The Cultural Life of the Early Polyphonic Mass Kirkman Hardback 9780521114127

The Cultural Life of the Early Polyphonic MassMedieval Context to Modern Revival\nAuthor(s): Andrew Kirkman\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9780521114127, 978-0521114127\nSynopsis\nThe 'cyclic' polyphonic Mass has long been seen as the pre-eminent musical genre of the late Middle Ages, spawning some of the most impressive and engrossing musical edifices of the period. Modern study of these compositions has greatly enhanced our appreciation of their construction and aesthetic appeal. Yet close consideration of their meaning cultural, social, spiritual, personal for their composers and original users has begun only much more recently. This book considers the genre both as an expression of the needs of the society in which it arose and as a fulfilment of aesthetic priorities that arose in the wake of the Enlightenment. From this dual perspective, it aims to enhance both our appreciation of the genr.