Music in the Renaissance

by Richard Freedman, Walter Frisch (Editor)

Renaissance music in its cultural, social, and intellectual contexts.

Richard Freedman's Music in the Renaissance shows how music and other forms of expression were adapted to changing tastes and ideals in Renaissance courts and churches. Giving due weight to sacred, secular, and instrumental genres, Freedman invites readers to consider who made music, who sponsored and listened to it, who preserved and owned it, and what social and aesthetic purposes it served. While focusing on broad themes such as music and the literary imagination and the art of improvisation, he also describes Europeans' musical encounters with other cultures and places.Western Music in A Norton History comprises six volumes of moderate length, each written in an engaging style by a recognized expert. Authoritative and current, the series examines music in the broadest sense—as sounds notated, performed, and heard—focusing not only on composers and works, but also on broader social and intellectual currents.

Genres: Music

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2012

Reviews

[Ryan Funk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be warned: this book is not for people new to classical music.

A fairly dense but interesting look at the evolution of European music from 1400-1600, both in form and function. I read it cover-to-cover, but each chapter could be read independently without much being lost.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second in the Western Music in context series, and it was just as good as the previous volume on medieval music. One of the things I've come to like about this series is that each volume is just enough. You get a good, interesting view of that particular period without too much detail. Yet there is enough depth that I always feel I am learning something new and getting a useful perspective on the music and composers.
In this book, Freeman takes a close look at the relationship between music and the courtly culture of the nobility, which was of particular interest for its look at the role of amateur music making in this culture. I also liked the discussion of the ways in which the rise of printing changed things for both composers and performers. Freeman's treatment of the musical encounters between Europeans and the various native peoples they met in the course of exploration and colonization was especially fascinating, and something I would definitely like to read more about.

[Mills College Library]

780.9031 F8537 2013