“SONGS” WITHOUT WORDS

Chapter:

CHAPTER 13 Middle and Low

Source:

MUSIC FROM THE EARLIEST NOTATIONS TO THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY

Author(s):

Richard Taruskin

The word canto (“song”), as used by Petrucci in his titles, refers specifically, if paradoxically, to something that was not sung—namely, textless, instrumental items of chamber music. The usage was in fact common at the time; in the Glogauer Liederbuch and other German sources, the Latin equivalent of Petrucci’s Italian word—carmen (plural carmina)—was used in the same meaning: an instrumental piece based on, or in the style of, a song: a “song without words.”

Citation (MLA):

Richard Taruskin. "Chapter 13 Middle and Low." The Oxford History of Western Music. Oxford University Press. New York, USA. n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2025. <https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume1/actrade-9780195384819-div1-013009.xml>.

Citation (APA):

Taruskin, R. (n.d.). Chapter 13 Middle and Low. In Oxford University Press, Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century. New York, USA. Retrieved 27 Apr. 2025, from https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume1/actrade-9780195384819-div1-013009.xml

Citation (Chicago):

Richard Taruskin. "Chapter 13 Middle and Low." In Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century, Oxford University Press. (New York, USA, n.d.). Retrieved 27 Apr. 2025, from https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume1/actrade-9780195384819-div1-013009.xml