Purcell Manuscripts: The Principal Musical Sources - Hardcover

Shay, Robert; Thompson, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521580943 ISBN 13: 9780521580946

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2000

Synopsis

Few details are known about the life of Henry Purcell. This book provides an in-depth analysis of the most obvious documentary evidence of Purcell's career - the music manuscripts of his own hand and those copied by his colleagues. Robert Shay and Robert Thompson offer a richly illustrated study of Purcell's sources, examining in detail the physical features of the manuscripts as well as their musical content. Their survey sheds light on the chronology of composition and copying of Purcell's works and reassesses the place of extant autographs in his musical development. Major sources are fully catalogued, providing information about the context in which Purcell's music was collected and performed, and his handwriting is more closely examined than ever before. The book represents a significant reference tool for scholars, applying a forensic approach that greatly enriches our knowledge of the composer and the music of his time.

About this title

Review:

'It is no exaggeration to say that it is the most important contribution to Purcell scholarship since the appearance of Franklin Zimmerman's analytical catalogue of Purcell's music in 1963 ... All in all, this book is likely to remain a standard work of reference for a long time to come.' Musical Times

'Robert Shay and Robert Thompson have produced the first major survey of Purcell manuscripts falling within the compass of his own period and artistic orbit. In its detail and comprehensiveness, Purcell Manuscripts: The Principle Musical Sources enables us to view the composer's achievement in the context of an abruptly changing political scene ...' The Times Literary Supplement

Book Description:

An in-depth analysis of Purcell manuscripts to take full account of their physical features as well as their musical content. It is a significant reference tool,which sheds light on the chronology of composition, cataloguing major sources, evaluating copyists and examining Purcell's handwriting.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0521580943
• ISBN 13: 9780521580946
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 376