The medieval chant of Byzantium is but little-known, although a large body of music has been preserved in neumatic notation. Coming into use about AD 1150, the Middle Byzantine musical notation is the earliest notational type of Byzantium that can be transcribed with reasonable accuracy; the musical content of manuscripts earlier than c. 1150 can only be fully understood through Middle Byzantine versions. The book discusses such topics as chant transmission before the neumes, the varieties of Byzantine musical notations, words and music in Byzantine chant, Byzantine and Western neumatic notations, modes, melody and intervals, but its purpose above all is to serve as a key to the deciphering of melodies written in the Middle Byzantine notation. In addition, the book presents a panorama of the styles of Byzantine chant from simple psalmody to melismatic chant and it is accompanied by a set of specimens of musical manuscripts of known date and provenance. The text includes more than sixty musical examples and is provided with an annotated bibliography.
By:
Christian Troelsgard Imprint: Museum Tusculanum Press Country of Publication: Denmark Dimensions:
Height: 30mm,
Width: 22mm,
Spine: 2mm
Weight: 794g ISBN:9788763531580 ISBN 10: 8763531585 Pages: 142 Publication Date:06 October 2011 Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format:Hardback Publisher's Status: Active
Christian Troelsgard is associate professor in Greek and Latin philology at the University of Copenhagen and secretary of the Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae, an international project for the promotion of editions and studies of Byzantine chant.