the first
full-score edition. However, the question still remains as to why
this early copy in her possession diverges from Mozart's autograph
in so many libretto details. The Authentic Magic Flute Libretto:
Mozart's Autograph or the First Full-Score Edition? investigates
the origin and claim to authenticity of the first full-score
edition of Die Zauberfloete, drawing attention to the close bond
between words and music. Michael Freyhan brings the subtlety of the
first edition word setting to the attention of scholars, musicians,
and opera-lovers, setting out the evidence for its authenticity and
detailing the quest, pursued in 15 countries, for the earliest
possible historical sources. Freyhan examines the differences
between the first edition and the autograph, discussing the quality
of the word-setting-supported by 32 musical examples-and evaluating
the relationship of the two texts in terms of language and
literature. The following chapters discuss the early history of the
autograph, focusing on four alleged owners, its market value, and
the misleading catalogue numbering systems seen on the first page.
Details of the performance and publication history of the first
edition text are followed by a new perspective on the disputed
authorship of the libretto, in light of the possible existence of
two authentic texts. A concluding chapter discusses Mozart's
sketches and working methods, while an appendix traces the
character and career of Karl Ludwig Giesecke, one of the writers
who claimed ownership of the opera's libretto. The book also
includes several photos and the complete first edition libretto, in
German and with literal English translation, providing a
side-by-side text comparison with the autograph text.
The question of tonality's origins in music's pitch content has
long vexed many scholars of music theory. However, tonality is not
ultimately defined by pitch alone, but rather by pitch's
interaction with elements like rhythm, meter, phrase structure, and
form. Hearing Homophony investigates the elusive early history of
tonality by examining a constellation of late-Renaissance popular
songs which flourished throughout Western Europe at the turn of the
seventeenth century. Megan Kaes Long argues that it is in these
songs, rather than in more ambitious secular and sacred works, that
the foundations of eighteenth century style are found. Arguing that
tonality emerges from features of modal counterpoint - in
particular, the rhythmic, phrase structural, and formal processes
that govern it - and drawing on the arguments of theorists such as
Dahlhaus, Powers, and Barnett, she asserts that modality and
tonality are different in kind and not mutually exclusive. Using
several hundred homophonic partsongs from Italy, Germany, England,
and France, Long addresses a historical question of critical
importance to music theory, musicology, and music performance.
Hearing Homophony presents not only a new model of tonality's
origins, but also a more comprehensive understanding of what
tonality is, providing novel insight into the challenging world of
seventeenth-century music.
Schoenberg's Op.23 for solo piano, written between 1920 and 1923,
represented a move from his atonal music of the preceding twelve
years to 12-note music. In this analysis of the five pieces which
make up Op.23, Kathryn Bailey discusses the ways in which
Schoenberg clearly explores new ideas in these pieces in the
context of his old style. Op.23 marked the development of a new way
of organizing pitches and establishing centres of gravity in the
absence of tonality; but it was also an extension of what had gone
before. While moving on from Op.23 was not a big step for
Schoenberg, it represented a climacteric in the history of musical
composition. It was a long time before anyone outside of
Schoenberg's circle would be able to see past the revolutionary
idea of composing from a single pre-determined arrangement of the
12 notes of the chromatic scale to notice that in most ways this
New Music answered the same conditions and fulfilled the same
expectations that music had for generations.
Almost fifty years since his passing, the music of Ralph Vaughan
Williams continues to captivate audiences around the world, evoking
the sound and spirit of folksong, and the image of rural landscape.
In Vaughan Williams on Music, we read the composer in his own
words, as he pursues two related ambitions: to create his own
musical language, and to make early twentieth-century England a
musical nation. Music lovers, students, and researchers alike will
find in this volume a substantial collection of the composer's
writings which either went unpublished or have been unavailable
since their initial publication. The book contains 102 items
written by the composer between 1897 and the year of his death,
1958, including articles for musical magazines, transcripts of
broadcasts, obituary notices, and program notes. This wide-ranging
material illuminates Vaughan Williams's work as a composer, and
highlights his numerous other roles as an active supporter of
amateur music-makers, a leader in the folksong revival, educator,
performer, campaigner for English music, and polemicist. By
addressing a variety of topics, Vaughan Williams reveals the
complex and volatile political, musical, and cultural contexts in
which he worked over a period of six decades. In these
circumstances, Vaughan Williams demonstrates the breadth of his
knowledge and the depth of his understanding, and his commitment to
communicating with a wide audience. His writings are purposely
accessible to reach this audience, permeated with central themes of
originality, folksong, a sense of history, and the importance of
self-expression. Moreover, the collection reveals the emergence of
Vaughan Williams's aesthetics of music during the early 1900s, as
he came to terms with the legacy of Brahms and Wagner in order to
develop his personal musical idiom. Vaughan Williams on Music is a
significant resource for scholars of both British music and the
history of British culture, as well as an enjoyable read for all
who love Vaughan Williams's music.
