Journal of the American Musicological Society · 2001 · 11 citations · 0 references
HumanitiesHistoryMusicologyHistorical MusicologyMedieval HistoryMusic TheoryHistorical Music CriticismMedieval HistoriographyMedieval MusicMusic HistoriographyFramesHistorical Context Of MusicHistorical Material ReconstructionHistoriography Of Early MusicHistoriography Of Music CriticismIntertextuality In HistoriographyMusic Historical NarrativePostmodern Critique
Abstract This essay explores reasons and methods for combining historical research in medieval music and postmodern critical theories associated with “new musicology.” I discuss recent historiographie writings by medievalists and theories of intertextuality from literary critics who argue for the conscious integration of present-day frames of reference into interpretations of historical material. Three postmodern themes form my frame of reference: (1) the critique of metanarratives, (2) the constitutive relationships between central and marginal “texts,” and (3) the recognition of plural perspectives and meanings. I show how these themes instigate compelling readings of two treatises—Johannes de Grocheio's De musica (ca. 1300) and Dante's De vulgari ekquentia (ca. 1305)—and some contemporaneous monophonie mensural additions to the chansonnier F-Pn fr. 844 (trouvère MS M, also known as the Manuscrit du roi).