Instrumentalists and Renaissance Culture, 1420–1600
Players of Function and Fantasy

This is the first in-depth study in any language exploring the vast cultural range of instrumental music during the Renaissance.

Victor Coelho (Author), Keith Polk (Author)

9781107145801, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 May 2016

345 pages, 28 b/w illus.
25.3 x 18 x 2 cm, 0.85 kg

'Victor Coelho and Keith Polk have both made significant contributions to the study of instrumental music in the Renaissance … a welcome and much needed contribution to the scholarship of instrumental music in the Renaissance.' Eric Thomas, European History Quarterly

This innovative and multi-layered study of the music and culture of Renaissance instrumentalists spans the early institutionalization of instrumental music from c.1420 to the rise of the basso continuo and newer roles for instrumentalists around 1600. Employing a broad cultural narrative interwoven with detailed case studies, close readings of eighteen essential musical sources, and analysis of musical images, Victor Coelho and Keith Polk show that instrumental music formed a vital and dynamic element in the artistic landscape, from rote function to creative fantasy. Instrumentalists occupied a central role in courtly ceremonies and private social rituals during the Renaissance, and banquets, dances, processions, religious celebrations and weddings all required their participation, regardless of social class. Instrumental genres were highly diverse artistic creations, from polyphonic repertories revealing knowledge of notated styles, to improvisation and flexible practices. Understanding the contributions of instrumentalists is essential for any accurate assessment of Renaissance culture.

Prologue: the culture of Renaissance instrumental music
1. Renaissance instrumental music and its patrons
2. A source-based history of Renaissance instrumental music
3. The players
4. Instrumental music for celebration and ceremony
5. The instrumentalist's workshop: pedagogy, intabulation, and compositional process
6. Renaissance instruments: images and realities
Epilogue.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural history [HBTB], European history [HBJD], History [HB], Musical instruments & instrumental ensembles [AVR], Medieval & Renaissance music [c 1000 to c 1600 AVGC2], Early music [up to c 1000 CE AVGC1], Theory of music & musicology [AVA], Music [AV], Individual actors & performers [APB], History of art & design styles: c 1400 to c 1600 [ACN]