Overview

A long-needed overview of, and guide to, the principles behind the treatises on music theory written in ancient Greece and Rome and continuing through the Middle Ages. Long recognized as a foundation of musical composition, criticism, pedagogy, and appreciation, the literature of ancient and medieval music theory has maintained its strong position in the academic curriculum up to the present day. Now blessed with fine English translations of many of the ancient and medieval authors, modern students of music theory have advantages that their predecessors lacked just a few generations ago. Yet the ancient writings by themselves do not yield to easy comprehension. They need expository help. In this collection of fifteen topical essays, the author offers a contribution to that educational goal. Covering a dense theoretical literature from the classical period of ancient Greece to the sixteenth century of the Common Era, these essays present a detailed examination of subjects of concern not only to specialists in the history of theory, but to scholars of the general history ofancient Greek music and the liturgical plainchant of the medieval West. More than just a collection of specialized studies or a syllabus of obligatory learning, these essays present a persistent reflection on the timelessness of theoretical questions that engaged our musical forebears and that still engage us today. The author's approach is perennialist. It teaches us things about our musical heritage that never go away.

Full Product Details

Author:   Edward Nowacki (Author)
Publisher:   Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Imprint:   University of Rochester Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.10cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.544kg
ISBN:  

9781580469951

ISBN 10:   1580469957
Pages:   236
Publication Date:   20 June 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Introduction Part I: The Ancient Greek Tradition in Practice and Theory The Ancient Harmoniai The Tonoi Alypian Notation Part II: Mathematical Foundations Pythagorean Harmonic Ratios from the Octave to the Comma by Continuous Subtraction Boethius's Error in the De institutione musica 4.6 Aristoxenus's Proof That the Perfect Fourth Is the Sum of Two Tones and a Semitone Aristoxenus's Anticipation of the Logarithmic Logic of Musical Cognition The Three Mathematical Means in the Theories of Euclid, Boethius, Glarean, and Zarlino Guido and the Monochord Part III: Emerging Theories of the Ecclesiastical Modes Transposition and the Doctrine of Modal Affinity The Misunderstood Confinalis Reading the First Quidam of the Alia musica The Prologus in tonarium of Bern of Reichenau: A Translation Reading Hermannus Idealist and Empirical Perspectives in Theories of the Ecclesiastical Modes Glossary of Terms Notes Bibliography Index

Reviews

Greek and Latin Music Theory constitutes a thematically coherent assemblage curated through the expertise and personal interests of a master pedagogue, a treasury stuffed with an assortment of useful aids-tables, definitions, notes, and excerpts from primary sources. . . . The collection will be an especially valuable resource for graduate seminars and for non-specialists wishing to gain their bearings in some core principles undergirding ancient and medieval melodic theory. -- Elizabeth Lyon Hall * Journal of Music Theory *

Author Information

EDWARD NOWACKI is Professor Emeritus of musicology at the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati.

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