Humanism and the reform of sacred music in early modern England
Subtitle: John Merbecke the orator and The booke of common praier noted (1550)
By: Hyun-Ah Kim.
Series: St Andrews studies in Reformation history
Publisher: Ashgate
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Aldershot, England; Burlington, VT
Language: eng
Number of pages: 246
ISBN-13: 9780754662686
Subjects: Merbecke, John, -- ca. 1510-ca. 1585; Merbecke, John, -- ca. 1510-ca. 1585; Church music -- Church of England -- 16th century; Humanism -- England -- History -- 16th century; Reformation -- England
Description: "John Merbecke (c.1505-c.1585) is most famous as me composer of the first musical setting of the English liturgy, The Booke of Common Praier Noted (BCPN), published in 1550. By situating Merbecke and his work within a broader intellectual and religio-cultural context of Tudor England, this book challenges the existing studies of Merbecke based on the narrow theological approach to the Reformation. Furthermore, it suggests a re-thinking of the prevailing interpretative framework of Reformation musical history." "On the basis of the new contextual study of Merbecke, this book seeks to re-interpret his work, particularly BCPN, in the light of humanist rhetoric. It sees Merbecke as embodying the ideal of the Christian-musical orator, demonstrating that BCPN is an Anglican epitome of the Erasmian synthesis of eloquence, theology and music. The book thus depicts Merbecke as a humanist reformer, through re-evaluation of his contributions to the developments of vernacular music and literature in early modern England. As such it will be of interest, not only to church musicians, but also to historians of the Reformation and students of wider Tudor culture."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [203]-238) and index.
Table of contents: title: A humanist John Merbecke; title: Erasmian humanism and the reform of sacred music; title: Anglican plainchant in the making; title: Rhetoric and the reform of plainchant in The booke of common praier noted (1550).