Music & poetry in the Early Tudor Court / John Stevens.
| Author/creator |
Stevens, John, 1921-2002 |
| Format | Book and Print |
| Publication Info | London : Methuen, 1961 |
| Description | xi, 483 pages : music ; 25 cm |
| Subject(s) |
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| Contents | Introduction. The song-books -- Part one. Music and poetry. The problem - assumptions and distinctions -- The tradition and the divorce -- Popular songs -- Ideas and theories, medieval and humanist -- The Reformation -- Music and the early Tudor lyric, I: song-books and musical settings -- Music and the early Tudor lyric, II: the 'Literary' lyric and its tunes -- Part two. Courtly love and the courtly lyric. Introductory: 'A new company of courtly makers'? -- The 'Game of love' -- The courtly makers from Chaucer to Wyatt -- Part three. Music at court. Music in ceremonies, entertainments an plays ; Domestic and amateur music ; Professional musicians -- Epilogue. The song-books revisited -- Appendices. Literary text and notes: Postscript: the Drexel fragments. |
| Abstract | While the music of the Elizabethans is widely known, that of the early Tudors is still mostly unpublished. Dr. Stevens provides a scholarly study of this un-accountably neglected subject, and gives the first full description of three song-books which contain virtually all that remains of English secular song from 1480-1530. Beginning with a detailed description of the song-books, he goes on to discuss the relationship between music and poetry during the period before the Reformation. This is followed by a description of the tradition of the 'courtly makers' from Chaucer to Wyatt, including an important section on the social manifestations of courtly love, and he deals thoroughly with the role of the musician and the quality of musical life at the time. This is a book which for the first time provides the relevant musical and social information on which a fresh assessment of the poetry of the early Tudors can be based. Dr. Stevens's conclusions lead him to question the prevailing view that there was an idealized union of poetry and music in early Tudor England which led up to and culminated in the great Elizabethans. The literary text of the songs in the three song-books is given in an appendix, together with a commentary, a first-line index of some 370 songs, and a list of sources. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 461-476) and index. |
| LCCN | 78003531 |
Available Items
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions | |
| Music | Closed Stacks - Ask at Circulation Desk | ML286.2.S8 M8 1961B | ✔ Available | Place Hold |