Anthology of Renaissance Music (The Norton Introduction to Music History) [Paperback]

Allan W. Atlas (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393971708 | ISBN-13: 978-0393971705 | Publication Date: March 17, 1998

In this carefully selected anthology—the author of Renaissance Music presents full scores for all the music highlighted in the companion text—a total of 102 works of complete movements by some 75 composers.

Spanning the period from the early fifteenth century to the late sixteenth, the anthology features all of the era’s important forms and many minor ones, including carols, motets, Mass movements, Anglican services, a Magnificat setting, chansons, frottole, Lieder, madrigals, and others. For each selection, the best available edition has been reproduced; where no satisfactory edition existed, the piece has been specially set for this volume. Inclusive and practical, the Anthology of Renaissance Music is a remarkable tool for students and teachers, for use with or without its companion text.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Allan W. Atlas is Professor of Music at Brooklyn College and Chair of the Graduate Music Department at The City University of New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 550 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (March 17, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393971708
• ISBN-13: 978-0393971705
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #94,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Sheet Music & Scores > Forms & Genres > Ballet & Dance

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another step forward, March 11, 2003

By 

Gary Galvan (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anthology of Renaissance Music (The Norton Introduction to Music History) (Paperback)

Allan Atlas' anthology succeeds in providing a broad collection of valuable Renaissance works in one easily accessible volume. Combined with Renaissance Music, also by Atlas, it represents a firm stepping stone in the The Norton Introduction to Music History series. There is currently no recorded anthology to complement this package, but Norton does provide a dated discography for 73 of the 102 printed works. Several are only on LP.
Credited English translations of texts in appendix are valuable. Table of contents lists works in order of appearance. No alphabetical index is included. No dates are provided for works or composers. No reference to original manuscript sources (e.g. Chigi Codex or Chigi Q VIII 188).

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An impressive, if lopsided, compilation of Renaissance scores, December 21, 2005

By 

Eddie Konczal - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anthology of Renaissance Music (The Norton Introduction to Music History) (Paperback)

Dr. Allan Atlas' idiosyncratic tome "Renaissance Music: Music in Western Europe, 1400-1600" is best appreciated with this companion anthology, containing 109 scores of Renaissance-era music. At the current price (about $55), you're spending about 50¢ for each work - clearly an excellent value. The composers represented range chronologically from Ciconia, Dunstable and Power to members of the English Lute and Virginals school, such as Dowland and Byrd. Highlights include Dufay's entire "Missa Se la Face Ay Pale," excerpts from Ockeghem's "Missa Prolationum," Josquin's dramatic motet "Miserere, me Deus," Clement Janequin's comical Parisian chanson "Le Cris de Paris," and Cipriano de Rore's heart-wrenching madrigal "De la belle contrade d'Oriente."

Here is an alphabetical list of composers included (number of works in parentheses):

Anonymous (4), Arcadelt (1), Bedyngham (2), Binchois (2), Brassart (1), Busnoys (3), Byrd (2), Bull (1), Cabezon (1), Cara (1), Casulana (1), Cavazzoni (1), Ciconia (2), Clemens non Papa (1), Compere (1), Coppini (1), Cordier (1), Cornago (1), Cornysh (1), dall'Aquila (1), Dowland (1), Dufay (8), Dunstable (3), Ebreu (1), del Encina (1), Escobar (1), Finck (1), Frye (1), Gastoldi (1), Gero (1), Gervaise (1), Gesualdo (1), Ghiselin (1), Gombert (1), Grenon (1), Hayne van Ghizeghem (1), Isaac (3), Janequin (1), Josquin Desprez (8), de La Rue (3), Lassus (3), Le Jeune (1), Marenzio (1), Martini (1), Merulo (1), Milano (1), Modena (1), Morales (1), Morely (1), Morton (3), Mundy (1), Narvaez (1), Obrecht (1), Ockeghem (4), Palestrina (3), Passereau (1), Pellegrini (1), le Petit (1), Power (1), Regis (1), de Rore (1), Schlick (1), Senfl (1), Claudin de Sermisy (2), Tallis (1), Taverner (1), Tye (1), Vecchi (1), Verdelot (1), Victoria (2), Walter (1), and Weelkes (1).

Two complaints, one major and one minor (respectively): Atlas vastly under-represents instrumental music (only 15 scores are instrumental), and the English text translations are awkwardly placed in an appendix, rather than directly after the respective scores. I just completed a course in Renaissance music using this anthology, and the page-turning and place-holding quickly became cumbersome!

An astute professor with good lecture notes might be able to teach an entire course just using this anthology - though the corresponding textbook does provide excellent historical background and chronological context for the works covered. Idiosyncrasies aside, this anthology deserves a place in the library of any serious fan of Renaissance music.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A translation of the first review:, August 22, 2002

By 

J. Friedman (Madison, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anthology of Renaissance Music (The Norton Introduction to Music History) (Paperback)

For those who don't read Italian, the preceding review says,

A new work of editorship for Renaissance music
A new, extremely rich anthology of masterworks (almost 500 pages of music). An indispensible text on the shelf of choir directors, students of ancient music, lovers of polyphony!

(I'll post my own review when my copy comes. However, this looks like an excellent selection of stuff--kudos to Amazon for posting the table of contents.)