Description
Book SynopsisShowcases the energy and diversity of the young field of music semiology, appealing to readers who want to explore the meaning of music in our lives. The Dawn of Music Semiology showcases the work of nine leading musicologists, inspired by the work of Jean-Jacques Nattiez, the founding father of music semiology. Now entering its fifth decade as Nattiez enters his eighth,music semiology, or music semiotics, is still a young, vibrant field, and this book reflects its energy and diversity. It appeals to readers wanting to explore the meaning of music in our lives and to understand the ways of appreciating the complexities that lie behind its simple beauty and direct impact on us. Following a preface by Pierre Boulez and an introduction by the editors, nine chapters discuss the latest thinking about general considerations such as music and gesture, the psychology of music, and the role of ethnotheory. The volume offers new research on topics as diverse as modeling folk polyphony, spatialization in the Darmstadt repertoire, Schenker's theory of musical content, compositional modernism from Wagner to Boulez, current music theory terminology, and Maderna's use of folk music in serial composition. CONTRIBUTORS: Kofi Agawu, Simha Arom, Rossana Dalmonte, Irène Deliège, Jonathan Dunsby, Jonathan Goldman, Nicolas Meeùs, Jean Molino, Arnold Whittall Jonathan Dunsby is Professor of Music Theory at the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester. Jonathan Goldman is Professor of Musicology at the University of Montreal.
Trade ReviewOver the past forty years, [Nattiez] has been one of the leading figures in musicology. The nine essays gathered in this volume are signed by eminent individuals whose renown in the academic world is at times comparable to that of Nattiez himself. The texts are preceded by a posthumous foreword by Pierre Boulez. The various chapters maintain a high level of quality that fully matches the reputation of their authors. * REVUE DE MUSICOLOGIE *
An ambitious and valuable set of contributions.Agawu's 'Against Ethnotheory' offers a compelling and eloquent critique of the will to difference upon which he claims ethnotheory is founded. Jonathan Goldman's [chapter] stands out through its eloquent prose, clarity of purpose, and thorough grounding. Irène Deliège's empirical study of segmentation and perception of musical form by musicians and nonmusicians is to be applauded for bringing together traditionally separated disciplines with much potential for mutual enrichment...[As the book's title suggests,] perhaps we have turned around to behold not the sunrise itself but the vast landscape that it illuminates. * CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF MUSIC LIBRARIES REVIEW. *
The Dawn of Semiology was a finalist for the Opus book prize (Canada). * . *
[T]his book is a welcome and substantial contribution to semiological and semiology-inspired research, and a fitting veneration of its honoree's life's work (so far). * CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF MUSIC LIBRARIES REVIEW *
Table of ContentsForeword: About Jean-Jacques Nattiez - Pierre Boulez Acknowledgments Introduction - Jonathan Dunsby and Jonathan Goldman Music and Gesture - Jean Molino Music Semiology in the Mind of the Musician - Jonathan Dunsby Against Ethnotheory - Kofi Agawu From Georgian to Medieval Polyphonies: Analysis and Modeling - Simha Arom Schenker's Inhalt, Schenkerian Semiotics: A Preliminary Study - Nicolas Meeùs Music under the Sign of Modernism: From Wagner to Boulez, and Britten - Arnold Whittall Musical Borrowings in the Works of Bruno Maderna - Rossana Dalmonte Of Doubles, Groups, and Rhymes: A Seriation of Works for Spatialized Orchestral Groups (1958-60) - Jonathan Goldman The Psychological Organization of Music Listening: From Spontaneous to Learned Perceptive Processes - Irène Deliège Selected Bibliography of Works by Jean-Jacques Nattiez List of Contributors Index Tabula Gratulatoria
