Music and Culture in Eighteenth-Century Europe: A Source Book

Front Cover
University of Chicago Press, Aug 15, 1994 - Music - 421 pages
This book collects key writings about eighteenth century music . It brings together for the first time in one place, a wide selection of essential documents not only about music theory and practice, but about the historical, philosophical, aesthetic, ideological, and literary debates which held sway during a century when musical thought and criticism gained a privileged position in the culture of Europe.

Enrico Fubini offers a sampling of English, French, German, and Italian writings on topics ranging from Enlightenment rationalism and the theories of harmony to German musical culture and the polemics on J. S. Bach. Organized by topic and historical period these selections go beyond writings dealing exclusively with specific musical works to larger issues of theory and the reception of musical ideas in the culture at large. The selections are from books, journals, newspapers, pamphlets, and letters; the contributors include Diderot, Rousseau, Voltaire, Grimm, Alfieri, Rameau, Quantz, Gluck, Tartini, Leopold and W. A. Mozart, and C. P .E. Bach. Many are translated here for the first time.

With general and chapter introductions, restored footnotes, and other valuable annotations, and a biographical appendix, this anthology will interest music scholars, students, and teachers.

From inside the book

Contents

Chapter
35
Chapter
66
in the Encyclopédie 1765
120
EUROPEAN RATIONALISM AND THEORIES OF HARMONY
129
Chapter Four
154
Chapter Five
231
Antonio Planelli from Opera 1772
240
GERMAN MUSICAL CULTURE AND THE CONTROVERSY
270
Chapter Eight
320
Chapter Nine
340
from Its Origin to the Present 1785
346
Chapter
358
Preface to Alceste 1769
364
Principally on the Metaphysics of Art 1779
378
Biographical Dictionary
391
Bibliography
413

Chapter Seven
299
Principles of Harmony 1771
308

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