After spending the past two days researching the Christmas carol "Gaudete," two things are clear: 1) This is a really popular carol, and 2) Everyone thinks it's medieval. Well, I Kathryn of Jersey, First of My Name, Mother of Hound Dogs, Burster of Bubbles, am here to disappoint you. "Gaudete" is solidly Early Modern. Many... Continue Reading →
As a medievalist, watching the fire at Notre Dame was gutting. I'm incredibly relieved that the damage was not worse. The remaining original 13th century glass survives! We all know about the cathedral's importance as an architectural marvel, but you might not know about its importance in music history. It holds a very special place.... Continue Reading →
While I wait to have a good idea for a new Music 101 post—and remember, ask me your questions about music and I'll answer them!—it seems a good time to start getting into some of the preliminary research I'm doing for my dissertation. I'm in the proposal stage, so what I'm doing now is reviewing... Continue Reading →
In part 1 of this history of notation, we covered the earliest medieval notation up to the birth of mensural (measured) notation, c. 1260. In part 2, we'll proceed through the development of mensural notation, up to about 1400. The 14th century has the most challenging repertory in Western history, barring some of the most... Continue Reading →
I'm in the midst of preparing for my comprehensive exams (the last hurdle before dissertation writing), and that brings us to today's topic: the history of notation! You will not need to be able to read music in order to follow, but, it goes without saying that we're going to be talking about a lot... Continue Reading →
Katarina von Sporken
Violent Brain Fever 