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| cherubini_counterpoint_and_fugue:title [2018/09/01 02:53] – brian | cherubini_counterpoint_and_fugue:title [2019/04/10 19:22] (current) – brian |
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| This digital edition is by [[http://bondari.com|Brian Bondari]]. | This digital edition is by [[http://bondari.com|Brian Bondari]]. |
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| Much of what I wrote in the Preface to [[bridges_counterpoint:contents|Counterpoint, by J. Frederick Bridge]] also applies to my work with Cherubini's monumental treatise. Unlike with Bridge's book on Counterpoint, which which I was unfamiliar until I stumbled across it in the summer of 2017, I had known about Cherubini's treatise since my days in graduate school. | Much of what I wrote in the Preface to [[bridges_counterpoint:contents|Counterpoint, by J. Frederick Bridge]] also applies to my work with Cherubini's monumental treatise. Unlike with Bridge's book on Counterpoint, with which I was unfamiliar until I stumbled across it in the summer of 2017, I had known about Cherubini's treatise since my days in graduate school. |
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| Though both cover the subject of counterpoint, the two books are quite different. While Bridge's primer focuses almost exclusively on //species// counterpoint, Cherubini's work is a contrapuntal //tour de force//, moving beyond the //species// and covering nearly every imaginable type of counterpoint. Indeed, I've never seen a more comprehensive coverage of //double counterpoint//. What also sets apart Cherubini's treatise is the inclusion of ten full fugues, each of which has been analysed with annotations so that the student can follow the construction of the work. | Though both cover the subject of counterpoint, the two books are quite different. While Bridge's primer focuses almost exclusively on //species// counterpoint, Cherubini's work is a contrapuntal //tour de force//, moving beyond the //species// and covering nearly every imaginable type of counterpoint. Indeed, I've never seen a more comprehensive coverage of //double counterpoint//. What also sets apart Cherubini's treatise is the inclusion of ten full fugues, each of which has been analysed with annotations so that the student can follow the construction of the work. |
| This digital edition is far more than a digitally typeset version of the original. While a PDF of the 1854 book is available online under the public domain, I wanted a //functional// version of the book that I could use as a classroom textbook. The original PDF is a poor substitute for a textbook, for two main reasons: the formatting is rigid, and text search does not work. Creating a new digital edition of the work corrects these shortcomings, plus allows me to accomplish the following: | This digital edition is far more than a digitally typeset version of the original. While a PDF of the 1854 book is available online under the public domain, I wanted a //functional// version of the book that I could use as a classroom textbook. The original PDF is a poor substitute for a textbook, for two main reasons: the formatting is rigid, and text search does not work. Creating a new digital edition of the work corrects these shortcomings, plus allows me to accomplish the following: |
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| 1. Updated structure, formatting, and vocabulary | 1. Updated formatting and vocabulary |
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| **Structure**: | |
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| **Formatting**: This new, digital edition should display beautifully on any computer, tablet, smartphone, or e-reader. The text should flow well, images automatically change size to fit the screen, and the contents are easy to search and bookmark. | **Formatting**: This new, digital edition should display beautifully on any computer, tablet, smartphone, or e-reader. The text should flow well, images automatically change size to fit the screen, and the contents are easy to search and bookmark. |
| Since the translator was English, I have also taken the liberty to update some of the musical vocabulary to make the text more readable by American audiences. For instance, if you see a reference to a crotchet ((quarter note)) or semibreve ((whole note)), I have added footnotes (as demonstrated here) that provide the American musical equivalent. | Since the translator was English, I have also taken the liberty to update some of the musical vocabulary to make the text more readable by American audiences. For instance, if you see a reference to a crotchet ((quarter note)) or semibreve ((whole note)), I have added footnotes (as demonstrated here) that provide the American musical equivalent. |
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| 2. Updated musical examples, complete with media players: | 2. Updated musical examples, complete with media players |
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| **Updated musical examples**: Here's the fun part. There are 580 musical examples in this book, many of which would thoroughly confound 21st Century music students. The simple reason for this is that nearly all of them utilize an alto clef, a tenor clef, or both. Rarely have I encountered a student who could comfortable sight-read a four-part musical example containing four different clefs: //treble//, //alto//, //tenor//, and //bass//. For better or worse (probably worse), this is a skill that has been lost over the centuries. | **Updated musical examples**: Here's the fun part. There are 580 musical examples in this book, many of which would thoroughly confound 21st Century music students. The simple reason for this is that nearly all of them utilize an alto clef, a tenor clef, or both. Rarely have I encountered a student who could comfortably sight-read a four-part musical example containing four different clefs: //treble//, //alto//, //tenor//, and //bass//. For better or worse (probably worse), this is a skill that has been lost over the centuries. |
