Thomas Christensen is the Avalon Foundation Professor of Music and the Humanities, Associate Dean and Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division, University of Chicago, USA.

• Contents: Introduction. Part I Reflections on the History of Music Theory: Music theory and its histories; Music theory in Clio’s mirror; Fragile texts, hidden theory. Part II Thorough-Bass and Music Theory: Fundamenta Partiturae: thorough bass and foundations of 18th-century composition pedagogy; The Spanish Baroque guitar and 17th-century triadic theory; The Règle de l’Octave in thorough-bass theory and practice; Throughbass as music theory. Part III The 17th Century: Harmonia Temporis: Calvisius and musical chronology; The sound world of Father Mersenne. Part IV The 18th century: Johann Nicolaus Bach as music theorist; Bach among the theorists; Sensus, Ratio, and Phthongos: Mattheson’s theory of tone perception; Nichelmann contra C.Ph.E. Bach: harmonic theory and musical politics at the court of Frederick the Great; Diderot, Rameau, and resonating strings: new evidence of an early collaboration; Bemetzrieder’s dream: Diderot and the pathology of tonal sensibility in the Leçons de clavecin. Index.

Thomas Christensen is the Avalon Foundation Professor of Music and the Humanities, Associate Dean and Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division, University of Chicago, USA.

• Contents: Introduction. Part I Reflections on the History of Music Theory: Music theory and its histories; Music theory in Clio’s mirror; Fragile texts, hidden theory. Part II Thorough-Bass and Music Theory: Fundamenta Partiturae: thorough bass and foundations of 18th-century composition pedagogy; The Spanish Baroque guitar and 17th-century triadic theory; The Règle de l’Octave in thorough-bass theory and practice; Throughbass as music theory. Part III The 17th Century: Harmonia Temporis: Calvisius and musical chronology; The sound world of Father Mersenne. Part IV The 18th century: Johann Nicolaus Bach as music theorist; Bach among the theorists; Sensus, Ratio, and Phthongos: Mattheson’s theory of tone perception; Nichelmann contra C.Ph.E. Bach: harmonic theory and musical politics at the court of Frederick the Great; Diderot, Rameau, and resonating strings: new evidence of an early collaboration; Bemetzrieder’s dream: Diderot and the pathology of tonal sensibility in the Leçons de clavecin. Index.

Thomas Christensen is the Avalon Foundation Professor of Music and the Humanities, Associate Dean and Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division, University of Chicago, USA.

• Contents: Introduction. Part I Reflections on the History of Music Theory: Music theory and its histories; Music theory in Clio’s mirror; Fragile texts, hidden theory. Part II Thorough-Bass and Music Theory: Fundamenta Partiturae: thorough bass and foundations of 18th-century composition pedagogy; The Spanish Baroque guitar and 17th-century triadic theory; The Règle de l’Octave in thorough-bass theory and practice; Throughbass as music theory. Part III The 17th Century: Harmonia Temporis: Calvisius and musical chronology; The sound world of Father Mersenne. Part IV The 18th century: Johann Nicolaus Bach as music theorist; Bach among the theorists; Sensus, Ratio, and Phthongos: Mattheson’s theory of tone perception; Nichelmann contra C.Ph.E. Bach: harmonic theory and musical politics at the court of Frederick the Great; Diderot, Rameau, and resonating strings: new evidence of an early collaboration; Bemetzrieder’s dream: Diderot and the pathology of tonal sensibility in the Leçons de clavecin. Index.