Musica Getutscht: A Treatise On Musical Instruments (1511) By Sebastian Virdung (cambridge Musical Texts And Monographs)

Musica getutscht (Basel, 1511) is the earliest printed treatise on musical instruments in the West. Written by a priest and chapel singer named Sebastian Virdung, it provided rudimentary instruction on playing three instruments: the clavichord, the lute and the recorder. This early 'do-it-yourself' manual of instruction not only tells us about music-making in that era, it also illumines other aspects of society in the years just before the Reformation. Its author communicates in a popular style, choosing a mixture of media: a written text in the guise of an informal conversation, coupled with woodcut illustrations and visual aids. Enthusiasts of early music and its performance as well as historians of art, society and the German language will welcome Beth Bullard's substantial introduction and annotations, which help explain the text of this important work and its place in intellectual history. "Msica getutscht (Basel, 1511) is the earliest printed treatise on musical instruments in the West. Written by a priest and chapel singer named Sebastian Virdung, it provided rudimentary instruction on playing three instruments: the clavichord, the lute, and the recorder. This early 'do-it-yourself' manual of instruction not only tells us about music-making in that era, it also illumines other aspects of society in the years just before the Reformation. Its author communicates in a popular style, choosing a mixture of media: a written text in the guise of an informal conversation, coupled with woodcut illustrations and visual aids. Enthusiasts of early music and its performance as well as historians of art, society, and the German language will welcome Beth Bullard's substantial introduction and annotations, which help explain the text of this important work and its place in intellectual history."--Publisher's description Musica getutscht (Basel, 1511) is the earliest printed treatise on musical instruments in the West. This early German 'do-it-yourself' manual not only tells us about music-making in that era, it also illumines other aspects of society in the years just before the Reformation. When Sebastian Virdung, a musician and priest from the city of Amberg, presented his draft for Musica getutscht to the Basel printer Michael Furter in 1510 or 1511, both were no doubt aware that they had something new to give the German-speaking world.