The Play of Meanings is a well-documented investigation of a theme frequently neglected in studies of medieval music theory: the relationship between a specific treatise and the broader intellectual currents of the era that produced it.
Speculum, January 2007
De musica is a treatise on modal theory written by music theorist Aribo Scholasticus, who changed perspectives on music ... Read morein his interpretation of the melodic modes. Ilnitchi (musicology, Eastman School of Music, U. of Rochester) analyzes the "all but forgotten" manuscript for its use of imagery, unique terminology, ideas, methodology, specific audience, and how it corresponded to musical thought at the time. She states that one cannot use conventional methods to understand it, nor does it turn out to be a typical treatise. Ilnitchi considers the manuscript, musical examples used in it, the controversy over who its author was, rhetoric, discourse, and surrounding philosophy.
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