Review of Edward Gollin and Alexander Rehding, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Neo-Riemannian Theories (Oxford University Press, 2011)

[1] In the Preface to the impressive compilation of twenty contributed chapters making up The Oxford Handbook of Neo-Riemannian Theories, editors Ed Gollin and Alexander Rehding begin with Riemann himself:The theoretical work of Hugo Riemann (1849-1919) has attracted much attention in recent years.... [T]he renewal of Riemann's ideas has reinvigorated the discipline of music theory, offering the prospect of establishing a new music-theoretical paradigm, to complement and stand alongside the two well-established systems of Heinrich Schenker and Allen Forte. (ix)After a quick overview of the development of the field of neo-Riemannian theory, the editors list the purpose of the book as twofold: "to provide contemporary perspectives on Riemann's scholarship and to illustrate the way the Riemannian perspective shapes and informs contemporary analytical and theoretical scholarship." In these endeavors, this beautifully produced volume succeeds superbly. The twenty chapters by leading researchers in the field are consistently illuminating and thought-provoking, and the overall read presents a thorough, multi-dimensional depiction of the German theorist, his evolving thoughts on the nature and organizing principles of tonality, and modern-day appropriations of his ideas in the context of North American academic music theory.Example 1. Chapter titles and authors.[2] The 600-page text is organized into six parts: Intellectual Contexts (Holtmeier, Steege, Hyer, Gelbart/Rehding), Dualism (Bent, Klumpenhouwer, Rehding, Tymoczko), Tone Space (Gollin, Clark, Cohn), Harmonic Space (Engebretsen, Gollin, Kopp), Temporal Space (Caplin, Burnham, Berry), and Transformation, Analysis, Criticism (Rings, R. Cook, Harrison). Each of the six sections is preceded by a one- to two-page introduction, including a brief synopsis of each chapter, and the entire volume ends with a short glossary of mostly German terms that Riemann used in his writings. A list of the chapter titles is given for reference in Example 1. The organization here has been carefully planned by the editors in order to capitalize on strong points of contact between chapters that have been placed consecutively. Although this strategy leads to a couple of oddly categorized chapters (Clark's fabulous contribution, in particular), it generally achieves its goal brilliantly, creating a compelling momentum in what might be called the middleground, chapter-by-chapter progression. The logical sequence to the overall content, however, does not preclude the reader from jumping in at any point in the volume; the material of any given chapter is self-contained, and yet there is commendably minimal direct repetition of foundational material over the course of the volume.[3] The editors' choice to concentrate on Riemann in a compilation whose title suggests a neo-Riemannian survey jars initially, but it reflects a deep and, of late, growing concern in our discipline to situate our lines of theoretical and analytical inquiry in the rich historical continuum of the field. This approach represents a dramatic shift from earlier perspectives and deserves a brief digression here. We can trace this epistemological swivel through the recent history of neo-Riemannian theory.[4] Accounts detailing the origins of the modern field of neo-Riemannian theory will often cite David Lewin's "A Formal Theory of Generalized Tonal Functions" (1982) as the initial entry into this line of inquiry. Elements of Riemann's own theory only apply in passing there however, as Lewin makes clear: "The formalistic approach of the discussion...to matters such as the interrelations of triads and systems can be particularly associated with the spirit and work of Hugo Riemann. For that reason, I shall call the basic abstract structure we will study a 'Riemann System'" (Lewin 1982, 25). The startling aspect of the article at the time was not its appeal to Riemann, but the ease with which Lewin carried over the tools of formalism generally associated with atonal theory to the tonal realm; the nod to the past was honorific. …