How does musical harmony engage listeners in relations of desire?
Where does this desire come from? Author Kenneth Smith seeks to
answer these questions by analyzing works from the turn of the
twentieth- century that are both harmonically enriched and
psychologically complex. Desire in Chromatic Harmony yields a new
theory of how chromatic chord progressions direct the listener on
intricate journeys through harmonic space, mirroring the tensions
of the psyche found in Schopenhauer, Freud, Lacan, Lyotard, and
Deleuze. Smith extends this mode of enquiry into sophisticated
music theory, while exploring philosophically engaged European and
American composers such as Richard Strauss, Alexander Skryabin,
Josef Suk, Charles Ives, and Aaron Copland. Focusing on harmony and
chord progression, the book drills down into the diatonic
undercurrent beneath densely chromatic and dissonant surfaces. From
the obsession with death and mourning in Suk's asrael Symphony to
an exploration of "perversion" in Strauss's elektra; from the Sufi
mysticism of Szymanowski's Song of the Night to the failed fantasy
of the American dream in Copland's The Tender Land, Desire in
Chromatic Harmony cuts a path through the dense forests of
chromatic complexity, revealing the psychological make-up of
post-Wagnerian psychodynamic music.
Reform, Notation and Ottoman Music in Early 19th Century Istanbul:
EUTERPE presents the first complete set of transcription and
edition of Euterpe (1830) from Byzantine neumatic notation into the
modified staff notation used by classical Turkish music and is
accompanied by a substantial examination of the related historical,
theoretical and musical topics. Through a series of Ottoman/Turkish
classical vocal music compositions that can be dated to the 18th
and 19th centuries, Euterpe and related sources reinforce a much
broader picture of musical practice and transmission in which we
clearly see that the Greek and Turkish traditions are linked.
Reform, Notation and Ottoman Music in Early 19th Century Istanbul
is presented in two parts: historical discussion and musical
analysis, and complete transcription and edition of Euterpe. This
book will appeal to music scholars and university students
interested in minorities, cosmopolitanism in the Middle East and
Balkans, the relationship between music and national identity,
musical notation, classical Ottoman/Turkish music, Byzantine music,
and, most significantly, ethnomusicology.
Created for introductory courses in basic music theory and harmonic
practice, Part 1 of this self-paced, auto-instructional standalone
text that comes in two volumes has become a "classic" in the field.
Since the students work independently through the programmed format
of the text, instructors can concentrate on the more creative
aspects of their course. From the wealth of clearly laid-out
lessons and exercises, students receive continual feedback and
reinforcement as they work through the sequence at their own pace.
Note: A set of musical examples on compact discs is available with
each of the volumes if you order the ISBN's listed below, . ISBN
0205691056 / 9780205691050 Harmonic Materials in Tonal Music: A
Programmed Course, Part 1 with Audio CD *Package consists of:
0205629717 / 9780205629718 Harmonic Materials in Tonal Music: A
Programmed Course, Part 1 0205629725 / 9780205629725 Audio CD for
Harmonic Materials in Tonal Music, Part 1 ISBN 020563818X /
9780205638185 Harmonic Materials in Tonal Music: A Programmed
Course, Part 2 with CD *Package consists of 020562975X /
9780205629756 Harmonic Materials in Tonal Music: A Programmed
Course, Part 2 0205629768 / 9780205629763 CD for Harmonic Materials
in Tonal Music, Part 2
In recent years Hugo Riemann's ideas have thoroughly captured the
music-theoretical imagination, both in the United States and
abroad. Neo-Riemannian theory has proven particularly adept at
explaining features of chromatic music where other theoretical
approaches have failed, and thereby established itself as the
leading theoretical approach of our time. The Oxford Handbook of
Neo-Riemannian Music Theories brings together an international
group of leading proponents of Riemannian and neo-Riemannian theory
for a thoroughgoing exploration of the music-analytical,
systematic, and historical aspects of this important new field. The
volume elucidates key aspects of the field, draws connections
between Riemann's original ideas and current thought, and suggests
new applications and avenues for further study. A number of essays
suggest connections to other fields of inquiry, such as cognitive
and mathematical music theory, as well as applications in the field
of metric or melodic analysis. The selection of essays is
complemented by several of Hugo Riemann's key original texts, many
of which appear in English translation for the first time, and is
rounded off by a glossary of key concepts for easy reference.
