An urgently needed guide to understanding medieval music to be used as a text for the university undergraduate, graduate students in music and interdisciplinary medieval studies, and for the professional musicologist and medievalist. This book will also be appreciated by everyone interested in early music.
Nancy van Deusen's The Cultural Context of Medieval Music addresses the mental landscape surrounding music that, especially, was sung and experienced in the Middle Ages. Largely anonymous in its composition, and apparently lacking the motivation of fame and commerce, music within a well thought-out system of education served a purpose that goes far beyond casual entertainment or personal professional advancement. Offering experience through performance, music exemplified the basic principles not only of the material and possible measurements of the visible world—such as of objects, relationships, and movement—but also of the invisible materials of sound and time, making it an ideal medium for working with unseen substances such as concepts, imaginations, and ideas. St. Augustine in the late fourth century reinforced the importance of music for the process of learning when he wrote that nothing could be truly understood without music. This book shows how this, in fact, is the case—a message of great relevance today.

- 218 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF
The Cultural Context of Medieval Music
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Table of Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Preface: Music, Devotion, Emotion, and Intellection
- 1. Introduction: Principles, Vocabulary, Concepts
- 2. Music in a Culture of the Mind: A Medieval View of Resources, Material, and Composition
- 3. What Did This Medieval “Forest” Contain? Preexistent Substance, Unlimited Possibilities
- 4. Music within the Context of Medieval Education
- 5. Silva : Inner and Outer Substance, Music, and Material Culture
- 6. “They All Read the Same Books”: A Book-Bag from Antiquity
- 7. Musica disciplina : Analogies and Explanations
- 8. Music at the Forefront of Science: The Usefulness of Medieval Music
- Editions: Music to Sing
- Glossary of Terms
- Selected Bibliography
- Index
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Yes, you can access The Cultural Context of Medieval Music by Nancy Van Deusen in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Media & Performing Arts & Classical Music. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.