The Traiteacute; de lharmonie of Jen-Philippe Rameau is one of the most important books in the history of Western music. Written while Rameau was still a relatively obscure organist and music master at Clermont-Ferrand; the book received but one printing during Rameaus life; in 1722; shortly before he settled in Paris. The Traiteacute; was immediately recognized as a profound advance in musical theory; however; and it established Rameaus reputation as a theorist. His book was the first to codify those principles of tonality that were to dominate the music of the West for almost two centuries. Even today the theories of Rameau remain the basis for the study of harmony.Rameaus Traiteacute; de lharmonie is divided into four books; the first of which presents the mathematical basis from which Rameau sought to derive his theories. Book Two may be considered the most important section of the Traiteacute;; in it Rameau generates his entire harmonic system from fundamental principles; explaining intervals; chords; and modes mdash; everything; in fact; essential to musical composition in tonal style. Working from the principles developed in Books One and Two; Book Three treats the practical rules of composition; including such topics as harmonic modulation and chord progressions. Book Four concerns the practical art of accompaniment on harpsichord or organ; including the realization of a figured bass. Corrections added by Rameau in a supplement are included in the text; and all the musical examples have been reset in modern musical notation. In addition; two pages from a unique copy of the first issue of the first edition are given in facsimile. The translators introduction discusses the history of the work; Rameaus mathematics; and his place in the history of music theory.
#712033 in eBooks 2012-05-01 2012-05-01File Name: B00A735DEI
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Promise from a young playwrightBy John L MurphyIf youve read the novels of Irvine Welsh or Niall Griffiths; heres a rough counterpart from the West of Ireland in two short plays that explore bonding between friends and/or siblings among disaffected Irish youth.Colloquial; quickly-paced; and energetic; "...touched..." in my estimation worked better; at least on the page (not having seen either play performed). It depicts an episode of a robbery and its prequel and sequel from a triple perspective; and intersperses poetic description; slangy argot; and the contrast between small-town and Dublin Irish effectively. The potentially maudlin or hackneyed theme of sexual abuse motivates key actions here; and the imagery; to the authors credit; controls this unstable element effectively.The other play; "Blue;" may be slower and more meditative; with a sprawling plot that takes in growing up among a trio in a village in the West; and in print; seemed to often downshift from the dynamism of its predecessor; preferring a leisurely exploration of maturity; again with a background of drugs and violence lurking and coming; in both efforts; out of the blue.I predict Ms Sarma will go on to expand upon the potential shes shown here; and I certainly would be open to adjusting my rating if I had the chance to see her plays on stage.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Haunting Drama with a lyrical heartBy RoseUrsula Rani Sarmas ...touched... is a moving and elequent account of a horrific act which robs a young girl of her innocence and her attempt to escape from the world where this act was comminted. She and her naieve brother Mikey plan their journey away from the small town drudgery where they live with their disfunctional aunt and uncle. When they eventually do make their escape; the city life they dreamt of is not all they has hoped for. After accidentally commiting a crime themselves they flee again only to fall into the hands of a street wise gansgster who tries to lead them further astray. I was moved and entranced by this play; the familiar theme is tackled in an innovative and original way which makes it seem like it the first time you are hearing such a story as this. Sarmas lyricism is both haunting and hypnotic and I look forward to seeing a production of this beautiful fragile piece.I was lucky enough to have seen a production of Blue a few years ago in London and was delighted to have the chance to revisit it as a text. It is the story of three young friends who are on the cusp of adulthood and are reluctantly letting go of their childhood and embracing the uncertainty of what is to come. It is Des who leads us through the play and his beautiful momologues at the begining and end of the play allow us to enter into and leave the world of the piece in a mesmerized state. At the time I saw it Blue had just been named one of the top 5 best plays in London in The Times newspaper. It has stayed with me since then and remains one of the most elequent and moving plays that I have come accross. I look forward to reading more work from this young playwright.