The Cambridge History of Medieval Music


Book Description

Spanning a millennium of musical history, this monumental volume brings together nearly forty leading authorities to survey the music of Western Europe in the Middle Ages. All of the major aspects of medieval music are considered, making use of the latest research and thinking to discuss everything from the earliest genres of chant, through the music of the liturgy, to the riches of the vernacular song of the trouvères and troubadours. Alongside this account of the core repertory of monophony, The Cambridge History of Medieval Music tells the story of the birth of polyphonic music, and studies the genres of organum, conductus, motet and polyphonic song. Key composers of the period are introduced, such as Leoninus, Perotinus, Adam de la Halle, Philippe de Vitry and Guillaume de Machaut, and other chapters examine topics ranging from musical theory and performance to institutions, culture and collections.




Liturgy's Imagined Past/s


Book Description

This book calls attention to the importance of scholarly reflection on the writing of liturgical history. The essays not only probe the impact of important shifts in historiography but also present new scholarship that promises to reconfigure some of the established images of liturgy's past. Based on papers presented at the 2014 Yale Institute of Sacred Music Liturgy Conference, Liturgy's Imagined Past/s seeks to invigorate discussion of methodologies and materials in contemporary writings on liturgy's pasts and to resource such writing at a point in time when formidable questions are being posed about the way in which historians construct the object of their inquiry.




Das Neue Musiklexikon


Book Description




Toward an Authentic Interpretation of the Organ Works of César Franck


Book Description

Franck's twelve major organ works enjoy a popularity which surpasses even that of his Symphony in D Minor. This volume provides a guide to the interpretation of Franck's organ works by examining the extant first-hand references to him as a student, performer, and teacher written by those who knew him, heard him, and studied with him.




Music and the Renaissance


Book Description

This volume unites a collection of articles which illustrate brilliantly the complexity of European cultural history in the Renaissance. On the one hand, scholars of this period were inspired by classical narratives on the sublime effects of music and, on the other hand, were affected by the profound religious upheavals which destroyed the unity of Western Christianity and, in so doing, opened up new avenues in the world of music. These articles offer as broad a vision as possible of the ways of thinking about music which developed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.




A History of the Oratorio: The oratorio in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries


Book Description

With this volume, Howard Smither completes his monumental History of the Oratorio. Volumes 1 and 2, published by the University of North Carolina Press in 1977, treated the oratorio in the Baroque era, while Volume 3, published in 1987, explored th




Singing the Songs of the Lord in Foreign Lands


Book Description

Martin Luther once said, 'Many of the Fathers have loved and praised the Book of Psalms above all other books of the Bible. No books of moral tales and no legends of saints which have been written, or ever will be, are to my mind as noble as the Book of Psalms ...' Despite their richness, the Psalms also raise some interpretive challenges. How do we read such difficult passages as the one which advocates the violent destruction of one's enemies? Are we to ignore these and embrace only those that edify us? This collection of essays by renowned international scholars addresses such issues as the history and contemporary Lutheran and ecumenical interpretations of Psalms and provides valuable interpretive insights for theologians, biblical scholars, pastors, counselors and students. With contributions by Lubomir Batka, Andrea Bieler, Brian Brock, Hans-Peter Großhans, Elelwani B. Farisani, Jutta Hausmann, Anni Hentschel, Frank-Lothar Hossfeld, Craig R. Koester, Madipoane Masenya, Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr, Urmas Nommik, Roger Wanke and Vitor Westhelle.




A History of the Oratorio


Book Description

With this volume, Howard Smither completes his monumental History of the Oratorio. Volumes 1 and 2, published by the University of North Carolina Press in 1977, treated the oratorio in the Baroque era, while Volume 3, published in 1987, explored the genre in the Classical era. Here, Smither surveys the history of nineteenth- and twentieth-century oratorio, stressing the main geographic areas of oratorio composition and performance: Germany, Britain, America, and France. Continuing the approach of the previous volumes, Smither treats the oratorio in each language and geographical area by first exploring the cultural and social contexts of oratorio. He then addresses aesthetic theory and criticism, treats libretto and music in general, and offers detailed analyses of the librettos and music of specific oratorios (thirty-one in all) that are of special importance to the history of the genre. As a synthesis of specialized literature as well as an investigation of primary sources, this work will serve as both a springboard for further research and an essential reference for choral conductors, soloists, choral singers, and others interested in the history of the oratorio. Originally published 2000. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.




Aspects of music, arts and religion during the period of Czech Modernism


Book Description

Am Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts setzt sich die tschechische Gesellschaft intensiv mit neuen spirituellen Strömungen wie Theosophie, Anthroposophie und Okkultismus auseinander. Durch die Übersetzungen der Werke von Huysmans, Strauss, Nietzsche, Steiner und anderen einflußreichen europäischen Denkern gerät der Katholizismus immer stärker in den Konflikt mit der Moderne. Die Bewegung Katolická moderna versucht in Böhmen den Katholizismus zu erneuern. Zu den Mitarbeitern der Zeitschrift Nový zivot zählen wichtige tschechische Künstlerpersönlichkeiten. Auch die Autoren der Zeitschrift Moderní revue streben eine entsprechende Reform religiös ausgerichteter Kunst an. Die tschechische Musik dieser Zeit widerspiegelt die vielfältige Auseinandersetzung mit den neuen Denkrichtungen. Charakteristisch für die betreffenden Werke ist der Synkretismus in Form einer persönlichen Synthese aus verschiedenen Formen der Spiritualität. In diesem Kongressband werden neben den Beiträgen zu diesen Fragen bislang unbekannte Dokumente zur tschechischen Musik der Jahrhundertwende veröffentlicht und die Rezeptionswege von massgebenden Komponisten der Zeit (Dvořák, Janáček, Hába, Schulhoff, Novák, Martinů) untersucht. At the end of the 19th century, Czech society was preoccupied with new spiritual trends such as theosophy, anthroposophy, pantheism and occultism. The ideas of Schuré, Huysmans, Péladan, Renan, Strauss, Nietzsche, Steiner, Blavatsky and other influential European thinkers were compiled and made available thanks to numerous translations. At the same time, Catholicism was coming into increasing conflict with modernism. One of the attempts at its revival in Bohemia was represented by the movement Catholic Modernism. The contributors to the review Nový zivot (New Life) were distinct personalities of Czech cultural life. The authors of the magazine Moderní revue (Modern Review) strove for reform of religion-oriented arts too. Czech music of that period reflects the multifaceted encounters with the new intellectual trends. Works are characterised by syncretism, in the form of a personal synthesis of various types of spirituality. In addition, the congress proceedings comprise research into hitherto unknown documents dealing with Czech music at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the paths of reception of the foremost composers of the time (Dvořák, Janáček, Hába, Schulhoff, Novák, Martinů).