Music and the moderni, 1300–1350
The ars nova in Theory and Practice

Challenges current accounts of the French ars nova, a musical art that was both criticised and heralded for its modernity.

Karen Desmond (Author)

9781107167094, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 August 2018

322 pages, 27 b/w illus. 13 tables 22 music examples
25.2 x 17.7 x 1.8 cm, 0.79 kg

'… there is no question about the importance of this book … Desmond's book has enhanced this reviewer's knowledge of the origins and impact of the ars nova immensely … [a] riveting expedition.' John N. Crossley, Parergon

Music theorists labelled the musical art of the 1330s and 1340s as 'new' and 'modern'. A close reading of writings on music theory and the polyphonic repertory from the first half of the fourteenth century reveals a modern musical art that arose due to specific innovations in music notation. The French ars nova employed as its theoretical fundament a new system for arranging musical time proposed by the astronomer and mathematician Jean des Murs. Challenging prevailing accounts of the ars nova, this book presents the 'new art' within the intellectual context of its time, revises the datings of Jean des Murs's writings on music theory, and presents the intersection of theory and practice for a crucial era in the history of music. Through contemporaneous accounts, Desmond explores how individuals were involved in 'changing' music in early fourteenth-century France, and the technical developments they pursued that precipitated this stylistic change.

1. Introduction
2. Subtilitas and the ars nova
3. Jean des Murs, Quadrivial Scientist
4. Arts old and new
5. From trees to degrees
6. Notational dots and the line of musical time
Epilogue
Appendix 1: list of transitional ars nova motets and concordances
Appendix 2: key dates in the biography of Jean des Murs
Appendix 3: key dates in the biography of Philippe de Vitry
Appendix 4: sources of Jean des Murs's notitia and conclusiones
Appendix 5: edition of Apta/Flos
Appendix 6: works list for Jean des Murs.

Subject Areas: Medieval history [HBLC1], Medieval & Renaissance music [c 1000 to c 1600 AVGC2], Music reviews & criticism [AVC], Theory of music & musicology [AVA]