Early Music Series – serie

An edition with commentary of Handel's exercises for continuo playing which he wrote for the daughters of George II.

Leopold Mozart's Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing was the major work of its period on the violin and comparable in importance to Quantz's treatise on the flute and P.E. Bach's on the piano. This translation by Editha Knocker was the first to appear in English and remains scholarly and eminently readable.

The authentic performance of sixteenth-century music involves more than just reading the notes. The singers and musicians of the time were expected to add elaborate ornamentation according to very precise rules, but exactly how these rules should be interpreted and applied has always presented considerable problems to the modern performer. This clear, concise, and practical guide to the kinds of ornamentation appropriate to sixteenth-century music is a valuable handbook for those desiring to perform the music of the period.

This translation of the third volume of Syntagma musicum is part of a multi-volume work by German composer and theorist Michael Praetorius (1571-1621). Volume III deals with terminology and performance practice, and offers us the most detailed commentary available from the 17th century about the performance of particular pieces of music. For modern scholars, this third volume is the preeminent source of contemporary information on performance practice for the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Praetorius is the most often quoted and excerpted writer on performance practice. In his translation, Kite-Powell has worked with a notoriously difficult syntax to produce a definitive English edition of this important work.

The Baroque Clarinet is a sourcebook for the historical study of the European clarinet during the first half of the eighteenth century. The book is based on a comprehensive study of the theoretical, musical, and iconographical evidence, and many conclusions are presented here for the first time. The opening chapter provides a general view of the precursors of the clarinet. The remainder of the book looks in detail at the baroque clarinet: its design and construction, its playing techniques, the music written for it, and its use by both amateur and professional players. Of particular interest is the author's investigation into aspects of performance practice at various points in the instrument's development. The book is generously illustrated with pictures and music examples, and the appendix provides an inventory and short description of extant baroque clarinets.

A "hidden" instrument in the classical music world, the mandolin's repertoire of original music remains largely unknown. This book examines the lives and works of the mandolin's great composers and, together with Sparks's earlier The Early Mandolin (OUP 1989), provides the first comprehensive survey of the instrument's history. The book also explores aspects of technique and looks at present-day orchestras and soloists.

The lute was one of the most important instruments in use in Europe from late medieval times up to the eighteenth century. Despite its acknowledged importance, this study is the first ever comprehensive work on the instrument and its music, apart from performance studies or bibliographical and reference publications. The book focuses on the lute's history, but also contains chapters on the lute in concert, lute song accompaniment, the thearbo, and the lute in Scotland. Written for the music student, the serious listener, the player, maker, and lute enthusiast, Spring makes available for the first time over 40 years of musical scholarship previously the preserve of academic journals.

Over the last dozen or so years the musical landscape has been changed significantly by the revival of early instrumental music. People are now making and playing many Renaissance and early baroque instruments which until recently were not even mentioned in standard dictionaries. Praetorius's De Organographia, first published in 1618, can be called the book behind the revival. While it has long been an essential tool for musicologists, it is now exercising a wider, more popular appeal as the growing multitude of instrument makers and players seek to base its efforts on this documentation Praetorius has provided. De Organographia is beyond argument the most important period book on musical instruments ever to be written. No comparable work gives us the wide range, the clarity of description, and above all the scale drawings that we find in Praetorius.

This is the first book to be devoted exclusively to the two main types of early mandolin - the mandolino and the Neapolitan mandoline. It illustrates the rich and varied musical history of these instruments and the full extent of their repertoires, which include music by Handel, Vivaldi, Alessandro Scarlatti, Beethoven, and by Sammartini, whose recently discovered sonata for mandolin is published here for the first time.The book aims to provide the basis for an understanding of the nature and historical performance practice of the instruments and thereby to enable players of today to achieve satisfying performances of the music.

The viol has become increasingly popular in recent years as an instrument for the amateur with an interest in early music. With this rise in popularity has grown the need for a tutor which gives detailed advice on playing technique and which is aware of the specific requirements of the adult beginner.Play the Viol, written to meet exactly this need, is the first comprehensive guide to appear in modern times and covers the treble, tenor, and bass viol. Its detailed technical instruction is based on original sources and on Alison Crum's extensive experience of performing and teaching. The book assumes no knowledge beyond an ability to read music, but aims to help players to reach an advanced standard, even without regular access to a teacher. Each point is fully illustrated with photographs, diagrams, and carefully graded musical exercises. The book surveys the viol repertoire, discussing the many different styles of music. It highlights problems likely to be encountered and shows how they can be overcome. Advice is given on practising, improvising, consort-playing, and performing. A unique feature of the book is the inclusion of practical information on choosing and caring for viols and bows, and a wide-ranging list of published music for viol.

The Keyed Flute is a translation and study of J.G. Tromlitz's tutor for the 8-keyed flute, first published in German in 1800 when the design of the flute was multifarious. It is the first serious 19th-century method book for the instrument, explaining in great detail how to play flutes of Tromlitz's own special design. Powell's study of the late 18th-century flute places the Tromlitz flute in its context. He offers a new approach to the instrument's history, relating the design and manufacture of the flute, its tone and intonation, to contemporay evidence of playing technique, performance practice, composition style, developments in the flute market, and the flute's important place in society. Documentation of the history of the flute in this period is the most complete to date, revealing a clear picture of Tromlitz's importance and of his contemporary influence. The edition contains information vital to the historically informed performance of classical and Romantic music.

