Music, Myth and Story in Medieval and Early Modern Culture

doi:10.1017/9781787444409

Myths and stories offer a window onto medieval and early modern musical culture. Far from merely offering material for musical settings, authoritative tales from classical mythology, ancient history and the Bible were treated as foundations for musical knowledge. Such myths were cited in support of arguments about the uses, effects, morality, and preferred styles of music in sources as diverse as theoretical treatises, defences or critiques of music, art, sermons, educational literature, and books of moral conduct. Newly written literary stories too were believed capable of moral instruction and influence, and were a medium through which ideas about music could be both explored and transmitted. How authors interpreted and weaved together these traditional stories, or created their own, reveals much about changing attitudes across the period. Looking beyond the well-known figure of Orpheus, this collection explores the myriad stories that shaped not only musical thought, but also its styles, techniques, and practices. It shows that music itself performed and created knowledge in ways parallels to myth, and worked in tandem with old and new tales to construct social, political, and philosophical views. This relationship was not static, however; as the Enlightenment dawned, the once authoritative gods became comic characters and myth became a medium for ridicule. Overall, it provides a foundation for exploring myth and story throughout medieval and early modern culture, and facilitating further study into the Enlightenment and beyond. Contributors: Jamie Apgar, Katie Bank, Samantha Bassler, Katherine Butler, Elina G. Hamilton, Sigrid Harris, Ljubica Ilic, Erica Levenson, John MacInnis, Patrick McMahon, Aurora Faye Martinez, Jacomien Prins, Tim Shephard, Jason Stoessel, Férdia J. Stone-Davis, Amanda Eubanks Winkler.

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv
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Contents
pp v-vi
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List of Illustrations
pp vii-ix
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List of Contributors
pp x-xiii
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Editors’ Note
pp xiv-xiv
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Introduction
pp 1-14
- By Katherine Butler, senior lecturer at Northumbria University., Samantha Bassler, cultural musicologist of early music, and teaches music history and music theory as an adjunct professor at New York University
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I - MYTH IN MEDIEVAL MUSIC THEORY AND PHILOSOPHY
pp 15-16
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1 - Music and the Myth of Apollo's Grove
pp 17-31
- By John MacInnis, Florida State University
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2 - The Consolation of Philosophy and the ‘Gentle’ Remedy of Music
pp 32-45
- By Férdia J. Stone-Davis, interdisciplinary academic working at the intersection of music, philosophy and theology, as well as a musician.
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3 - And in England, There are Singers: Grafting Oneself into the Origins of Music
pp 46-60
- By Elina G. Hamilton, received her doctorate from Bangor University in North Wales.
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II - ICONOLOGIES OF MUSIC AND MYTH
pp 61-62
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4 - The Harmonious Blacksmith, Lady Music and Minerva: The Iconography of Secular Song in the Late Middle Ages
pp 63-86
- By Jason Stoessel, Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of New England, Australia.
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5 - Foolish Midas: Representing Musical Judgement and Moral Judgement in Italy c.1520
pp 87-104
- By Tim Shephard, Senior Lecturer in Musicology at the University of Sheffield, Patrick McMahon, completed his undergraduate studies in music at the University of Sheffield in 2016.
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III - MYTHS IN RENAISSANCE PHILOSOPHIES OF MUSIC
pp 105-106
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6 - Marsilio Ficino and Girolamo Cardano under Orpheus's Spell
pp 107-123
- By Jacomien Prins, assistant professor at the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
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7 - Origin Myths, Genealogies and Inventors: Defining the Nature of Music in Early Modern England
pp 124-138
- By Katherine Butler, senior lecturer at Northumbria University.
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IV - MYTH AND MUSICAL PRACTICE
pp 139-140
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8 - How to Sing like Angels: Isaiah, Ignatius of Antioch and Protestant Worship in England
pp 141-155
- By Jamie Apgar, received his PhD from the University of California
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9 - In Pursuit of Echo: Sound, Space and the History of the Self
pp 156-166
- By Ljubica Ilic, degrees from the University of Arts in Belgrade
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V - NARRATIVES OF PERFORMANCE
pp 167-168
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10 - Ophelia's Mad Songs and Performing Story in Early Modern England
pp 169-186
- By Samantha Bassler, cultural musicologist of early music, and teaches music history and music theory as an adjunct professor at New York University
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11 - Dangerous Beauty: Stories of Singing Women in Early Modern Italy
pp 187-204
- By Sigrid Harris, lectures on the music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque at the University of New England, Australia.
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VI - MYTH AND MUSIC AS FORMS OF KNOWLEDGE
pp 205-206
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12 - ‘Fantastic Spirits’: Myth and Satire in the Ayres of Thomas Weelkes
pp 207-223
- By Katie Bank, University College London
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13 - Feeling Fallen: A Re-telling of the Biblical Myth of the Fall in a Musical Adaptation of Marvell's ‘A Dialogue between Thyrsis and Dorinda’
pp 224-238
- By Aurora Faye Martinez, doctoral researcher in English literature at the University of Birmingham.
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VII - RE-IMAGINING MYTHS AND STORIES FOR THE STAGE
pp 239-240
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14 - ‘Armida's Picture we from Tasso Drew’?: The Rinaldo and Armida Story in Late Seventeenth- and Early Eighteenth-Century English Operatic Entertainments
pp 241-258
- By Amanda Eubanks Winkler, Associate Professor of Music History and Cultures at Syracuse University.
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15 - Translating Myth Through Tunes: Ebenezer Forrest's Ballad Opera Adaptation of Louis Fuzelier's Momus Fabuliste (1719–29)
pp 259-276
- By Erica Levenson, received a doctorate in musicology from Cornell University in 2017.
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Bibliography
pp 277-304
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Index
pp 305-318
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