This volume is the first book-length study of hooks in popular
music. Hooks - those memorable musical moments for listeners such
as a riff or catchy melodic phrase - are arguably the guiding
principle of much modern popular music. The concept of the hook
involves aspects of melody, rhythm, harmony, production, lyrical
and cultural meaning - and how these interact within a song's
topline and backing track. Hooks are also inherently related to the
human capacities for memory and attention, and interact with our
previous experiences with music. Understanding hooks in popular
music requires a new interdisciplinary approach drawing from
popular music studies, pop musicology, and music psychology, and
this book draws from each of these disciplines to understand the
hooks present in a broad range of popular music styles from the
last thirty years.
In Western Civilization Mathematics and Music have a long and interesting history in common, with several interactions, traditionally associated with the name of Pythagoras but also with a significant number of other mathematicians, like Leibniz, for instance. Mathematical models can be found for almost all levels of musical activities from composition to sound production by traditional instruments or by digital means. Modern music theory has been incorporating more and more mathematical content during the last decades. This book offers a journey into recent work relating music and mathematics. It contains a large variety of articles, covering the historical aspects, the influence of logic and mathematical thought in composition, perception and understanding of music and the computational aspects of musical sound processing. The authors illustrate the rich and deep interactions that exist between Mathematics and Music.
First Published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor &
Francis, an informa company.
'Exhilarating' - Sunday Times 'Funny and moving' - Jarvis Cocker
Music critic and writer Paul Morley weaves together memoir and
history in a spiralling tale that establishes classical music as
the most rebellious genre of all. Paul Morley had stopped being
surprised by modern pop music and found himself retreating into the
sounds of artists he loved when, as an emerging music journalist in
the 70s, he wrote for NME. But not wishing to give in to dreary
nostalgia, endlessly circling back to the bands he wrote about in
the past, he went searching for something new, rare and wondrous -
and found it in classical music. A soaring polemic, a grumpy
reflection on modern rock, and a fan's love note, A Sound Mind
rejects the idea that classical music is establishment; old; a
drag. Instead, the book reveals this genre to be the most exciting
and varied in music. A Sound Mind is a multi-layered memoir of
Morley's shifting musical tastes, but it is also a compelling
history of classical music that reveals the genre's rich and often
deviant past - and, hopefully, future. Like a conductor, Morley
weaves together timelines and timeframes in an orchestral narrative
that declares the transformative and resilient power of classical
music from Bach to Shostakovich, Brahms to Birtwistle, Mozart to
Cage, travelling from eighteenth century salons to the modern age
of Spotify. 'His passion for centuries of music - both celebrated
and obscure - is infectious' - Irish Independent
Released in 1986, Hunters and Collectors' album Human Frailty is
one of the most important Australian albums of the last two decades
of the twentieth century. It was pivotal in the group's career and
marked the group's move into pub rock. It is unashamedly concerned
with love and desire. The album challenged traditional
understandings of Australian masculinity while playing music to
predominantly male audiences. No other Australian group would have
dared, or indeed been able, to get their audience to roar 'You
don't make me feel like a woman anymore,' the culminating line off
Hunan Frailty's first track, and the first single taken from the
album, "Say Goodbye". The second track on the album, "Throw Your
Arms Around Me" has become an Australian standard, an anthem sung
drunkenly more by women than men, in pubs, at weddings and similar
occasions. Human Frailty is an album that transcended the critical
categories of its time.
A Key Stage 3 book designed for pupils who find music theory
difficult to understand and remember. The content is differentiated
at three levels to cater for differing abilities and experience,
and a corresponding teacher's resource pack is also available.
This book provides a broad introduction to the scientific and
psychological study of music, exploring how music is processed by
our brains, affects us emotionally, shapes our personal and
cultural identities, and can be used in therapeutic and educational
contexts. Why are some people tone deaf and others musical savants?
