The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries witnessed the growth of a unique relationship between the French organ and the music written for it. Until recently, however, the roots of this precise musical tradition lay hidden in the sixteenth century. Illuminating these mysteries for the modern audience, Mr. Douglass has traced the development of the French organ from the sixteenth century through the Classical Period (1655-1770).For the first time in English, an explanation is given of the role of mixtures in the plenum of the French instrument of the Classical Period. Because the plenum determines the very character of the organ, and because the mixtures exert the strongest influence upon its sonority, the reader will be able to understand why French composers were writing music for the plenum sharply different from that of their contemporaries in northern Europe. Especially useful is the first complete compilation of known sources of information about French classical organ restriction. Having assimilated the historical facts about the instrument, the reader will be ready to interpret the music of this period on a modern organ.Mr. Douglass is professor organ at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. This authoritative study of the French classical organ is a major source for the interpretation of early French organ music. For this new edition, the author has added a chapter on touch in early French organs and its importance for practice. The bibliography has also been extensively revised. Reviews of the previous edition: "The extensive and valuable materials assembled in this study will make it indispensable to both the performer and the scholar of French organ literature."—Almonte C. Howell, Jr., Notes "The only work of its kind in English. . . . Bringing together all of the sources into one volume was alone a task of considerable proportions, and the many conclusions drawn from a careful study of the sources make it a necessary reference for any further study. It should be not only on the shelves but also in the mind of every organ devotee."—Rudolph Kremer, Journal of the American Musicological Society "Douglass has shown us the way that organ studies ought to develop over the next few decades."—Music and Letters

Symbolic Scores is the first monograph on Renaissance music devoted to discussing more than 150 compositions which involve symbolism inspired by ideas and themes inherent in the musical culture of the time. The introduction describes the historical and theoretical premises of the use of the terms 'allegory', 'sign', and 'symbol', and goes into the aspect of number symbolism as well as the aims, limits, and principles of musico-symbolical analysis. Other studies concentrate on Dufay and Josquin, deal with the symbolical application of soggetto ostinato and canon technique, or treat such themes as music for the dead and the Holy Virgin. The final study is about the conception of heavenly music and musical composition. Symbolic Scores is finely illustrated and includes musical examples, and indices of compositions and names.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Austro-German scholars made decisive advances in developing concepts to account for harmonic processes in late medieval music. Despite the considerable potential these ideas hold for analysis and criticism of early music, they have hitherto exerted little influence outside their countries of origin. In order to render this valuable literature more immediately accessible to English-speaking students and scholars, this book presents translations of twelve seminal articles that originally appeared during the years 1948-1967, along with a comprehensive introductory chapter detailing the evolution of competing theories and terminology.

Each part starts with a brief description of the political and religious climate of the period and the way such factors affected the compositions and the organ-building of the time.

A Performer's Guide to Medieval Music is an essential compilation of essays on all aspects of medieval music performance, with 40 essays by experts on everything from repertoire, voices, and instruments to basic theory. This concise, readable guide has proven indispensable to performers and scholars of medieval music.