About the Book
How did Renaissance composers write their music? In this revolutionary look at a subject that has fascinated scholars for years, musicologist Jessie Ann Owens offers new and striking evidence that contrary to accepted theory, sixteenth-century composers did not use scores to compose--even to write complex vocal polyphony. Drawing on sources that include contemporary theoretical treatises, documents and letters, iconographical evidence, actual
fragments of composing slates, and numerous sketches, drafts, and corrected autograph manuscripts, Owens carefully reconstructs the step-by-step process by which composers between 1450 and 1600
composed their music. The manuscript evidence--autographs of more than thirty composers--shows the stages of work on a wide variety of music--instrumental and vocal, sacred and secular--from across most of Renaissance Europe. Her research demonstrates that instead of working in full score, Renaissance composers fashioned the music in parts, often working with brief segments, according to a linear conception. The importance of this discovery on editorial interpretation and on performance cannot
be overstated. The book opens with a broad picture of what has been known about Renaissance composition. From there, Owens examines the teaching of composition and the ways in
which musicians and composers both read and wrote music. She also considers evidence for composition that occurred independent of writing, such as composing "in the mind" or composing with instruments. In chapters on the manuscript evidence, she establishes a typology both of the sources themselves and of their contents (sketches, drafts, fair copies). She concludes with case studies detailing the working methods of Francesco Corteccia, Henricus Isaac, Cipriano de Rore, and Giovanni Pierluigi
da Palestrina. This book will change the way we analyze and understand early music. Clear, provocative, and painstakingly researched, Composers at Work: The Craft of Musical
Composition 1450-1600 makes essential reading for scholars of Renaissance music as well as those working in related fields such as sketch studies and music theory.
Review :
"Composers at Work justly deserves to be called remarkable, not only because its deductive and intellectual achievements are so very great, but also because it opens a field of research that will be unknown to many readers.... Thanks to Owens's painstaking and brilliant evaluation of the evidence, we possess a clearer understanding of the processes by which [Renaissance] composers built their pieces, section by section and layer by layer.... As a study
of technical procedure, [this book] is a triumph, and it must be required reading for anyone with an interest in Renaissance polyphony...."--John Milsom, Notes
"With Owens's book scholars and students at last have a study concerned with the creative processes of European composers active at a time of both profound stylistic change and remarkable transformations in the manner, material, and uses of written texts....[Owens] provides a profound new understanding of how Renaissance composers understood their art."--Choice
"This is a stunning piece of work which will alter the landscape of Renaissance musicology in very important ways."--Lawrence Bernstein, University of Pennsylvania
"One of the most important studies in Renaissance musicology in many years. A landmark."--Lewis Lockwood, Harvard University
"A thoughtful and multi-faceted approach to a problem that has long been a matter of speculation. The astonishing and most original contribution of her study is that no evidence has come to light that accomplished composers used scores for composing. This book will awaken new interest in Renaissance composition and should interest all students of Renaissance music."--Bonnie J. Blackburn, Wolfson College, Oxford
"...her style is so lucid that the interested lay reader will have no trouble following the discussion. The book is copiously illustrated with musical examples and facsimiles....Owens's findings pose interesting challenges for thoughtful performers of the music of the period."--American Recorder
"This excellent book is important not only for its general theory but for its illumination of the everyday."--Times Literary Supplement
"Composers at Work justly deserves to be called remarkable, not only because its deductive and intellectual achievements are so very great, but also because it opens a field of research that will be unknown to many readers.... Thanks to Owens's painstaking and brilliant evaluation of the evidence, we possess a clearer understanding of the processes by which [Renaissance] composers built their pieces, section by section and layer by layer.... As a study
of technical procedure, [this book] is a triumph, and it must be required reading for anyone with an interest in Renaissance polyphony...."--John Milsom, Notes
"With Owens's book scholars and students at last have a study concerned with the creative processes of European composers active at a time of both profound stylistic change and remarkable transformations in the manner, material, and uses of written texts....[Owens] provides a profound new understanding of how Renaissance composers understood their art."--Choice
"Wherever the study of this material leads from here, though, this book, in setting out the problem and beginning to address it, is the essential point of departure. Rich in its contents, then, Composers at Work is richer still in its implications for future research." --Journal of the American Musicological Society
"This is a stunning piece of work which will alter the landscape of Renaissance musicology in very important ways."--Lawrence Bernstein, University of Pennsylvania
"One of the most important studies in Renaissance musicology in many years. A landmark."--Lewis Lockwood, Harvard University
"A thoughtful and multi-faceted approach to a problem that has long been a matter of speculation. The astonishing and most original contribution of her study is that no evidence has come to light that accomplished composers used scores for composing. This book will awaken new interest in Renaissance composition and should interest all students of Renaissance music."--Bonnie J. Blackburn, Wolfson College, Oxford
"This is an extremely important book, beautifully executed, and will stand as the study in the field of Renaissance composition for many years to come. It synthesizes all previous work in the area and contributes a vast amount of new material and new interpretations."--M. Jennifer Bloxam, Williams College
"Composers at Work justly deserves to be called remarkable, not only because its deductive and intellectual achievements are so very great, but also because it opens a field of research that will be unknown to many readers....beautifully produced."--Notes
