MUSIC ABOUT MUSIC

Chapter:

CHAPTER 8 Business Math, Politics, and Paradise: The Ars Nova

Source:

MUSIC FROM THE EARLIEST NOTATIONS TO THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY

Author(s):

Richard Taruskin

Before turning to the most exalted specimens, however, let us have another look at the playful side of Ars Nova composition, for it will cast light on the earliest emergence within musical practice of “art” as we know it. Art, as we know it, is a self-conscious thing, as concerned with manner as it is with matter. Its Latin cognate, ars (as in Ars Nova) simply means “method” or “way.” The title of the treatise attributed to Vitry simply means “a new way [of doing things].” That is the sense of “art” that is implied by words like “artful” and “artificial.” They mean “full of method,” hence “full of skill,” and ultimately “full of style.” What makes an artist, in the familiar, current sense of the word, therefore, is high consciousness of style.

Citation (MLA):

Richard Taruskin. "Chapter 8 Business Math, Politics, and Paradise: The Ars Nova." The Oxford History of Western Music. Oxford University Press. New York, USA. n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2025. <https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume1/actrade-9780195384819-div1-008010.xml>.

Citation (APA):

Taruskin, R. (n.d.). Chapter 8 Business Math, Politics, and Paradise: The Ars Nova. In Oxford University Press, Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century. New York, USA. Retrieved 21 Jan. 2025, from https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume1/actrade-9780195384819-div1-008010.xml

Citation (Chicago):

Richard Taruskin. "Chapter 8 Business Math, Politics, and Paradise: The Ars Nova." In Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century, Oxford University Press. (New York, USA, n.d.). Retrieved 21 Jan. 2025, from https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume1/actrade-9780195384819-div1-008010.xml