Editing Early Music is designed as a guide to editorial procedures suitable for music written from the Middle Ages to about 1830. Some of the suggestions are relevant to the editing of any music no longer in copyright. There is an introductory chapter on the principles of editing and transcribing, followed by three chronologically arranged chapters devoted to medieval and early renaissance music, the Renaissance, and baroque and classical music. The final chapter deals with the preparation of copy and other practical matters. Some of the technicalities are presented in the form of tables and appendices; there are musical illustrations and sample score-layouts, and a bibliography. While the book does not aim to descript early notations in detail, some of the basic information is conveyed, particularly through the extensive discussion of such matters as reduced time values and the treatment of accidentals.For this revised edition, the author has incorporated a number of corrections, brought the bibliography up to date, and added a Postscript on stemmatics and textual criticism.

With the growing interest in recent years in the use of period instruments for recordings, live professional performances, and amateur music-making, the old-style transverse flutes are experiencing a remarkable comeback. The Early Flute is the first book in modern times to deal exclusively with the flutes used in the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical eras. The book details the history of the transverse flute from 1500 until the early nineteenth century. Advice is given on acquiring instruments and on their care and maintenance. Additional chapters guide the reader to sources about relevant technique and style, recommend repertoire, and give general advice to the modern player. The text is enhanced by numerous photographs of important historic flutes.

This is a study of the manufacture of brass instruments, particularly the trumpet, in Nuremberg during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The book begins with a brief history of the instrument and the city where it was made, and an introduction to the changes in style, shape, and ornamentation which occurred over more than two hundred years. The techniques of extraction and purification, and the chemical and physical structure of the metals are discussed, especially in relation to the use of authentic materials in reproductions. A separate chapter deals with solders for brass and silver and their use in the workshop. The tools and workshop facilities are identified and detailed using contemporary illustrations and examples from the author's workshop. The longest chapter, which is highly illustrated, deals with the techniques of fabrication as practised today, and draws parallels between them and historical practice. The book concludes with a discussion of the philosophy, ethics, and practicality of using historical instruments or accurate facsimiles in modern performance.

The lute was one of the most important instruments in use in Europe from late medieval times up to the eighteenth century, as a solo instrument, in combination with other instruments, or with the voice. Despite its acknowledged importance this study is the first ever comprehensive work on the instrument and its music, apart from performance studies or bibliographical and reference publications. While Spring focuses on the lute in Britain, he also includes two chapters devoted to continental developments: one on the transition from medieval to renaissance, the other on renaissance to baroque, and the lute in Britain is never treated in isolation. Six chapters cover all aspects of the lute's history and its music in England from 1285 to well into the eighteenth century, whilst other chapters cover the instruments early history, the lute in concert, lute song accompaniment, the thearbo, and the lute in Scotland. Writing for the music student, the serious listener, the player, maker, and lute enthusiast, Spring makes available for the first time, over 40 years of musical scholarship previously the preserve of academic journals.

The Eloquent Oboe is a history of the hautboy, the oboe of the Baroque period. It reflects recent interest in this instrument, which was the first of the woodwinds to join with strings in creating the new orchestra, and had by the end of the 20th century again become a regular presence on the concert scene. Between 1640 and 1760 this type of oboe underwent dramatic changes in both function and physical form, and the majority of its solo and chamber repertoire appeared. Haynes examines in detail the hautboy's structure, its players, makers, and composers, issues of performing style and period techniques, how and where the instrument was played, and who listened to it.

This book establishes the principles of interpretation that singers active in England (both foreign and English) applied to recitatives, arias, and songs, by composers such as Handel, Mozart, and Rossini. Expression lay at the heart of persuasive singing during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and Robert Toft here ably places the concept and its practices in a broad cultural perspective. Singing was related closely to speaking in this period: when the techniques of delivery that were common to both arts (emphasis, accent, tone of voice, pauses, breathing, and gesture) are combined with resources peculiar to singing (portamento, messa di voce, tempo, rubato, vibrato, and ornamentation), the style which emerges differs markedly from that of the late twentieth century. Most singers today perform the repertoire of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, but until now no book has addressed the principles which governed song performance in this period or shown how historical understandings may be used to move and delight modern audiences.

More than twenty years ago James Tyler wrote a modest introduction to the history, repertory, and playing techniques of the four- and five-course guitar. Entitled The Early Guitar: A History and Handbook (OUP 1980), this work proved valuable and enlightening not only to performers and scholars of Renaissance and Baroque guitar and lute music but also to classical guitarists. This new book, written in collaboration with Paul Sparks (their previous book for OUP, The Early Mandolin, appeared in 1989), presents new ideas and research on the history and development of the guitar and its music from the Renaissance to the dawn of the Classical era.Tyler's systematic study of the two main guitar types found between about 1550 and 1750 focuses principally on what the sources of the music (published and manuscript) and the writings of contemporary theorists reveal about the nature of the instruments and their roles in the music making of the period. The annotated lists of primary sources, previously published in The Early Guitar but now revised and expanded, constitute the most comprehensive bibliography of Baroque guitar music to date. His appendices of performance practice information should also prove indispensable to performers and scholars alike.Paul Sparks also breaks new ground, offering an extensive study of a period in the guitar's history--notably c.1759-c.1800--which the standard histories usually dismiss in a few short paragraphs. Far from being a dormant instrument at this time, the guitar is shown to have been central to music-making in France, Italy, the Iberian Peninsula, and South America. Sparks provides a wealth of information about players, composers, instruments, and surviving compositions from this neglected but important period, and he examines how the five-course guitar gradually gave way to the six-string instrument, a process that occurred in very different ways (and at different times) in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Britain.