Customer Reviews

Medieval and Renaissance Music: A Performer's Guide

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Timothy McGee's Performer's Guide was recommended to me by Therese Honey, who performs, records, and teaches medieval harp technique. I am very impressed with it and greatly appreciate her recommendation. This is a practical book, and could be used by someone new to early music as well as someone with a deeper background. A good index makes it possible to pick out sections related to a particular instrument. Good writing by a knowledgeable author makes it enjoyable to read the whole book.

Renaissance music was a key aspect of my high school experience as I sang under the direction of a man who has received his Masters Degree in its components and has a compelling love of its applications. From sacred to secular and serious to silly, Renaissance music covered a breadth of ideas and ideals, many of which modern performers without depth of knowledge or experience cannot relate or understand. This book serves to quell those absences of information on such an important period of musical history. I think of this as a necessary tool for any performer in studying the intricacies of this period's collaborative parts. Notice the title does not mention EXPERIENCED performer's guide to Renaissance music. This is a tool for any musical performer to enhance themsleves as musicians and as people. It is for the layman and the scholar to enjoy, and enjoy they will. Renaissance music established a firm foundation for all modern methods of musical ideology. It is only reasonable to presume that the modern musical mind should want to discover its artistic roots through such a resource as this.