Music Education in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

Russell E. Murray, Jr. is Professor of Music and Associate Chair at the University of Delaware.Susan Forscher Weiss is Chair of Musicology, The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.Cynthia J. Cyrus is Associate Dean and Professor of Musicology at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University.

"The title of this collection is a bit off; a more accurate one would have been 'Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Music Education.' Murray (Univ. of Delaware), Weiss (Johns Hopkins), and Cyrus (Vanderbilt Univ.) aim, in part, to stimulate continued scholarly investigation in this area. Perspective essays by noted scholars (Jessie Ann Owens, James Haar, and Anthony Grafton) frame the 14 more focused investigations that constitute the real heart of the volume. Although the individual essays focus on a range of subjects, each addresses one or more of five basic issues central to the collection: methods of pedagogy, curriculum, people involved (teachers and students), institutions, and rationale. The diversity of topics is in keeping with the wide range of musical environments to be found in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Subjects of long-established importance (e.g., the Carolingian Renaissance, Guido d'Arezzo) receive attention; essays on convents, Scotland, and amateurs serve as reminders that medieval monks and professional musicians of Renaissance Italy were not the only people to receive training in music during these eras. This work is intended for scholars already familiar with current scholarship on medieval and Renaissance music. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty. — Choice"—D. Heuchemer, Kenyon College, April 2011"Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty.April 2011"—Choice"The editors and authors of this volume have put together an important collection of essays ... [T]he volume as a whole represents a worthy attempt to treat musical pedagogy in an historical manner and ... the authors and editors are to be congratulated."—The Medieval Review"[These essays] address the multifaceted topic of music education in Western Europe over a long span . . . and offer much new information, in part by focusing on places and social groups often previously treated as marginal. . . . One hopes that this engaging collection of essays will spur others to investigate this vast and fascinating topic. Fall 2011"—Early Music America"What is distinctive and welcome about this book is its musicological focus on pedagogy, music education, and the history of education which serves to expand the horizons of our field of study."—British Journal of Music Education"The essays gathered in this volume confirm for us that the study of musical pedagogy in the Middle Ages and Renaissance continues to receive the proper attention it so richly deserves. These contributions present an exciting perspective about the many approaches to themes found under the large umbrella of musical instruction and study, as well as the fascinating fruits that come to bear after their in-depth exploration. This volume is not only a welcome addition to scholarship on this topic but also a telling indicator of new research to come."—Journal of Musicological Research

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Reading and Writing the Pedagogy of the Past / Russell E. Murray, Jr., Susan Forscher Weiss, and Cynthia J. CyrusPerspective 11. Some Introductory Remarks on Musical Pedagogy / James HaarPart 1Medieval Pedagogy2. Guido d'Arezzo, Ut queant laxis, and Musical Understanding / Dolores Pesce3. Some Thoughts on Music Pedagogy in the Carolingian Era / Charles M. Atkinson4. Medieval Musical Education as Seen through Sources Outside the Realm of Music Theory / Susan BoyntonPart 2Renaissance Places of Learning5. "Sang Schwylls" and "Music Schools": Music Education in Scotland, 1560–1650 / Gordon Munro6. A Proper Musical Education for Antwerp's Women / Kristine K. Forney7. Juan Bermudo, Self-instruction, and the Amateur Instrumentalist / John GriffithsPerspective 28. The Humanist and the Commonplace Book: Education in Practice / Anthony GraftonPart 3Renaissance Materials and Contexts9. Musical Commonplaces in the Renaissance / Peter Schubert10. Music Education and the Conduct of Life in Early Modern England: A Review of the Sources / Pamela F. Starr11. Vandals, Students, or Scholars? Handwritten Clues in Renaissance Music Textbooks / Susan Forscher WeissPart 4Music Education in the Convent12. The Educational Practices of Benedictine Nuns: A Salzburg Abbey Case Study / Cynthia J. Cyrus13. Nun Musicians as Teachers and Students in Early Modern Spain / Colleen BaadePart 5The Teacher14. Isaac the Teacher: Pedagogy and Literacy in Florence, ca. 1488 / Blake Wilson15. Zacconi as Teacher: A Pedagogical Style in Words and Deeds / Russell E. Murray, Jr.16. The Good Maestro: Pietro Cerone on the Pedagogical Relationship / Gary TownePerspective 317. You Can Tell a Book by Its Cover: Reflections on Format in English Music "Theory" / Jessie Ann OwensContributorsIndex