Music Philology

by Georg Feder

In The Critical Editing of Music (1996) James Grier called Georg Feder's Musikphilologie ( Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1987) "the most important contribution to date" on textual criticism in music and "the only one that considers the full range of critical issues in editing" (Grier, p. 14). Pendragon Press's edition of Feder's Music Philology now makes available in English translation this essential, intellectually engaging but concise discussion of the complex and multi-faceted tasks in traditional scholarly editing of music. From the Middle Ages to the present, music has been written down and disseminated in notated form. In evaluating music notation, philological methods have been used more and more. These methods come from linguistic disciplines and are linked with specifically musical traditions and subjects. Starting with the relationships of music and language, tradition and understanding, work and text, Feder describes the fundamentals of music philology and its tasks. In addition to the musical sources themselves, theoretical and historical sources facilitate the critical study of questions about authenticity, dating, origin, and dissemination. The transcription faithful to its original and the historically accurate interpretation of textual versions that are authentic, authorized, or close to the author are shown to be critical pre-suppositions for a persuasive technical analysis of a work, for critical interpretation of its content, and for matters of performance practice. All these pre-suppositions are candidly and thoroughly discussed and defended against well-known objections. Musical editing techniques are described according to the various types ofscholarly editions--"from the facsimile to the critical, historical Gesamtausgabe. A historical survey of textual criticism in music and a bibliography close the volume. For more than three decades Georg Feder directed the Joseph Haydn-Institut (Cologne) which issues Joseph Haydn-Werke ( G. Henle). He has published countless insightful articles on Haydn and other topics about musicology and its methods. Bruce C. MacIntyre (Brooklyn College, C.U.N.Y.) has prepared this translation in close consultation with the author.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005