Oliver Messiaen: Treatise on Rhythm, Color, and Ornithology, Vol. 1 (1994/1998)

24 May 2013, dusan

A translation of the first volume of Messiaen’s 7-volume music theory treatise. Where possible, all musical examples have been reproduced in their entirety. This volume addresses several of Messiaen’s ideas on musical as well as non-musical rhythm. He discusses time, rhythm, greek metrics, hindu rhythms, and analyzes the 39 choruses of Le Printemps by Claude Le Jeune.

Originally published as Traité de rythme, de couleur, et d’ornithologie, Tome 1, Alphonse Leduc, Paris, 1994
With a Preface by Pierre Boulez
Translated by Melody Baggech
as her Dissertation thesis
Graduate Faculty of the School of Music, The University of Oklahoma, 1998
426 pages
via Charles Turner

PDF

James Tenney: META⌿HODOS and META Meta⌿Hodos: A Phenomenology of 20th Century Musical Materials and an Approach to the Study of Form (1964/1988)

24 May 2013, dusan

One of the great music theory books of the 20th century, by a thought-provoking composer. One of earliest applications of gestalt theory and cognitive science to music.

Originally published by the Inter-American Institute for Musical Research, Tulane University, New Orleans, 1964 (META-HODOS), and the Journal of Experimental Aesthetics 1.1, 1977 (“META Meta-Hodos”)
Edited by Larry Polansky
Second edition
Publisher Frog Peak Music, Oakland/CA, 1988
ISBN 0945996004, 9780945996002
116 pages

PDF

R. Murray Schafer: The New Soundscape: A Handbook for the Modern Music Teacher (1969)

14 April 2013, dusan

“Overheard in the lobby after the premiere of Beethoven’s Fifth: ‘Yes, but is it music?’

Overheard in the lobby after the premiere of Wagner’s Tristan: ‘Yes, but is it music?’

Overheard in the lobby after the premiere of Stravinsky’s Sacre: ‘Yes, but is it music?’

Overheard in the lobby after the premiere of Varèse’s Poème électronique: ‘Yes, but is it music?’

A jet scrapes the sky over my head and I ask: ‘Yes, but is it music? Perhaps the pilot has mistaken his profession?’ ” (Preface)

Publisher Berandol Music Limited, Scarborough, Ontario, and Associated Music Publishers, New York, 1969
67 pages
via Charles Turner

PDF (updated to OCR’d version via John Erik Kristensen on 2016-11-11, 2 MB)