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| Every musical example in this new, digital edition now utilizes only treble and bass clefs. Ironically, by transcribing all of Cherubini's examples into these two "standard" clefs, my own familiarity and efficiency with the //alto// and //tenor// clefs has improved beyond my wildest dreams. | Every musical example in this new, digital edition now utilizes only treble and bass clefs. Ironically, by transcribing all of Cherubini's examples into these two "standard" clefs, my own familiarity and efficiency with the //alto// and //tenor// clefs has improved beyond my wildest dreams. |
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| Digitizing all the musical examples also provided me the opportunity to clean up some issues with the original scan, such as notes that were difficult to read. Surprisingly to me, I was also able to fix dozens of typographical errors, both in the music notation and in the prose. | Digitizing all the musical examples also provided me the opportunity to clean up some issues with the original scan, such as notes that were difficult to read. Surprisingly to me, I was also able to fix dozens of typographical errors, both in the musical notation and in the prose. |
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| The software that I used to engrave all the musical examples in this book is [[https://musescore.org|MuseScore]]. Though my students have been consistently using MuseScore for the last seven years or so, I've tended to cling to my beloved Finale(tm) for my own projects. So what, then, possessed me to switch to MuseScore for what at first seemed like an insurmountable number of musical examples in this book? | The software that I used to engrave all the musical examples in this book is [[https://musescore.org|MuseScore]]. Though my students have been consistently using MuseScore for the last seven years or so, I've tended to cling to my beloved Finale(tm) for my own projects. So what, then, possessed me to switch to MuseScore for what at first seemed like an insurmountable number of musical examples in this book? |
| * Upload all images and audio to my web-server (for sharing with the world) | * Upload all images and audio to my web-server (for sharing with the world) |
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| Thanks to scripting, once I engraved each individual example, I could simply move on to the next. After I completed all the examples in a single chapter, then it was time to run my script to automate all the tedious aspects of turning the scores into audio and images, | Thanks to scripting, once I engraved each individual example, I could simply move on to the next. After I completed all the examples in a single chapter, then it was time to run my script to automate all the tedious aspects of turning the scores into audio and images. |
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| **Media players**: The main advantage of this book is the addition of media players for each musical example. Textbooks on music, even so-called "modern" ones, lack the ability to play the musical examples straight from the page. Usually the process of hearing a musical example in a textbook involves fumbling with a CD/DVD, logging into a specific web portal from the publisher, or just giving up and searching the Internet. | **Media players**: The main advantage of this book is the addition of media players for each musical example. Textbooks on music, even so-called "modern" ones, lack the ability to play the musical examples straight from the page. Usually the process of hearing a musical example in a textbook involves fumbling with a CD/DVD, logging into a specific web portal from the publisher, or just giving up and searching the Internet. |
| EPUB download: //coming soon// | EPUB download: //coming soon// |
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| ===== Acknowledgements ===== | ===== Acknowledgments ===== |
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| | Having now worked my way through all of Cherubini's treatise, I can say that I can't help but admire the abilities of the old contrapuntalist. Some of the examples that he gives simply fill me with awe, and I'm grateful to have gotten to know Cherubini's personal style more thoroughly through my work on this project. Of course, this new edition would never have been possible without the original book, so I offer my deepest thanks to Cherubini (the author), Clarke (the translator), and the countless other people whose work from the nineteenth century I am now continuing. |
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| | I also offer my gratitude to my employer, Trinity University, without whose salary support I would not be able offer this book to the music world for free. |
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| Having now worked my way through all of Cherubini's treatise, I can say that I'm full of admiration at the abilities of the old contrapuntalist. Some of the examples that he gives simply fill me with awe, and | And finally, and most importantly, I offer my undying thanks and appreciation to my wife, Katrina, who competently managed the antics (and theatrics) of three young children while I selfishly stole away to work like a man obsessed on this project. |
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| ~ **B. B. B.** | ~ **B. B. B.** |
| Trinity University,\\ | Trinity University,\\ |
| San Antonio, Texas\\ | San Antonio, Texas\\ |
| //August//, 2018. | //September//, 2018. |
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| This work is licensed under a [[http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License]]. | This work is licensed under a [[http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License]]. |