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From: Jonathan Tyack <[log in to unmask]>
Royal Holloway-British Library Lectures in Musicology
MUSIC IN THE MAKING OF EUROPE 1000-1300
a series of five public lectures from December 2004 to May 2005, given by
CHRISTOPHER PAGE
sponsored by the Department of Music, Royal Holloway, University of London
supported by the British Library
Lecture 2, Tuesday 18 January, from 6 pm to 7 pm at the British Library
Conference Centre:
18 JANUARY: THE INVENTION OF THE STAFF
There cannot be many eleventh-century inventions that have remained in
use, albeit somewhat modified, since they were first devised, but the
musical staff is one. It was invented in the first decades of the eleventh
century by a member of the minor clergy in northern Italy, Guido 'of
Arezzo'. In many respects, our received picture of this Guido is mistaken.
He may never have been a monk. Far from being a humble choirmaster who
shunned the higher flights of learning, musical or otherwise, as he has
often been presented, his achievement places him among the 'philosophers'
of the eleventh century, as the evidence of medieval texts and pictures
will reveal. Indeed, the staff marks the first appearance of the graph
principle in the European intellectual tradition. Nor did Guido come from
the ranks of a minor clergy more or less invisible to us in the historical
record. Historians of music have generally forgotten that Guido was a
vociferous member of a restless and fractious clergy in northern Italy in
the decades after 1000. Like many such men, Guido was eager for reform of
many kinds. This is the context for the invention of the staff, to which
the European musical tradition owes so much.
Admission is free, without ticket.
For further details and directions to the venue please visit
http://www.rhul.ac.uk/Music/Research/Distinguishedlectures.html.
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