The Early Middle Ages to 1300

A study of early Christian music in medieval western Europe, which surveys the repertoires of Byzantine and Roman chants. Summarized accounts of Syrian, Armenian, Coptic and Ethiopian chants are represented alongside the Christian chant by way of an introduction to other musical forms.

This is a completely revised edition of the second volume of the New Oxford History of Music. In the last three decades there has been intense interest in the music of the Middle Ages and great advances in research have been made in facts as well as interpretation. Drawing on the work of leading British and American scholars, this volume presents an informed, up-to-date picture of a broad spectrum of music from the fourth century AD to 1300. Beginning with Christian chant in the Mediterranean, it continues through Latin (`Gregorian'') chant, liturgical drama, medieval song, instrumental music, and early polyphony down to the monumental organa composed at the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris in the twelfth century. Over 200 musical examples help to illustrate the discussion of 1,000 years of rich and complex musical development.Contributors:John Stevens, Miloś Velimirović, Kenneth Levy, Richard Crocker, Susan Rankin, Christopher Page, Sarah Fuller, and Janet Knapp.