Instrumentalists and Renaissance Culture, 1420–1600
Instrumentalists and Renaissance Culture, 1420–1600
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This innovative and multi-layered study of the music and culture of Renaissance instrumentalists spans the early institutionalization of instrumental music from c.1420 to the rise of the basso continuo and newer roles for instrumentalists around 1600. Employing a broad cultural narrative interwoven with detailed case studies, close readings of eighteen essential musical sources, and analysis of musical images, Victor Coelho and Keith Polk show that instrumental music formed a vital and dynamic element in the artistic landscape, from rote function to creative fantasy. Instrumentalists occupied a central role in courtly ceremonies and private social rituals during the Renaissance, and banquets, dances, processions, religious celebrations and weddings all required their participation, regardless of social class. Instrumental genres were highly diverse artistic creations, from polyphonic repertories revealing knowledge of notated styles, to improvisation and flexible practices. Understanding the contributions of instrumentalists is essential for any accurate assessment of Renaissance culture.
- Offers a broad cultural study of instrumental music as woven into the social fabric of the Renaissance
- Case studies throughout provide snapshots of the significant events and personalities of Renaissance instrumental music
- Includes source-based and image-based studies of instrumental music to offer a wide range of contextual perspectives
- Written to appeal to a broad range of musicologists, Renaissance historians, and early music performers
Reviews & endorsements
'… a rich and variegated picture of how instrumentalists created, functioned, and lived. Specific case studies of individual Renaissance instrumentalists and events serve to illustrate trends in instrumental practice during the long Renaissance.' Michael Eisenberg, Notes
‘Victor Coelho and Keith Polk have both made significant contributions to the study of instrumental music in the Renaissance … a welcome and much needed contribution to the scholarship of instrumental music in the Renaissance.’ Eric Thomas, European History Quarterly
Product details
January 2019Paperback
9781316509203
351 pages
245 × 170 × 19 mm
0.6kg
28 b/w illus.
Available
Table of Contents
- Prologue: the culture of Renaissance instrumental music
- 1. Renaissance instrumental music and its patrons
- 2. A source-based history of Renaissance instrumental music
- 3. The players
- 4. Instrumental music for celebration and ceremony
- 5. The instrumentalist's workshop: pedagogy, intabulation, and compositional process
- 6. Renaissance instruments: images and realities
- Epilogue.
