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Source Readings in Music History: Antiquity and the Middle Ages
This is one of the five volumes that is self-contained and devoted to the music of a particular period. The four chapters here feature readings on the Greek view of music, the early christian view, music as liberal art and music theory in the middle ages.
- GenresMusicNonfiction
Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
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September 29, 2023
This book is part of a series that gathers primary source documents that are important to (western classical) musical history, in English translation. This particular volume begins with the ancient Greeks and carries through to the beginnings of modern musical notation in the late middle ages. The book itself looks deceptively skinny, but the text is densely packed and the content of many of the sources requires much effort to comprehend.
Some of the sources here are not particularly illuminating, but seem to have been included because the authors are significant for other reasons. For instance, there are excerpts from Plato, Aristotle, Jerome, and Augustine, which describe music in only the most generic terms. On the other hand, there are also treatises which are quite informative on musical theory and/or practice, but whose authors are essentially or literally unknown. These latter selections are the most valuable, but also the most demanding to read. For several treatises, on ancient Greek musical practice and on medieval notation, among others, I wished there were more and better footnotes to help translate the author's concepts into modern terminology or notation. I would not be surprised if the editor and even translator(s) were confused on some of the details.
I am glad to have access to a collection of this type of sources. I just wish the presentation were more friendly to the reader. The page layouts pack so much text onto each page that one's eyes can become strained. And, as mentioned above, there were a number of times where I wished the footnotes included more helpful commentary.
Some of the sources here are not particularly illuminating, but seem to have been included because the authors are significant for other reasons. For instance, there are excerpts from Plato, Aristotle, Jerome, and Augustine, which describe music in only the most generic terms. On the other hand, there are also treatises which are quite informative on musical theory and/or practice, but whose authors are essentially or literally unknown. These latter selections are the most valuable, but also the most demanding to read. For several treatises, on ancient Greek musical practice and on medieval notation, among others, I wished there were more and better footnotes to help translate the author's concepts into modern terminology or notation. I would not be surprised if the editor and even translator(s) were confused on some of the details.
I am glad to have access to a collection of this type of sources. I just wish the presentation were more friendly to the reader. The page layouts pack so much text onto each page that one's eyes can become strained. And, as mentioned above, there were a number of times where I wished the footnotes included more helpful commentary.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review