Early Music History is devoted to the study of music from the early Middle Ages to the end of the seventeenth century. It demands the highest standards of scholarship from its contributors, all of whom are leading academics in their fields. It gives preference to studies pursuing interdisciplinary approaches and to those developing novel methodological ideas. The scope is exceptionally broad and includes manuscript studies, textual criticism, iconography, studies of the relationship between words and music and the relationship between music and society. Articles in volume eleven include: Music and festivities at the court of Leo X: a Venetian view; Jean de Castro, the Pense partbooks and musical culture in sixteenth-century Lyons; The lost chant tradition of early Christian Jerusalem: some possible melodic survivals in the Byzantine and Latin chant repertories; Rome as the centre of the universe: papal grace and musical patronage.

Although canons pervade music of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, they have not received proportionate attention in the musicological literature. The contributions in this book shed light on canons and canonic techniques from a wide range of perspectives, such as music theory and analysis, compositional and performance practice, palaeography and notation, as well as listening expectations and strategies. Especially in the case of riddle canons, insights from other disciplines such as literature, theology, iconography, emblematics, and philosophy have proved crucial for a better understanding and interpretation of how such pieces were created. The essays extend from the early period of canonic writing to the seventeenth century, ending with three contributions concerned with the reception history of medieval and Renaissance canons in music and writings on music from the Age of Enlightenment to the present. This book was awarded the Special Citation by the Society for Music Theory in November 2008.

A man of huge reputation in his lifetime, the fifteenth century composer Binchois remains for us, at the turn of the twenty-first century, one of the key musical figures of his age. In addressing various facets of his life, music, influences, and the world he inhabited, this volume casts new light not only on this enigmatic composer himself but also on the fascinating culture in which his musical personality was shaped.