Music in late medieval Bruges /

The history of early Renaissance music focuses mainly upon a long line of 15th-century northern European musicians whose provenance has been conveniently referred to as Netherlandish or Flemish or Franco-Flemish. Among the major composers associated with this geographical region are Dufay, Binchois, Ockeghem, Obrecht, and Josquin Desprez. Many of these composers and performers journeyed to Italy where they introduced their craft, which helped to usher in the new musical style. Strohm centers his attention on Bruges, a city of commercial and artistic significance; and through archival sources detailing social and economic life, he pursues a reconstruction of musical activities in this cultural urban center. What initially began as a study of the Lucca Choirbook, a musical manuscript stemming from Bruges which Strohm first discovered in 1967, became a more encompassing scholarly endeavor wherein the local environment of the city is examined to determine what influences brought about this northern musical tradition. The 150 pages of text are complemented with extensive endnotes, a comprehensive multipage list of musicians employed in the city's churches, a catalogue raisonne of the Lucca Choirbook, a dozen transcriptions of compositions from the codex, and a bibliography. Upper-division undergraduate and graduate collections.-A.G. Spiro, Youngstown State University