This volume contains a fascinating collection of observations by ancient writers as they were attempting to understand Music in its relationship with the world around them. The book begins with a discussion of Pythagoras (570-495 BC) who perceived a kinship between Music and astronomy, mathematics and physical therapy. One also reads from remote times the question of whether musicians are born or made, whether music is genetic and if geography influences musical perspective.

This book follows the fascinating attempt of man to explain the nature of Music, that powerful and mysterious art from which cannot be seen. From original accounts from the earliest period of writing when Music was associated with the gods to the early Christian Church, which tried to explain that Music is the part of mathematics you can hear, the speculation continued. Eventually man began to realize that he is more than Reason, that he has a experiential side as well and this led to writing of understanding vs feeling, the bicameral mind finally explained by modern clinical brain research....

The first part of this volume presents first-hand accounts of individual ancient musicians, singers, instrumentalists, conductors, both men and women. The second part presents much background information on those wandering musicians of the late Middle Ages who formed a single musical language in Europe, the Jongleurs, Minstrels, Troubadours, Minnesingers and Goliards. The musicians described in this volume are forgotten by history, but they created and passed on our musical culture.

This volume presents the early views of philosophers and musicians having to do with the general background of what is known as Performance Practice. Performance Practice refers to the knowledge needed by musicians in bringing to life, in the form of present tense performance, older compositions, in view of the fact that we have a very incomplete system for the notation of music. But there are other problems besides our inadequate notational system. These include broad issues of society, the nature of the musical instruments themselves, acoustics, how the listener's brain "hears" music and...

Ethics, from the original Greek word, "ethos," had to do with the character of a man. The first part of this book presents the arguments of the ancient philosophers who believed that Music education had the primary responsibility in developing character in children. The second part of this book considers "ethics" in the modern sense, in particular the question of the ethical responsibility of the artist toward the public.

This volume contains first-hand and eye-witness descriptions of the actual performance of music in ancient and medieval societies. Documented here are not only concerts of art music in real concert halls, but a wide spectrum of functional music for the theater, banquets, weddings, funerals and the military.

This volume consists of essays which present the reader with Renaissance views on their philosophy of music. The contemporary opinions here cover the general new view of man himself in the 14th century, a variety of views on the new values of the Renaissance and valuable first-hand commentary on performance practice. Taken together, here Renaissance musicians provide the reader with a broad background which will help enable the musician to make informed judgments in planning his performance of Renaissance music.

This volume contains the fascinating views of some of the most well-known and influential men of the Renaissance. Here we find interesting information not mentioned in traditional texts. For example we find that Leonardo da Vinci, who is never described as a musician in his biographies, was the best known music performer to those friends who knew him personally. Taken together, this volume is a testimonial to one of history's most important developments. After centuries when the Church assumed the role of speaking for mankind, it was the first characteristic of the Renaissance that the focus...

With the exception of the new form, Opera, the previous two centuries of musicology have tended to present the Baroque Period, 1600-1750, as a period of functional, even mechanical, music.The contemporary discussion in this volume will help the reader understand that nothing could be further from the truth.The great interest of most musicians living in the Baroque Period was the role of emotion in music both in composition and in performance.The role of all idioms of performance, including especially improvisation, were directly associated with the goal of increased communication of...