Orlando Di Lasso's Imitation Magnificats for Counter-Reformation Munich [Hardcover]

David Crook (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 5, 1994

After the Mass Ordinary, the Magnificat was the liturgical text most frequently set by Renaissance composers, and Orlando di Lasso's 101 polyphonic settings form the largest and most varied repertory of Magnificats in the history of European music. In the first detailed investigation of this repertory, David Crook focuses on the 40 parody or imitation Magnificats, which di Lasso based on motets, madrigals and chansons written by such composers as Josquin and Rore. By examining these Magnificats in their social, historical, and liturgical contexts and in terms of composition theory, Crook opens a new window on the breadth and subtlety of an important composer often harshly judged on his use of pre-existent music. In a section on compositional procedure, Crook explains that di Lasso abandoned the traditional eight psalm-tone melodies in his imitation Magnificats, considers the new ways he found to represent the tones, and describes how di Lasso's experimentation reflected the complex relationship between mode and tone in Renaissance theory and practice.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Crook's study contains a wealth of detail, and its significance reaches beyond the narrow confines that its title might suggest.... The study is an important contribution to our understanding of Lasso's compositional process and to the reevaluation of Catholic church music of the immediate post-Tridentine period.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (July 5, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691036144
• ISBN-13: 978-0691036144
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,424,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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