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Angel Song: Medieval English Music in History

Lisa Colton author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:12th Dec '16

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Angel Song: Medieval English Music in History cover

Although medieval English music has been relatively neglected in comparison with repertoire from France and Italy, there are few classical musicians today who have not listened to the thirteenth-century song ‘Sumer is icumen in’, or read of the achievements and fame of fifteenth-century composer John Dunstaple. Similarly, the identification of a distinctively English musical style (sometimes understood as the contenance angloise) has been made on numerous occasions by writers exploring the extent to which English ideas influenced polyphonic composition abroad. Angel song: Medieval English music in history examines the ways in which the standard narratives of English musical history have been crafted, from the Middle Ages to the present. Colton challenges the way in which the concept of a canon of English music has been built around a handful of pieces, composers and practices, each of which offers opportunities for a reappraisal of English musical and devotional cultures between 1250 and 1460.

"Angel Song offers a fresh perspective and a number of exciting new directions in both content and methodology. Colton’s research is meticulous and she makes interpretive arguments clearly and persuasively" - James Maiello, NABMSBA journal

"A masterful account of the medieval history of English music"- James Cook, Music and Letters, 2017

"Colton shows how a re-evaluation of primary source material can chip away at long-held assumptions about English music and medieval musical culture"-Samantha Blickhan, Early Music, 2018

"Angel Song is as much a book about the practice of musicology as it is about one specific musicological topic, and will prove to be an invaluable learning text for young scholars working on medieval sources, no matter what their provenance may be" - Samantha Blickhan, Early Music, 2018

"Angel song constitue à la fois un bilan historiographique précieux et un enrichissement du regard porté sur la musique anglaise débarrassé des questions nationalistes passées."

— Hugo Perina, Sehepunkte, 2021

ISBN: 9781472425683

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 521g

204 pages