Book Description

Edward Roesner forged a career in musicology that placed him at the forefront of the discipline. This collection of thirteen essays entitled Quomodo Cantabimus Canticum? taking its name from an important motet text in the Roman de Fauvel, and written and edited by a group of scholar friends and students, honors not only his rigorous scholarship but also the breadth of his interest and learning. Starting with Leofranc Holford-Strevens' rationale of how Roesner, as Gustave Reese's protégée and successor, had no choice but to be a Medievalist, Gabriela Ilnitchi Currie's discussion of Eriugenian song, and Susan Rankin's exposé on the making of Carolingian chant books, the anthology traverses a wide continuum of argument all of which underscores Roesner's particular interests--liturgy, chant, polyphony, authenticity, the dissemination of texts and ideas over the centuries, and things Parisian. Andreas Haug brings new perspectives to bear on Notker's Preface; and following Roesner's interest in all aspects of the Medieval and Renaissance eras, today's leading scholars--Rebecca Baltzer, Margaret Bent, Bonnie Blackburn, Susan Boynton, Michel Huglo, Karl Kügle, and Joshua Rifkin--reexamine previously accepted notions of time and space, terminology, and transmission within previously "explicit" texts and tropes. The collection comes full circle with Linda Correll Roesner's discussion of a Clara Schumann letter (Reese's wedding gift to the Roesner couple), and a return to Paris with David Cannata's investigation of Messiaen as Thomistic Christologist. The editors were resolute that Roesner provide his own bibliography! With every sentence, Quomodo Cantabimus Canticum? Essays in Honor of Edward H. Roesner, a compilation that can only begin to plumb Roesner's facility and relentless pursuit of precision in all areas of academic investigation, marvels "How Can We Sing the Song?" For more information, see http: //www.corpusmusicae.com/misc/misc_cc007.htm