The Union of Words and Music in Medieval Poetry/Book and Audio Cassette

by Rebecca A. Baltzer (Editor)

In the beginning, poetry and music formed one Homer was sung, Beowulf was sung, and the Provençal lyric was sung. Even today, music and poetry remain united in popular song, in opera and oratorio, and in church liturgy and other kinds of sacred music.In these essays, originating from a symposium held at the University of Texas at Austin, six noted scholars draw upon the insights of musicology, philology, linguistics, and metrics to illuminate central aspects of the relationship between poetry and music in the Middle Ages. Each essay moves adventurously into new territory, supported by scholarly expertise and reasoned analysis.The essays include Leo Treitler’s “The Troubadours Singing Their Poems,” which argues for the expressive quality of medieval music. Thomas Cable’s “The Meter and Musical Implications of Old English Poetry” refines and significantly adds to his previous analyses of Old English metrics. Steven Guthrie’s “Meter and Performance in Machaut and Chaucer” demonstrates significant patterns of versification that earlier scholarship had not perceived. Lawrence Earp’s “Lyrics for Reading and Lyrics for Singing in Late Medieval France” virtually forges a new link in musical and literary history between the verse of the trouvere and the Middle French lyric. And James I. Wimsatt’s “Chaucer and Deschamps’ ‘Natural Music’” provides a fresh evaluation of the difference between Chaucer’s work and the native English tradition.THIS PARAGRAPH IS OMITTED BUT MAY NEED RE-ADDING IF WE GET TAPEThe accompanying musical tape was made by the professional ensemble Sequentia. The performances have the vitality and finish of the most audience-oriented presentations, and they likewise have great scholarly integrity, being based on the musicians’ familiarity with the manuscript sources and what has been written about them, as well as their own wide experience with medieval texts. Such a recording is an innovative feature for a published discussion of medieval text and music relationships; it significantly illustrates the topics under consideration, while offering the experience of listening to superb musical performances.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991