Book Review
Jul. 28th, 2014 09:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariMusic in the Medieval West
by Margot Fassler
This book is part of a new series of music history books published by Norton, that concentrate on music in its social and historic context. They do seem to be primarily aimed at students, but Fassler's volume does a great job of addressing that audience while still being an informative and appealing read for those of us who have finished our schooling.
Fassler covers about 1000 years of music, from the last days of antiquity in the late 4th century up to the edge of the Renaissance in the 14th century, from the earliest ecclesiastical chants through the rise of complex polyphony in both sacred and secular music. She covers music and musicians both well-known and obscure, discussing Machaut and Marcabru, Hildegard of Bingen and Hugo Spechtshart. Throughout, Fassler explores the development of notation, the ways in which music was transmitted and spread across Europe, and the involvement of women in music making. She also does a wonderful job of relating music to social and political developments during the middle ages, such as scholasticism, the Black Death, and the Hundred Years' War. Her prose is engaging and often witty, too.
by Margot Fassler
This book is part of a new series of music history books published by Norton, that concentrate on music in its social and historic context. They do seem to be primarily aimed at students, but Fassler's volume does a great job of addressing that audience while still being an informative and appealing read for those of us who have finished our schooling.
Fassler covers about 1000 years of music, from the last days of antiquity in the late 4th century up to the edge of the Renaissance in the 14th century, from the earliest ecclesiastical chants through the rise of complex polyphony in both sacred and secular music. She covers music and musicians both well-known and obscure, discussing Machaut and Marcabru, Hildegard of Bingen and Hugo Spechtshart. Throughout, Fassler explores the development of notation, the ways in which music was transmitted and spread across Europe, and the involvement of women in music making. She also does a wonderful job of relating music to social and political developments during the middle ages, such as scholasticism, the Black Death, and the Hundred Years' War. Her prose is engaging and often witty, too.
