The Library of Essays on Music Performance Practice Medieval

This selection of classic essays on music performance practice of the Middle Ages addresses the most crucial of performers' decisions: pitch, rhythm and performing forces, as well as related matters such as proportions, tunings and the need for ornamentation. The volume includes essays on all types of music - monophony and polyphony, sacred and sec Almost a thousand years of music are treated in this volume on the performance practice of the Middle Ages, covering monophony and polyphony, sacred and secular, genre and theory. The essays selected deal with the most crucial of performers' decisions: pitch, rhythm, and performing forces, as well as related matters such as proportions, tunings, and the need for ornamentation. The introduction provides an overview of the major issues and resources, situating medieval music within the context of the early music revival and the debate on authenticity and providing an extended bibliography of relevant scholarship.