Description
Book SynopsisThe fundamental changes resulting in the development of the Baroque style around the turn of the 17th century had a profound effect on music theory. This work explores the metamorphosis in England where, because of a traditional emphasis on practicality, there was willingness to accept new ideas.
Trade ReviewOn every page a complex network of filiations is traced among many English authors. It is this kind of meticulous research in which Herissone excels, and to which subsequent generations of scholars will gratefully refer ... Her meticulous account is unusually lucid ... There is no comparable account in the English language that offers such a comprehensive and detailed overview of English music theory from the seventeenth century, and her book will surely become the standard reference work on this subject. * Journal of the American Musicological Society *
This welcome survey covers a great deal of ground ... Clarity of organization is only the most immediately obvious of the book's strengths. The author scrutinizes all her materials with a critical eye, and charts an astonishing number of disagreements, confusions and self-contradictions. * Early Music *
A full and invaluable account of English theoretical writing over the period ... A particularly valuable contribution of the book to English music history is the four full appendices. * Musical Times *
Table of ContentsPreface ; Acknowledgements ; List of Plates ; List of Tables ; List of Examples ; Sources ; Time ; Pitch Structure ; Harmony ; Harmonic and Contraptual Compositional rules ; Tonality ; Texture and Form ; Conclusion ; Appendix I: Alphabetical List of Treatises ; Appendix II: Chronological List of Treatises ; Appendix III: Editions of Playford's Introduction to the Skill of Musick ; Appendix IV: Origins of Material ; Bibliography ; Index
