Studies in musicology II, 1929-1979

Henry Cowell called Charles Seeger "the greatest musical explorer in intellectual fields which America has produced, the greatest experimental musicologist." He was equally important as a teacher, administrator, and international figure in every sphere of music. This collection of his essays, together with Studies in Musicology, 1935-1975 (California, 1977), constitutes a major selected edition of Seeger's work. The two volumes of Studies in Musicology contain nearly three dozen elegant, deeply philosophical tracts on subjects ranging over the entire musical spectrum. This second volume, compiled by Seeger's biographer Ann M. Pescatello, includes several of his finest theoretical essays as well as some significant "occasional" papers, often on American subjects. Exemplifying the enormous scope of Seeger's interests, the contents range from "Tractatus Esthetico-Semioticus: Model of the Systems of Human Communication" and "Sources of Evidence and Criteria for Judgment in the Critique of Music" to "Grass Roots for American Composers" and "World Musics in American Schools.". The centerpiece of this volume is the previously unpublished manuscript "Tradition and Experiment in (the New) Music," consisting of two parts: a theoretical "Treatise on Musical Composition" and a practical "Manual of Dissonant Counterpoint." A few of his earlier writings (pre-1929) held the seeds of "Tradition and Experiment," but it was from this innovative work, a short book in itself, that much of his later writing flowed. While Seeger's articles could stand alone as the representative oeuvre of a great music scholar, the inclusion of "Tradition and Experiment" represents a major addition to the literature on music. Seeger's ideas have never had greater relevance than in today's changing world of musicology, which embraces a broader interpretation of the word theory, an ethnomusicological approach to Western music itself, and a greater respect for the popular and ethnically diverse. This new collection is rich in ideas and materials for the music scholar and student, the composer and critic, the technician and organizer, the educator and music connoisseur.