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Improvisation and Inventio in the Performance of Medieval Music
A Practical Approach
Synopsis
Improvisation and Inventio in the Performance of Medieval Music: A Practical Approach is an innovative and groundbreaking approach to medieval music as living repertoire. The book provides philosophical frameworks, primary-source analysis, and clear, actionable practices and exercises aimed at recovering the improvisatory and inventive aspects of medieval music for contemporary musicians. Aimed at both instrumentalists and vocalists, the book
explores the utilization of musical models, the inventive implications of medieval notation, and the ways in which memory, mode, rhetoric, and primary source paradigms inform the improvisatory process in both monophonic and polyphonic music of the Middle Ages. Angela Mariani, an experienced performer of both medieval music
and folk and traditional musics, rediscovers and explicates the processes of imagination, invention, and improvisation which historically energized both medieval music in its own period and in its revival in our own time. Based on decades of research, university teaching, ensemble direction, collaboration, and performance, Mariani's impassioned stance that "the elusive element of inventio, as the medieval rhetoricians would have called it, must always be provided by the performer in
the present," emphasizes medieval music performance practice as a dynamic and still-vital tradition. Students, teachers, directors, and those interested in the wealth of expressive beauty found in the music of the middle ages will likewise find value and meaning in her clear and accessible prose, and in the
practical processes and exercises that make this book unique within the literature of medieval performance practice.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
I would recommend this book as an addition to the library of any teacher or student of medieval music, medieval-curious musician, or experienced medieval professional who would like to reflect on their mediebal music practice. * Leah Stuttard, Music and Letters * This book is a gift, born of the experience, artistry, and memory of a leading practitioner and teacher of medieval music. It is full of learning lightly worn, and invaluable advice born of long experience. Scholars will appreciate its practical approach, and performers will respect and admire its deep learning. * Thomas Forrest Kelly, Morton B. Knafel Professor of Music, Harvard University * Finally, instructions for recreating the most basic technique in the performance of Medieval music - improvisation. Improvisation and Inventio in the Performance of Medieval Music is a welcome and long-awaited addition to early music performance practice. Angela Mariani sets a new standard for early music performance! * Timothy McGee, University of Toronto * One of the major challenges for students of medieval music is understanding the basic principles of composition and performance-chant, organum, modes, language, or a combination of these. As the subtitle indicates, Mariani (Texas Tech Univ. School of Music) provides a commonsense and practical approach to this specialized topic, giving real-life and step-by-step guidelines for tackling and being successful in the understanding and application of the concepts and
constructs of medieval music ... A must-have book for those involved in the performance or study of medieval music. * Choice *