What do our musical preferences say about our personality and the
culture in which we were raised? Why do certain songs remind us so
strongly of particular people, places, or events? How can music be
therapeutically used to help those with autism, Parkinson's, and
other medical conditions? The Science and Psychology of Music: From
Beethoven at the Office to Beyonce at the Gym answers these and
other questions. This book provides a broad and accessible
introduction to the fascinating field of music psychology. Despite
its name, music psychology includes a number of fields, including
neuroscience, psychology, social psychology, sociology, and health.
Through a collection of thematically organized chapters, readers
will discover how our brains recognize elements of music, how music
can affect us and shape our identities, and the many real-world
applications for such information. Explores a topic that is of
great interest to both psychology students and the general public
through accessible and engaging content Provides a conceptual
framework for readers and through a multi-part format allows them
to focus their attention on their particular areas of interest
Furthers readers' understanding of how music can affect our
wellbeing as it includes both our physical and psychological health
Reflects the subject knowledge of contributing experts in a wide
variety of academic disciplines
This pathbreaking study reveals Purcell's extensive use of symmetry
and reversal in his much-loved trio sonatas, and shows how these
hidden structural processes make his music multilayered and
appealing. Purcell's trio sonatas are among the cornerstones of
Baroque chamber music. The composer himself unassumingly described
them as "a just imitation of the most famed Italian masters."
However, analysis of their underlying structuresreveals that
Purcell's modesty hides a highly original blend of Italian models,
complex English traditional compositional devices, and his own near
obsession with compositional and contrapuntal technique. Alon
Schab'spathbreaking Sonatas of Henry Purcell: Rhetoric and Reversal
begins with an overview of the two sets of sonatas and their
sources, their movement types, and some of the basic compositional
and rhetorical procedures they demonstrate. The book's main part
highlights several covert structures that are not necessarily heard
but are consistent and played an important part in the
compositional process. Symmetry, both temporal and spatial, governs
much ofthese underlying structures. Beneath the surface of his
studies in Italian style, Purcell created intricate correspondences
between the micro and macro levels of the works, as well as unities
of proportions and, above all, impressive mirrorlike structures.
Schab's book opens an important window to seventeenth-century
compositional technique and offers further evidence of Purcell's
use of advanced compositional techniques in works that aimed to be
pleasurable for the amateur and excitingly thought-provoking for
the professional. Alon Schab is a lecturer at the University of
Haifa.
In this newly revised book On Sonic Art, Trevor Wishart takes a
wide-ranging look at the new developments in music-making and
musical aesthetics made possible by the advent of the computer and
digital information processing. His emphasis is on musical rather
than technical matters. Beginning with a critical analysis of the
assumptions underlying the Western musical tradition and the
traditional acoustic theories of Pythagoras and Helmholtz, he goes
on to look in detail at such topics as the musical organization of
complex sound-objects, using and manipulating representational
sounds and the various dimensions of human and non-human utterance.
In so doing, he seeks to learn lessons from areas (poetry and
sound-poetry, film, sound effects and animal communication) not
traditionally associated with the field of music.
About the Author
Trevor Wishart is a composer, living and working in the North of
England. His musical works cover a wide range, from environmental
music events staged in spe
For courses in Music Theory A text/workbook combination that gives
students the tools to understand harmonic structures With an
emphasis on learning by doing, The Practice of Harmony, Seventh
Edition takes students from music fundamentals through harmony in
common practice to some of the more important harmonic procedures
of the 20th century. Its approach is "additive" - enabling students
to use what was learned in one chapter to understand material in
the next - to minimize rote memorization, since students repeatedly
use the concepts throughout the semester. The text begins with an
overview of music fundamentals; the middle addresses the use of
harmony in common practice; and the concluding section offers a
basic glimpse of the harmonic practices of the 20th century. The
authors intentionally avoid elaborate descriptions of their
conceptual framework and refrain from specifying instructional
methods, thereby allowing instructors a wide spectrum of teaching
approaches in the classroom. NOTE: This ISBN is for a Pearson Books
a la Carte edition: a convenient, three-hole-punched, loose-leaf
text. In addition to the flexibility offered by this format, Books
a la Carte editions offer students great value, as they cost
significantly less than a bound textbook.
Prince's position in popular culture has undergone only limited
academic scrutiny. This book provides an academic examination of
Prince, encompassing the many layers of his cultural and creative
impact. It assesses Prince's life and legacy holistically,
exploring his multiple identities and the ways in which they were
manifested through his recorded catalogue and audiovisual personae.
In 17 essays organized thematically, the anthology includes a
diverse range of contributions - taking ethnographic,
musicological, sociological, gender studies and cultural studies
approaches to analysing Prince's career.
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