Polyphony

Abstract: The concept of polyphony, taken from music and extended by literary critic Bakhtin to describe the world of Dostoevsky′s novels, provides a metaphor for understanding patterns of organizing among those who hold beliefs and values from a variety of backgrounds. Addresses organization as multiple discourses. Describes Bakhtin′s work and uses it to generate ideas about how people organize to perform complex tasks and change their patterns of interaction.

Abstract: List of illustrations Foreword Gyorgy Ligeti Preface Acknowledgements Map Book I. The Music of the Central African Republic: 1. General introduction 2. The general features of traditional music 3. Typology Book II. African Polyphonic Music: Introduction 1. A classification of African polyphonies 2. Previous studies: the present state of the subject Book III. Technical Tools: Methods of Recording Polyphonic Music For Transcription: 1. The need for transcription 2. The difficulties of transcription 3. Earlier methods 4. Towards a new method 5. Theoretical assumptions 6. Technical equipment: description and use 7. From recording to transcription 8. Checking the results 9. Potentialities 10. Anthropological acceptability Book IV. Theoretical Tools: 1. The notion of relevance 2. Description and analysis 3. The question of transcription Book V. The Organisation of Time In African Music: 1. A brief survey of Western rhythmics 2. Towards precise terminology 3. African rhythmics Book VI. Structural Principles And Their Applications: 1. Typology 2. Analytical notions 3. Strict polyrhythmics 4. Polyrhythmics as a way to polyphony: Hocket 5. Polyphony produced by melodic instruments 6. The association of polyphony and polyrhythmics Conclusion Bibliography Discography Index.

Abstract: The second half of the fifteenth century saw profound changes in the understanding and valuation of the concepts of "composer" and "composition." This article explores those changes, especially as they evolved in urban musical culture in the Low Countries in 1450-1500. Attention is given to oral traditions of popular and professional polyphony, the status of writing in musical instruction and practice, the emergence of a perceived opposition between "composition" and "improvisation," the technical and conceptual ramifications of that perception, the relative social and professional status implied in designations such as "singer," "composer," "musicus," and "tenorist," and, finally, the new understanding and valuation of musical authorship, around 1500, involving notions of personal style, artistic freedom, authorial intention, creative property, historical awareness, and professional organization, protection, and secrecy.